Ficci secretary-general Rajiv Kumar resigns

"He will continue as secretary-general until he leaves office in December 2012. Both Ficci and Kumar presently contemplate he would play as advisory role to Ficci in the future on select initiatives," the statement said.

Ficci president RV Kanoria said the industry body's loss will be the gain of the academic and economic world. Kumar, an economist, had joined Ficci in October 2010 as director-general and subsequently became its secretary general in May 2011.

Prior to Ficci, he was director and chief executive of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, which is one of India's independent economic policy think-tanks.