Axis Bank exec appointed as part-time chairperson of UIDAI

Neelkanth Mishra, the chief economist and head of global research at Axis Bank has been appointed the part-time chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Additionally, Nilesh Shah, the managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, along with IIT Delhi professor Mausam are now part-time members of the agency.

To be sure, the UIDAI board comprises a chairperson, a CEO, and two part-time members. The latest appoints will be filling up the vacancies in the UIDAI Board. 

Mishra joined Axis Bank this year in May after his 20-year stint at Credit Suisse. He is also part of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EACPM). Mishra has served as an advisor in different committees including Indian Semiconductor Mission and the 15th Finance Commission. He is a computer science engineering graduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

Kotak’s Shah who joins UIDAI as a member is a chartered accountant by qualification and has served on the boards of COBOSAC committee of SEBI, the association of mutual funds in India (AMFI), and EACPM. Before Kotak, he worked with companies like Axis Capital, ICICI, and Franklin Templeton.

Lastly, Mausam is a computer professor at IIT Delhi, specialising in the artificial intelligence domain. He founded and now heads the Yardi School of Artificial Intelligence.

These announcements come a few weeks after senior IAS officer Amit Agrawal took over as the Aadhaar agency’s CEO. Agrawal also holds the position of additional secretary in the IT Ministry. He replaced Saurabh Garg, whose two-year term ended in June. The latter has been selected as the secretary of social justice and empowerment department.