Chairman of UIDAI Nilekani said Lokpal is no magic bullet

Urging Team Anna not to look for quick-fix solutions to corruption, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India Nandan Nilekani said that while the concerns and anger of the agitating public were legitimate, their methods and goal were not.

In an interview to Nilekani said that the Lokpal Bill was not a “magic bullet” that would eliminate corruption in the country. It could, at best, serve as one of several measures needed to tackle corruption in a holistic manner.

 He said, “I am not a great believer that if you pass a law, corruption will miraculously vanish. Nor do I think that creating a huge army of policemen will reduce corruption. You have to go back and look at the systems. I have spent 30-35 years working on how to make large systems work. You have to fundamentally analyse and improve the systems themselves. This (Lokpal law) is just one of the many many things that we need to do. I don’t think that it (Lokpal) is the only thing we should be doing.”

“I fully endorse the fact that they want to address the problem of corruption but I think they should look at it in a much more strategic holistic manner and not by just passing a law. This is absolutely uni-dimensional,” he said.

Efforts to undermine supremacy of Parliament and elected representatives in legislative matters were “extremely dangerous and completely wrong.

Nandan Nilekani: one way to fight against corruption is Jan Lokpal bill

The Lokpal bill which is before parliament is only one of the many ways of tackling the menace of corruption, said Nandan Nilekani, chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on taday.

 Nilekani said, "I think if we want to do something about corruption, we have to do it in a much broader manner, where the Lokpal bill just becomes one of many things,"

"I'm very much for removing corruption, but to say that this is the only way to do is very impractical," he said referring to activist Anna Hazare's demand for a stronger anti-corruption bill.

Parliament would decide on the shape of the bill and the protesters should work through that system, Nilekani said.

Corruption happens when people try to avail benefits like subsidised grains and pensions, he said.

"That is where an Aadhar ID comes in," he said referring to the unique identification the UIDAI will provide to every Indian citizen.

In the battle against corruption, the country needs more reforms, said the former chief executive officer of IT bellwether Infosys.

The need is to create more choices for the people for a variety of services, he said.

Nilekani explained that there was big ticket corruption when the state interfaces with business for large resources and land. "And there is the small ticket or retail corruption where millions of people interact with the state...."

Hazare has been demanding a Jan Lokpal bill which includes the prime minister, higher judiciary and the conduct of MPs inside parliament within the ambit of the Lokpal

The government's Lokpal Bill, 2011, which was tabled in parliament, lacks these provisions.