Economist Neelkanth Mishra named UIDAI part-time chief
New Delhi: Unique Identity Authority of India (Uidai), the statutory authority overseeing Aadhaar operations, finally gets a head, though as a part-time chairman after over four years . In a Gazette notification on 21 August, the ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) announced the appointment of eminent economist Neelkanth Mishra as a part-time chairperson along with two part-time members. Mishra will join Amit Agarwal in Uidai’s board.
Agarwal, who had formerly served as an additional secretary at Meity, took over as chief executive of the nodal Aadhaar authority on 20 June. Meity also appointed Nilesh Shah, managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company (AMC), and Mausam, associate professor of computer science and founder of Yardi School of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, as part-time members of the Uidai board. The appointment comes just over four years after bureaucrat J.
Satyanarayana resigned as Uidai’s last chairperson—in what was also a part-time role. With this appointment, the Uidai board is now complete. It comprises the CEO—who also serves as the legal representative and administrative head of the body; along with a chairperson and two part-time members.
The rest of the hierarchy within the body is spread across Uidai’s headquarters and regional offices. A senior official with knowledge of the matter said that the appointments do not particularly signify any strategic or operational shift for the body. “This is a fairly regular appointment.
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