The Union Cabinet has appointed the Infosys Chief Nandan Nilekani as the Chairman of National Authority for Unique Identity.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni said the new authority will function under the planning commission, and Nilekani will be enjoying cabinet tatus.
Ms Soni said the authority will have the responsibility to lay down plans and policies to implement the Unique Identification Scheme and will operate the unique identification number database for the citizen's of the country.
In January the Government of India has notified the creation of the National Authority of Unique Identity.
The ambitious plan of unique identification has been allocated Rs 100 crore in the interim budget of 2009-10.
The unique identification number aims at eliminating the need for multiple identification mechanism prevalent across various government departments, and it will ensure that each Indian citizen will carry a permanent identifier from birth to death.
The permanent identifier which will also cover children, will help in at establishing citizenship, reducing identity related frauds, addresses security issues and prevent leakages in different government schemes.
In the beginning the Unique Identity number will be given to all voters who are on current electoral rolls, and gradually, the other persons including those below 18 years of age will be added to the database. Photographs and biometric data will be added to make the identification perfect.
Despite the recessionary phase hitting the bottom-line of the country's IT sector, the northern region appeared to have remained insulated as total IT exports from this region grew by a whopping 30 per cent, with Infosys becoming the top exporter.
Performing against all odds, export of software and IT enabled services from Mohali, Chandigarh and Panchkula have jumped to Rs 1,051.23 crore in 2008-09 against Rs 806.01 crore in 2007-08, as per data provided by Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).
"With the global slowdown casting its shadow on majority of industrial sectors including IT, we were unsure of even touching Rs 1,000-crore mark from this region under current circumstances...but the industry has managed to clock handsome growth in spite of meltdown impact," STPI Joint Director Ajay Shrivastava said in Chandigarh.
Of the total export of Rs 1,051.23 crore, the exports from SEZs of Chandigarh zoomed to Rs 318 crore in 2008-09, posting a growth of 127 per cent in one year of its operation.
Infosys Technologies continued to retain the position of top IT exporter from here as its total exports, including SEZ, was Rs 565.14 crore against Rs 342.88 crore in the year-ago period.
Interestingly, the exports of Infosys account for almost half of the total IT exports from the tricity of Mohali, Panchkula and Chandigarh.
Infosys Technologies Ltd chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy Saturday hoped the union budget for 2009-10 would focus on inclusive growth, which he termed as 'the need of the country'.
'I don't have any specific expectation for the IT sector from the budget. But I hope the government will try to bring in an inclusive growth, as it is the need of the country to make sure the poorer people will also benefit from the economic progress,' Murthy told reporters here.
Elaborating on his budget wishes, Murthy said the government should have better focus on healthcare, education, shelter and nutrition for the betterment of the needy.
'We are very happy there is a stable government and that is good thing to the country. I am sure this stable government will do quite a lot for the country because it is free to implement its policies,' he said on the margins of the IT bellwether's 28th annual general meeting (AGM).
Expressing relief over the outcome of the recent general elections, Murthy said a two-party system was a stable model, as evident from such a system in the US, Britain and many other countries.
'By and large, two-party system is a stable model. It is an evolved system,' he pointed out.
Commenting on the severe financial crisis that had led to a global recession of a magnitude never anticipated by critics of the free market system, Murthy said compassionate capitalism had proved to be the only viable system because communism had failed and socialism had not worked as well as everyone wanted.
'Though I don't believe the free market system has failed, as critics have pointed out in light of the global meltdown and financial crisis, I do admit there are negatives in all systems. But I think, by and large, compassionate capitalism has proved to be the only viable system,' Murthy noted.
Infosys outperformed its peers both on the front of revenue and profit growth in the fourth quarter of 2008-09. Revenue and profit grew by 25 and 33 per cent, respectively.
Amidst a depreciating rupee, IT companies have seen a rise in revenues and profits for the quarter and year ended March 2009. The combined revenue growth of the top four - TCS, Wipro, Infosys, and HCL Technologies - was 15 per cent for the quarter ended March 2009.
The cumulative profit for the four companies stood at Rs 3,840 crore for the said quarter, a gain of 13.6 per cent over the same period last year. The primary contributors to the growth were Infosys and Wipro.
TCS too posted gains. HCL technologies, however, witnessed a 17 per cent drop in revenue.
Its foreign exchange loss stood at Rs 201 crore. "Infosys has the lowest hedge, it is good on delivery, performance, it reads the market well and outperforms its guidance.
All these make me go bullish on the company among the lot," said Anil Advani, head of research, SBI Capital Securities. HCL's performance has typically lagged that of the remaining three, "HCL has never been a great performer but with the Axon acquisition, people are looking at it in a more positive manner," said an IT analyst who did not wish to be named.
On an annual performance basis, while Wipro gained 44 per cent in its revenues, Infosys emerged as the maximum gainer in profits with a 30 per cent growth in profit during 2008-09 against that recorded in 2007-08.