In a surprise move, Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar stepped down from his role on Friday. The Ministry of Personnel accepted Kumar's resignation, and he would be relieved from his with effect from April 30. The reason for Kumar's resignation was not revealed.
The Ministry of Personnel has also announced the appointment of Kumar's replacement. Economist Suman Bery will assume the charge of Niti Aayog vice-chairman from May 1. Meanwhile, Bery has been appointed as a full-time member of the government think tank.
Rajiv Kumar's stint at Niti Aayog
Rajiv Kumar was appointed as vice chairman of Niti Aayog in August 2017, succeeding his predecessor Arvind Panagariya. He played a crucial role in Niti Aayog's policy making, with focus on agriculture, asset monetisation, disinvestment, aspirational districts programme and EVs.
Kumar's qualification background is as follows:
DPhil in economics from Oxford University
PhD from Lucknow University
Kumar was also a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research.
Who is Suman Bery?
![Vice chairman of Niti Aayog steps down after 5 years; Suman Bery takes up role [details]](https://data1.ibtimes.co.in/en/full/771460/vice-chairman-niti-aayog-steps-down-after-5-years-suman-bery-takes-role-details.jpg?h=450&l=50&t=40)
Suman Bery was the director-general of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), an eminent policy research intuition, for a decade from 2001 till 2011. He is a Global Fellow in the Asia program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC.
He is a non-resident Fellow of Bruegel in Brussels and a senior visiting fellow at Center for Policy Research headquartered in Delhi. He even served as a member of PM's Economic Advisory Council, India's Statistical Commission and of the Reserve Bank of India's Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy.
