Summary: (http://kamlashow.com/podcast/wp-content/uploads/NandanNilekani-150x150.jpg)Nandan Nilekani (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nandan_Nilekani) is the co-founder and former head of Infosys. This is the company that put Bangalore on the global map. New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman (http://bit.ly/4Le0J0) credits Nandan for coining that famous phrase The World Is Flat (http://bit.ly/5iYJbc), which became the title of his book. Banglaore-based Infosys is one of the best Indian success stories. Founded during the "License Raj (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Licence_Raj)" phase, the founders persisted and grew their company from a small entity to a huge, global IT powerhouse. In 2009 Nandan left Infosys and joined the Government of India when Prime Minister Singh appointed him to a cabinet level position. He currently heads the Unique Identification Authority of India (http://uidai.gov.in/). In the middle of his hectic life, Nandan carved out time to write his book Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation (http://bit.ly/7QRTr0). The book was published in March 2009 in the US, and I caught up with him in Silicon Valley while he was on an extended book tour. In Part-1 of the interview Nandan talks about his appearance in Jon Stewart's show, the structure and essence of his book, the challenges facing a new and emerging India, entrepreneurship and the startup culture in India. You can listen to Part-2 (http://bit.ly/HLvHWR )of the interview here. Here is a short video clip interview with Nandan (http://bit.ly/Ir48yx ). Photo credit: World Economic Forum
