Niti Aayog VC Rajiv Kumar steps down, Suman Bery to take charge from May 1

Suman Bery, the Niti Aayog vice-chairman in waiting.

The government on Friday 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, as Kumar's tenure ends on April 30.

Kumar, an eminent economist, took over as the vice-chairman of Niti Aayog in August 2017 after then VC Arvind Panagariya exited the government think-tank to return to academics.

He played a key role in Niti Aayog's policymaking, with focus on agriculture, asset monetisation, disinvestment, aspirational districts programme and electric vehicles.

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.