Among major changes that Indian underwent in 2014, the decades old planning commission was rebranded as NITI Aayog, a think-tank to guide India towards development goals. The body which provides strategic and technical advice, is chaired by the Prime Minister and has members handpicked from universities and research institutes. After Parameshwaran Iyer was selected as the Executive Director at the World Bank, commerce secretary BVR Subrahmanyam has succeeded him as the NITI Aayog CEO.
Subrahmanyam is an IAS officer from Chhattisgarh cadre and has served as the Chief Secretary for Jammu and Kashmir during the time when Article 370 was scrapped. He had retired as the commerce secretary back in September 2018, and his predecessor Iyer only served as NITI Aayog CEO for eight months.
Iyer had been with the World Bank since 2009, after taking voluntary retirememt, and also led the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014. The thinktank Niti Aayog, also looks as cooperative federalism along with policy and programme framework. It advises the government on policies regarding agriculture, industries and infrastructure among other sectors.
