Government reconstitutes NITI Aayog, includes union ministers from BJP's allies

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre has reconstituted the NITI Aayog, the apex public policy think tank of the Union government.

The government reorganised the NITI Aayog on July 16, adding five more ministers from the BJP's allies. The new additions include H D Kumaraswamy (JD-S), Jitan Ram Manjhi (HAM), Rajiv Ranjan Singh (JD-U), K R Naidu (TDP) and Chirag Paswan (LJP-Ram Vilas).

As per the notice, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will continue to serve as the Chairperson of NITI Aayog, while economist Suman K. Bery would hold the Vice Chairperson position. Along with scientist V K Saraswat, the government think-tank will continue to employ economists Ramesh Chand, V K Paul, a paediatrician, and macroeconomist Arvind Virmani full-time. BVR Subrahmanyam will continue to serve as CEO as well.

Revised composition of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) is notified today.

Read more here: https://t.co/FDvGC7fxyj Embracing a vision for holistic development and innovation, NITI Aayog is on a journey of transformative initiatives that promise to… pic.twitter.com/26NH2GK9I6 — NITI Aayog (@NITIAayog) July 16, 2024

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has been appointed as the new ex-officio member, succeeding Narendra Singh Tomar. The committee also includes ex-officio members such as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Several Union Ministers have been appointed as special invitees to key committees. Among them are Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport and Highways), J P Nadda (Health), Virendra Kumar (Social Justice and Empowerment), Jual Oram (Tribal Affairs), Annapurna Devi (Women and Child Development), and Rao Inderjit Singh (Statistics and Programme Implementation).

Notably absent from the list this time are Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw, who were special invitees previously. However, Gadkari, Virendra Kumar, and Rao Inderjit Singh retain their positions as special invitees.

Among the allies who have been included, Kumaraswamy has the Heavy Industries and Steel portfolio, Manjhi has Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh has Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Naidu has Civil Aviation, and Chirag Paswan has Food Processing Industries.