Nilekani is the co-founder and non-executive chairman of Infosys and is renowned for being the former chairman and the architect of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)- the Aadhaar System.But beyond the headlines about his work, his love story of how he met his wife, Rohini, is no less than a movie and just as notable as anything on his résumé.
Nandan Nilekani ’s love story reads like a college rom-com
Speaking with Nikhil Kamath on his podcast People by WTF, Nilekani recalled meeting Rohini for the first time in 1977, at a quiz competition where he represented his college, IIT Bombay, and she represented Elphinstone College. He won the quiz and, as he tells it, lost his heart in the process. “Obviously, we won the quiz,” he said, and the two dated for a while before getting married.He’s married to Rohini Nilekani, an author and one of India’s most prominent philanthropists. Rohini founded the Arghyam Foundation in 2001 to work on water and sanitation issues, and she has written several books, including Stillborn (1998), Uncommon Ground (2011), The Hungry Little Sky Monster (2020), and Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar: A Citizen-First Approach (2022).
He calls his wife and himself ‘the opposites’
Nandan and Rohini have two children, Nihar and Janhavi Nilekani. Janhavi is married to Shray Chandra, while Nihar is reportedly still unmarried, per BollywoodShaadis.Nilekani candidly shared how differently he and his wife are wired. He described himself as the “boring guy,” while Rohini is the more spontaneous, emotional, and “mercurial” one.Further, Nilekani didn’t stop at describing his wife’s personality; he also called her one of India’s biggest environmental philanthropists, which includes signing the Giving Pledge along with him in 2017.
Nandan Nilekani appointed to lead high-powered Task Force for exam reforms
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Instagram recently to announce a six-member task force to overhaul India’s examination system, and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani will be leading it.The announcement came just a day after Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down as Union Education Minister. His resignation followed 36 days of student protests, led by the Cockroach Janta Party, over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak and problems with how CBSE handled on-screen marking.Nilekani won’t be doing this alone. He’s joined by former ISRO chairman S. Somanath, former Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Deka, IIT Madras director V. Kamakoti, former Union Education Secretary Anita Karwal, and logistics expert Amrit Lal Meena in the multidisciplinary task force.