The Centre on Saturday appointed eminent economist and West Bengal MLA Ashok Kumar Lahiri as the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog.
Lahiri, a former Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, replaces Suman Bery, who had been holding the post since May 2022.
The government also reconstituted the policy body with economist K V Raju, Director of AIIMS M Srinivas, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology Abhay Karandikar, noted scientist Gobardhan Das, and former Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba as full-time members.
Gauba was also part of the outgoing panel. Other members of the earlier panel included Vijay Kumar Saraswat, Ramesh Chand, Vinod Kumar Paul and Arvind Virmani.
Announcing the new leadership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to Lahiri and the newly appointed members, expressing confidence in their ability to contribute to policy-making and reforms.
He said NITI Aayog has emerged as a vital pillar in India’s policy-making architecture, fostering cooperative federalism, furthering reforms and boosting ease of living. He described it as a dynamic platform for innovation and long-term strategic thinking across sectors.
Lahiri later met the Prime Minister and thanked him for the appointment. Modi noted that Lahiri’s rich experience in economics and public policy would strengthen India’s reform journey and its goal of becoming a developed nation, adding that his contribution would further energise policymaking in the country.
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