Who is Nandan Nilekani, the head of PM Modi’s task-force on exam reforms?

Nandan Nilekani, appointed by the Union government on Sunday (July 26, 2026) as the head of a high-powered task-force to bring about exam reforms, is an entrepreneur, technocrat, and bureaucrat. The techpreneur and co-founder of Infosys has transitioned from the private sector into public service and governance through several national and regional assignments.

Mr. Nilekani is a graduate in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. In 1981, Mr. Nilekani joined N.R. Narayana Murthy and five others to establish Infosys after leaving his job at Patni Computer Systems. Over the decades, he served as Managing Director, President and Chief Operating Officer in the company, and later went on to become the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Infosys from 2002 to 2007. During this time, the company rapidly expanded globally. He was later a Non-Executive Chairman of the Board in the company in 2017.