PM Modi reconstitutes Niti Aayog’s team

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday reconstituted Niti Aayog, which he heads as its chairperson. Rajiv Kumar as vice-chairperson has been re-elected along with existing full time members V.K. Saraswat, Ramesh Chand and Dr V.K. Paul. However the fourth full time member Bibek Debroy has been dropped from the think tank.

Mr Debroy’s exclusion is significant, as he was also heading the Prime Minister's economic advisory committee, which was formed in September 2017.

Niti Aayog’s CEO Amitabh Kant’s tenure, which unlike the vice chairperson and full time members, is not co-terminus with the government, is ending on June 30.

Mr Kant who is a retired bureaucrat, had been appointed as CEO in February 2016 for a period of two years. In February 2018, he was given an extension till June 30, 2019.

His continuance on the post after the said date remains unclear, even as there are intense speculations that he could be accomodated in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Defence minister Rajnath Singh, home minister Amit Shah, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and agriculture minister Narendra Tomar have been appointed as the ex-officio members of Niti Aayog.

Apart from them, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, social justice minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot, railway and commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Rao Inderjit Singh, who is minister of state (independent charge) of the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implem-entation, have been appointed as special invitees in the think tank.