ISB Updates
THE AADHAAR CONFERENCE SHOWCASES OPPORTUNITIES OF THE UID
The Identity Initiative (IDI),in collaboration with the Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED) at the Indian School of Business (ISB), organised “Aadhaar – Opening of a Billion Opportunities” on October 22, 2011 at the ISB campus. The one-day conference presented opportunities of the Unique Identification (UID) initiative and showcased new ideas on its transformative potential in the Indian society.
As part of the event, two panel discussions on the “Fundamentals of Aadhaar and its Ecosystem” and “Aadhaar as an Innovation Platform for Public and Private Enterprise” were also held during the day. Comprising of members from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), academia and the industry, the panelists included Sanjay Jain, Chief Product Manager, UIDAI, Raman Taneja, Technology Head, IFMR Rural Finance, Arpitha Khare, Vice President & Location Head, NISG, Sreeni Tripuraneni, Chairman & CEO, 4G Identity Solutions, and Srini Raju, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Peepul Capital. The panel discussions were moderated by Arun Sundararajan, Associate Professor of Information, Operations and Management Sciences, New York University and Ravi Bapna, Executive Director, Srini Raju Centre for IT and the Networked Economy (SRITNE) at the ISB.
A key part of the event was “The Aadhaar Competition,” in which groups from educational institutions and the industry presented their ideas on how to tap the opportunities thrown open by the UID, either through changes in existing business models or completely new solutions or innovations. The winning submission was by “EasyMontra Technologies,” which came up with a biometric mobile device that runs on solar energy.
The Identity Initiative (IDI) was launched by SRITNE to facilitate analytical, empirical and field research on the long-tern socioeconomic impact of the UID project. To know more about the IDI and SRITNE’s role in the initiative, please visit www.isb.edu/SRITNE/IDI/.
