New Delhi: The government on Friday designated Suman K Bery as the vice-chairman of Niti Aayog, following the resignation of Rajiv Kumar. Bery will take charge of the government’s think tank from May 1st, 2022, according to an official order. Kumar’s tenure will end on April 30th. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has accepted “the resignation of Dr Rajiv Kumar and is relieving him from the post of the Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog w.e.f. 30.04.2022,” the official order said.
Kumar took over as vice-chairman of Niti Aayog in August 2017 after the then VC Arvind Panagariya’s resignation to return to academics. Kumar played a key role in Niti Aayog’s policymaking, with a focus on agriculture, asset monetisation, disinvestment, aspirational districts programme and electric vehicles, among others. Kumar holds a DPhil in economics from Oxford University and a PhD from Lucknow University. He was also a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR).
Bery had earlier served as Director-General (Chief Executive) of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi. He was also a member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council, Statistical Commission and the Reserve Bank of India’s Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy. Prior to NCAER, Bery was with the World Bank in Washington DC.
His areas of interest include macroeconomy, financial markets and public debt management with a focus on Latin America. He did his undergraduate studies at Magdalen College, Oxford University, in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and holds a Master’s in Public Affairs (MPA) degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University.