Ashok Lahiri Named New Vice-Chairman of Niti Aayog, Gobardhan Das as Member
Appointments come amid ongoing West Bengal polls, seen as overture to electorate and part of long-awaited Niti Aayog revamp
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- Former chief economic adviser Ashok Lahiri is set to become the new vice-chairman of Niti Aayog, replacing Suman Bery.
- Gobardhan Das, director of IISER Bhopal and a former JNU professor, will be nominated as a member.
- Both are BJP candidates, with Lahiri an MLA from Balurghat and Das a Dalit who faced attacks from TMC cadres after the 2021 Bengal elections.
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Niti Aayog has undergone a revamp with Bery at the helm for four years. The Modi administration has occasionally bypassed Bery and dealt directly with members or the CEO. Lahiri brings extensive economic and policy experience, having worked at the World Bank, IMF, and as chief economic adviser.
NEW DELHI: Former chief economic adviser Ashok Lahiri is set to be named the new vice-chairman of Niti Aayog, replacing Suman Bery. Gobardhan Das, the director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, is to be nominated as a member of the govt's premier think tank.
Lahiri is currently a BJP MLA from Balurghat, but is not contesting the 2026 assembly polls. Das, a former JNU professor, had contested from Purbasthali Uttar constituency in the 2021 state polls as a BJP candidate.
The two appointments come amid polls in West Bengal with the second round of voting on Wednesday and will be seen as an overture to the electorate.
Appointments seen as part of long-awaited Niti revamp
Significantly, Das is a Dalit and had allegedly faced attacks from TMC cadres in the violence that followed the 2021 elections in Bengal. The appointments are seen as part of a long-awaited overhaul of Niti Aayog, where Bery, a surprise pick, has been at the helm for four years. On several occasions, the Modi administration was seen to have bypassed Bery and dealt directly with the members or the CEO.
Lahiri will bring his training as an economist and a policymaker to Niti Aayog, which has a part-time CEO after BVR Subrahmanyam's exit last month.
Lahiri is a career economist who taught at Delhi School of Economics and worked at the World Bank and IMF before returning to the finance ministry in the late 1990s. He then went on to head the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy and was the chief economic adviser and subsequently a member of the 15th Finance Commission.
He is seen as among the pioneers in the field of psephology and co-authored 'India Decides' that mapped elections from 1952 to 1989.
Açık Sorular
- When exactly will Lahiri assume office
- Whether Bery will take up another government position
- Details of the alleged attacks on Das in 2021
