NITI Aayog Reconstituted: New Vice-Chairman and Members Appointed
The Government reconstituted NITI Aayog in April 2026, appointing Ashok Kumar Lahiri as Vice-Chairman, replacing Suman Bery.
Dr. M. Srinivas, Director of AIIMS Delhi, was appointed as a full-time member of NITI Aayog.
Abhay Karandikar, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), was appointed as a full-time member.
Other new full-time members include molecular scientist Gobardhan Das and K. V. Raju (previously a part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM).
All full-time members except former Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba were changed in this reconstitution; the Prime Minister remains the ex-officio Chairperson.
NITI Aayog: Structure and Mandate
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was established on 1 January 2015 through a Cabinet resolution, replacing the Planning Commission (which had functioned since 15 March 1950). Unlike the Planning Commission, NITI Aayog is purely an advisory body — it has no financial power to allocate funds to states or ministries. It follows a bottom-up, cooperative federalism model, with all state Chief Ministers, the LGs/Administrators of Union Territories, and the Lt. Governor of J&K serving on its Governing Council.
The appointment of AIIMS Delhi's director and DST Secretary as full-time members signals a fresh emphasis on health policy and science & technology in NITI Aayog's advisory agenda.
NITI Aayog vs. Planning Commission: Key Differences
The Planning Commission was a top-down central planning body with the power to allocate budgetary resources to states, prepare Five-Year Plans, and act as the de facto controller of public investment. NITI Aayog, by contrast, serves as a policy think-tank fostering cooperative federalism, producing long-term vision documents (e.g., Vision 2030), and offering sector-specific strategic recommendations without budgetary authority.
Each reconstitution reshapes NITI Aayog's substantive priorities; this one brings in health and science domains directly at the full-member level.
Ashok Kumar Lahiri: Profile and Role of Vice-Chairman
The Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog is the de facto head for day-to-day functioning. Ashok Kumar Lahiri is a distinguished economist who previously served as Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) to the Government of India. He has also worked with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Key Details
- CEA is the head of the Economic Division, Ministry of Finance — principal economic advisor to the Union government
- NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman holds Cabinet Minister rank
- Predecessor: Suman Bery (2022–2026); before him, Rajiv Kumar (2017–2022); Arvind Panagariya (2015–2017)
Lahiri's appointment underscores the government's intent to place an economist with multilateral institutional exposure at the helm of national policy advisory.
- NITI Aayog established: 1 January 2015
- Planning Commission dissolved: 17 August 2014
- Constitutional basis: None — executive resolution only (unlike Finance Commission: Article 280)
- NITI Aayog Governing Council: All state CMs + LGs of UTs + PM as Chair
- New Vice-Chairman: Ashok Kumar Lahiri (former Chief Economic Adviser to GoI)
- New full-time member (health): Dr. M. Srinivas, Director, AIIMS Delhi
- New full-time member (S&T): Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology
- Retained member: Rajiv Gauba (former Cabinet Secretary)
- NITI Aayog has no fund allocation powers — distinguishing it from the Finance Commission
- NITI Aayog flagship: Aspirational Districts Programme, SDG India Index, Vision 2047