In a first major revamp of the NITI Aayog since its inception in 2015, the Centre has appointed economist Ashok Lahiri as its new vice-chairman and replaced four of its five full-time members.
Lahiri will replace Suman Bery, who had been serving on the post since April 2022.
(I met with Shri Ashok Kumar Lahiri ji and congratulated him on his appointment as Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. His rich experience in economics and public policy will further strengthen the path of reforms in India and the journey towards becoming a 'Viksit Bharat'. -- PM Narendra Modi tweeted with a snap)
A member of the 15th Finance Commission, Lahiri has held roles with global financial institutions. He was BJP legislator representing Balurghat in West Bengal elected to the assembly in 2021.
Of course, he was not fielded for elections this year but remains one of the BJP’s more recognisable Bengali leaders. An alumnus of the Delhi School of Economics and Presidency University, Lahiri has also worked with the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the IMF.
In an interview he took a dig at Mamata Banerjee and TMC leadership on the issue of corruption and says:
"What is important is not only that I am not a thief .... you perceive me not to be a thief".
After Pranab Mukherjee, Lahiri becomes first Bengali to hold such key positions in a policy making body of the central government.
On February 24 this year, Nidhi Chhibber, Director General of the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office, which functions from within the Aayog, was given additional charge of Chief Executive Officer of the think tank following the completion of BVR Subrahmanyam's tenure.
PM Modi on Saturday met Lahiri shortly after he was named the new Vice-Chairman. The PM also congratulated the other newly appointed full-time members of the think tank in a post on X.
Lahiri's appointment amid elections in West Bengal may not mean anything related to drawing some electoral dividends. However, all these are crucial as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi would now like to take a relook at the developmental journey of 'eastern India' with a renewed perspective.
All these are also relevant as the PM wants to set the ball rolling in eastern India for achieving a purposeful Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Bhopal IISER Director Gobardhan Das has been inducted as a full-time member of the government think tank. Das, who also hails from Bengal, is an immunologist.
Abhay Karandikar, Secretary in the Department of Science and Technology; Dr M Srinivas, Director, Delhi AIIMS; and KV Raju, member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, were the three other full-time members appointed.
Former Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, who was appointed last year, is the only full-time existing member of the Aayog who has been retained.
In his media interviews, Lahiri said: "The main challenge is how to formulate new policies and policies .... cannot be the same in every country. Incentives cannot be the same. It has to be adopted. The issue is what is the right policy that will work.
"If you ask me about thrust area, I believe pillars of development are Education, Health, Infrastructure and law and order".
On various facets of economy and economy management in West Bengal, he said: "You must not only think of poverty today ... you must think of poverty tomorrow and day after....You don't have to give five rupees to the beggar, you need to ensure that the beggar does not need to beg".
"In Bengali, we say Tran and pori-tran .... Tran is temporary relief, pori-tran is Deliverance". To a question about high turnout he said - "It is seen all over the world, whenever there is a discontent against the ruling party .... the anti incumbency shows up in extra turnout".
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