Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appointed Columbia University Professor Arvind Panagariya as the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog Vice Chairman. Mr. Modi also appointed Economist Bibek Debroy and Former Secretary Defence R&D, V.K. Saraswat, to the Aayog as full-time members.
India’s Tryst with Destiny , a book Dr. Panagariya co-authored with eminent economist Jagdish Bhagwati, praises Gujarat’s growth model. In a series of interviews he gave in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections last year, Dr. Panagariya argued for scaling back the public distribution system and disapproved the UPA Government’s Food Security Law. He also projected India will surpass China’s growth rate.
Dr. Debroy has worked at the Centre for Policy Research, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, National Council of Applied Economic Research, Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh were all appointed as ex-officio members to the Aayog, according to an official release.
The release also said that Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani and Union Social, Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot were special invitees to the Aayog.
