During his brief meeting with Yeddyurappa on Saturday, Nilekani requested the state government to allot land for setting up an institute for excellence in Bangalore that will be part of the UID project. A source in the chief minister’s office could not specify the size of the land, but said the state has assured Nilekani that it would support the project.

However, details regarding the institute and what role it would play are not clear.

“The government has agreed to allot the land and will coordinate with him [Nilekani] for identifying it [land]. The modality of whether it would be at market price, at a concession or free is yet to be worked out,” said the source.