Noted economist Rajiv Kumar has been appointed as the next Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, which is a think-tank that replaced the Planning Commission.
Soon after Kumar’s appointment became public, he tweeted: “Look forward to serve the nation with my role@nitiaayog@pmoIndia”.
Kumar will succeed Arvind Panagariya, who had recently quit as Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog. Kumar’s appointment has come within a week of Panagariya putting in his papers.
Panagariya, who was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pick for the top job at NITI Aayog, had quit the post to return to the academic world and requested that he be relieved of his post by August 31. Indications are that Kumar would assume charge from September 1.
Meanwhile, the Centre has also appointed Vinod Paul, a Paediatrician at AIIMS, as a member of NITI Aayog.
Kumar is currently a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, a non-governmental think tank on public policy based out of New Delhi.
He had also been part of a government appointed high-level search panel that went into the appointment of regulators in the Indian financial sector. Kumar, who holds a DPhil in economics from Oxford and a PhD from Lucknow University, had served as Director & Chief Executive of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).
The new Vice-Chairman had also served as FICCI Secretary General and Chief Economist at Confederation of Indian Industry.
He had been a member of the National Security Advisor Board between 2006-08. Kumar had held senior positions in the Industry Ministry, Finance Ministry and in the Asian Development Bank.
Reacting to Kumar’s appointment, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said that the prompt decision will help the government think-tank maintain continuity in its policy advocacy work.
“FICCI welcomes the appointment of Rajiv Kumar as the new Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog,” the chamber said in a statement.
Srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in