Famous economist and BJP MLA from West Bengal Ashok Lahiri has been made the new Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. He will replace Suman Berry. Along with this, Gobardhan Das has been appointed a member of the commission.
New Delhi: The Central Government has appointed famous economist and BJP MLA from West Bengal Ashok Lahiri as the new Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. He will replace the current vice chairman Suman Berry. Lahiri has also been the former Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India. At present he is an MLA from Balurghat in West Bengal, but this time he is not contesting the assembly elections.
Along with Lahiri, Gobardhan Das, also from West Bengal, has been made a member of NITI Aayog. Das is a well-known scientist and the director of Bhopal IISER. Ashok Lahiri has long experience in making economic policies. He has been a member of the 15th Finance Commission and Executive Director of the Asian Development Bank. Apart from this, he has also worked in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). He completed his studies from Presidency University, Kolkata and Delhi School of Economics.
Both these appointments have taken place at a time when assembly elections are going on in West Bengal. It is believed that these changes are part of a major reshuffle in the structure of NITI Aayog. Let us tell you that the Prime Minister is the Chairman of NITI Aayog, while the Vice Chairman heads the day-to-day work. NITI Aayog was established in 2015 to replace the Planning Commission.