In biggest revamp, 4 new members join Niti Aayog under Ashok Lahiri | India News
The government has restructured the NITI Aayog, appointing Ashok Lahiri as the new vice-chairman and four new members in the thinktank’s biggest shakeup since it was established in 2015.AIIMS Delhi Director M Srinivas has been nominated as member along with Science and Technology Secretary Abhay Karandikar and Professor Emeritus KV Raju of Chanakya University.Govardhan Das, director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, who contested the 2021 assembly elections in West Bengal on a BJP ticket, has also been appointed as a member, with Rajeev Gauba the only member who was part of the previous party.A restructuring of the NITI Aayog has been discussed since the NDA returned to office in 2024, as the thinktank took on a faded look with few new ideas emerging from the building that was once the Planning Commission.The transition began last month with BVR Subrahmanyam, who had been CEO of Niti Aayog for three years, leaving. Policy circles are actively discussing who will be the new CEO, and school education secretary Sanjay Kumar is seen as the frontrunner.The new look of the team has a mix of experts from sectors across the economy – from pharmaceutical disciplines to rural management.‘Proper policies should be formulated to fulfill the Prime Minister’s vision’Lahiri is a senior economist, along with Raju, a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, specializing in agriculture, water and rural management.Srinavas is the health specialist, while Karandikar will handle science and technology and Das will handle immunology and health. Gauber’s rich experience in administration will provide important input in policy formulation and restructuring.“Improving the living standards of remote areas, farming communities and the general public is essential for the overall development of the country,” Das said in a post on X, adding that it was a big opportunity for Dalits from West Bengal’s farming families.“PM Modi’s dream is to make the country ‘Bhikshit Bharat’ by 2047… To fulfill this vision, we need to ensure that the right policies are formulated…I credit the previous education policies of West Bengal, which played a major role in my appointment as vice chairman of Niti Aayog…It is a great honor for the state of West Bengal,” Lahiri said after meeting the Prime Minister.“The Niti Aayog has emerged as an important pillar in India’s policy-making architecture, encouraging cooperative federalism, driving reforms and enhancing the ‘ease of life’.” It serves as a dynamic platform for innovation and long-term strategic thinking across sectors,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X.
