Parameswaran Iyer to replace Amitabh Kant as CEO of NITI Aayog

Parameswaran Iyer (File Image)

Government on June 24 appointed retired IAS officer Parameswaran Iyer as the new CEO of NITI Aayog. Iyer, 1981-batch IAS officer of UP cadre, will replace Amitabh Kant to become the third chief executive officer of the Government of India's public policy think tank.

Sixty-three-year old Iyer's term will begin upon the completion of current CEO Amitabh Kant's tenure on June 30, 2022, the government notification said.

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"The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Shri Parameswaran Iyer, lAS (UP:81), Retd. as Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog vice Shri Amitabh Kant upon completion of his tenure on 30.06.2022, for a period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, on the same terms and conditions as were applicable in respect of Shri Amitabh Kant," it read.

Kant was appointed as the CEO Niti Aayog on February 17, 2016, for a fixed two-year term. He was later given an extension till June 30, 2019. His term was further extended for two years, till this month-end, in June 2019.In June 2021, Kant received another one-year extension.

Born in Srinagar, Iyer went to the Doon School in Dehradun, and later attended St. Stephen's College in Delhi. He then got a one-year exchange scholarship at Davidson College in North Carolina, USA. Iyer joined civil services in 1981 and took a voluntary retirement in 2009 to join the water and sanitation initiatives at the World Bank.

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In 2016, Iyer was appointed by the Government of India to implement Swachh Bharat Mission, the country-wide sanitation campaign to eliminate open defecation and improve solid waste management. In 2020, he resigned from the position and returned to the United States to join the World Bank again.