Use technology, new legislation to tackle corruption: Nilekani

UIDAI chairman says introduction of electronic payments will also hope

Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority (UIDAI) Nandan Nilekani has pitched for a new anti-corruption legislation and extensive use of technology in disbursement of funds and allocation of projects as the measures for tackling corruption effectively.

He has also pressed for process reengineering, providing choice to the consumer, introduction of electronic payments, and aligning of incentives across stakeholders as the steps required for curbing corruption.

“A new generation of institutions such as National Information Utilities will also be needed to implement this vision. The use of technology and re-engineering processes provide the platform to make governance more efficient as well as transparent,” Nilekani said while delivering the 19th Lovraj Kumar Memorial Lecture today: Tackling Corruption – Some Alternative Approaches.

Creating systems and use of technology is definitely not the only way to fight corruption. However it can  supplement other efforts in this multipronged discourse.

Single, “magicwand” solutions do not exist in the realworld. It is time that serious thought is given to finding innovative solutions by harnessing our strengths to tackle an age-old problem,” said Nilekani.