The Indian government on Friday, April 22, appointed Suman K Bery as the Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog, following the sudden resignation of Rajiv Kumar. Bery will take charge from May 1, 2022, an official order said. Kumar's tenure will end on April 30. Kumar, an eminent economist, took over as Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog in August 2017 after the then VC Arvind Panagariya exited the government think-tank to return to academics.
According to a statement issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has accepted the resignation of Rajiv Kumar and will relieve him from his post on April 30. It also said that Bery has been appointed, with immediate effect, as a full-time member of NITI Aayog on the same terms and conditions as are applicable to the position, and will take over as Vice Chairperson on May 1.
Rajiv Kumar played a key role in Niti Aayog's policy making, with focus on agriculture, asset monetisation, disinvestment, aspirational districts programme and electric vehicles, among others. Kumar holds a DPhil in economics from Oxford University and a PhD from Lucknow University. He was also a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR).
Bery had earlier served as Director-General (Chief Executive) of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. He was also a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, Statistical Commission and the Reserve Bank of India's Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy.