Nandan Nilekani,

In a 2009 book called Imagining India, Indian tech billionaire Nandan Nilekani imagined a way to address India’s most vexing problems of corruption, poverty and lack of social services – a unique ID number for every Indian. 4 years later, India has undertaken the biggest ID program in human history. It’s called Aadhaar, and Nilekani oversees it. But trying to register 1.2 billion people, many for the first time, comes with serious privacy and data-collection concerns. OTM reporter Jamie York went to India to speak with Nilekani and lawyer Malavika Jayaram about the risk and reward of identifying every Indian.

India's economic boom has triggered a series of social, political, and cultural changes that will alter the country forever. According to Nandan Nilekani, India's future depends not just on this economic growth but also on reform and innovation in all sectors of public life. His book, Imagining India, traces ...