Niti Aayog’s Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar stepped down from his post after serving for nearly five years. He will be replaced by economist Suman K Bery on May 1.

As per a notification of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Dr Suman K Bery has been initially appointed "with immediate effect" as a full-time member of the Niti Aayog, "up to April 30", on the same terms and conditions as are applicable to full-time members of Niti Aayog.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, in the notification, also approved Kumar's resignation and has said to relieve him from the post on April 30, reported news agency ANI.

Notifying Bery's appointment, the notification read: "Appointment of Dr Suman K Bery as Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog ... with effect from May 1, 2022 until further orders, on the same terms and conditions as were applicable to the previous Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog."

Notably, Kumar had taken over as vice chairman of the government's think tank in August 2017, taking over from Arvind Panagariya who decided to return to his teaching assignment at Columbia University.

Meanwhile, Bery, a well-known economist, has previously served as the Director-General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER).

He was also a member of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, the Statistical Commission and the technical committee of the Reserve Bank of India. Berry has also worked for the World Bank during India's economic reforms.

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