According to an official decree, noted economist Suman Bery will take over as vice-chairperson of federal policy research organization NITI Aayog on May 1, with existing vice-chairperson Rajiv Kumar departing.
Bery is a senior visiting scholar at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi and a non-resident fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based research institute, and a specialist in international economics and monetary policy.
The appointments council of the cabinet has accepted Rajiv Kumar's resignation and has agreed to relieve him of his vice-chairpersonship with effect from April 30, according to an order from the department of personnel and training.
During this time, his employment terms and conditions will be the same as those for full-time members of NITI Aayog. The order issued by NITI Ayog stated that Bery will take over as vice-chairperson of the NITI Aayog with effect from May 1 on the same terms and conditions as Kumar.
NITI Aayog Under Rajiv Kumar's Chairmanship
Rajiv Kumar played a crucial role in NITI Aayog's emergence as a significant policy-making forum, facilitating cooperation between the state and federal governments on critical development concerns.
Under Rajiv Kumar's chairmanship, NITI Aayog played an important role in the government's attempts of improving manufacturing and expanding infrastructure, providing a blueprint for achieving the sustainable development goals, and promoting organic farming. Kumar also supervised NITI Aayog's attempts to involve states actively in improving ease of doing business and ease of living.
Rajiv Kumar was a significant figure in the policymaking at the NITI Aayog with a focus on agribusiness, asset monetization, disinvestment, aspirational districts, and electric vehicles, among many other things.
Kumar obtained a DPhil and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Oxford and Lucknow University, respectively. He also worked at the Centre for Policy Research in a senior position.
