Nilekani, among the seven “skinny” people who founded one of India’s defining new economy success stories, walks into the arms of a new challenge in the government sector with what Infosys employees present at the official farewell described as a “raring to go” demeanor.

Nilekani, who with his affability, emerged as the face of Infosys around the world in recent years, will take over as the chairman of the National Unique Identification Development Authority of India on the request of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The 54-year-old, who served Infosys in the functions of chief operating officer, chief executive officer and managing director, and most recently as the co-chairman of the board of directors, refused to comment on his personal feelings on the end of a major journey in his life. “My last day at Infosys is a private and personal matter. I am not talking to anybody about this,” he said when contacted.

Employees who attended the official farewell where Nilekani and his family were felicitated, described the NUIDAI chairman appointee as saying something like “Infosys has been my identity. I need to lose this identity to give each Indian an identity”.

In an earlier farewell message to the one lakh plus Infosys employees Nilekani described the goodbye as being gut wrenching.

“It has been a difficult and gut wrenching decision to make as I have been a part of the Infosys family for almost 30 years and it’s the only life I have known. I firmly believe my learning and experiences at Infosys will help me pursue and contribute to a larger cause and I am thankful to each of you for making this journey so special,” he said.

He also sent out video farewell messages to all employees on Thursday.

At the official farewell gathering held at the Infosys convention centre on Thursday evening four co-founders (Narayana Murthy via video conferencing) and Nilekani got together to swap stories with the gathered employees on the early years of their association and the creation of the company.

“The hall was spilling over and people were watching the webcast of the farewell all over the campus. The kind of numbers that turned up to say goodbye showed the esteem in which Nandan is held in Infosys,” an employee said.

Chairman and chief mentor N R Narayana Murthy’s message was webcast. Nilekani said three major career decisions in his life had been influenced by Murthy — first to join sales in a company at Nariman Point, then to join Infosys and now the shift to NUIDAI.

“The general feeling among people who were gathered was that of pride. There was also curiosity as to how he would fare in public life. Nandan himself seemed to be raring to go. He acknowledged the fact that he would be moving out of a comfort zone into a different world. He said he wants to live up to our expectations,” said an engineer who did not want to be identified.

Nilekani reportedly said in his farewell message that in any other assignment he would have tried to keep links with Infosys but since the UID project is in the information technology area he would have to break all connections to remain unbiased.

Following the announcement of Nilekani’s exit last week Narayan Murthy who played a major role in shaping his life said “as a company that has always put the interest of the society ahead of itself, Infosys will accept his absence with a sense of duty to a larger cause, but with deep sadness at the departure of one of her most illustrious sons”. “We are glad that an extraordinary individual like Nandan has got an opportunity to add value to India through this position,” he stated.

Nilekani’s secretary Malliga who has served him for years is expected to be re-assigned. Over the years Nilekani is reported to have collected hundreds of autographs from foreign heads of state on his secretary’s request.