Neelkanth Mishra, chief economist at Axis Bank and head of global research at Axis Capital, will now be part-time chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India, the body responsible for issuing the 12-digit unique identification number, or Aadhaar.

Mishra’s appointment makes him the second non-bureaucrat after Nandan Nilekani—the co-founder and chairman of Infosys and founding chairperson of the UIDAI—to chair the government body.

Who is Neelkanth Mishra? Among the first analysts to identify the K-shaped economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic in India, Mishra is an engineer-turned-economist, bringing over two decades of financial expertise to the UIDAI board.

Before joining Axis Bank as chief economist, Mishra had a long association with Credit Suisse. He held various leadership positions at the Zurich-based bank—including co-head of APAC strategy, India equity strategy head and head of research, India—before quitting in March. Prior to Credit Suisse, he was with Infosys as senior technical architect, according to his LinkedIn profile, and has also worked with Hindustan Unilever (then Hindustan Lever Ltd).

Mishra holds positions in a number of economic planning committees. He is part of the economic advisory council to the Indian prime minister, the 15th Finance Commission, Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Review Committee, Committee on GST and the India Semiconductor Mission. He also advises businesses and has been associated with the Economic Affairs Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry for the past few years.

Mishra has hailed the government’s production-linked incentive schemes, tax policy certainty and targeted government subsidies that he believes will boost manufacturing and bring stability to the economy.

A gold medallist from IIT Kanpur, where he graduated in computer science and engineering, Mishra is a “Distinguished Alumnus”—the highest accolade by IITs for outstanding alumni. Additionally, he specializes in metals and mining, Indian pharmaceuticals, Taiwan IC design, semiconductor foundries and Asian tech strategy research.

Other appointments: The UIDAI’s board comprises a chairperson, two part-time members and the CEO, who also functions as the member-secretary. Besides Mishra, other appointments to the UIDAI board include Nilesh Shah—managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company—and Prof. Mausam—associate professor in the computer science department at IIT Delhi—who are joining as part-time members, according to a Mint report.

Senior IAS officer Amit Agrawal was appointed the CEO of UIDAI in June. At that time, he was the only member on the board. With the new appointments, all vacant positions on the board have been filled.

The chairperson and the members will hold office “for a term of three years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier, from the date on which they assume office,” a gazette notification said.