Arvind Panagariya appointed vice-chairman of NITI Aayog

It is all systems go at the newly formed National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.

Within hours of the government announcing a new body to replace the socialist-moored Planning Commission, Yojana Bhawan staff began hectic preparations to welcome noted US-based economist Arvind Panagariya as the new vice-chairman (VC) of NITI Aayog and other members who are likely to be appointed shortly.

Panagariya, who is believed to have the Prime Minister's ear on economic formulations, was appinted the first V-C on Friday.

The landmark signboard in front of the Yojana Bhawan has been repainted as Niti Aayog and rooms to seat the senior functionaries are being refurbished.

Panagariya is expected to be given a Cabinet minister's rank just like the erstwhile deputy chairman of the Planning Commission had.

Panagariya is professor of economics and Jagdish Bhagwati professor of Indian Political Economy at Columbia University and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

While the formation of the Aayog has ended the uncertainty among the staff since they have been unemployed since the resignation of the Planning Commission's deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and other members last May and later the announcement of disbanding of the 65-year-old body by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech, speculation is rife over the names of the new full time members.

The Aayog will have a V-C, and five full-time members who are likely to join next week.

The Commission was replaced on Thursday by the new think tank NITI Aayog, which will be headed by the PM and will have all chief ministers (CMs) as members in a broad-based governing council to involve states in evolving national development priorities.

The inclusion of CMs and Lt. governors in the Council is a break with the past in the structuring of NITI Aayog, which Modi has described as a landmark change that will foster spirit of cooperative federalism. While several names are being discussed, it appears that former

Central Electricity Regulatory Commission chairman Pramod Deo will be one of the full-time members. In fact, he is the longest-serving CERC chairman.

He joined MERC as member on April 29, 2002 and elevated as chairman on February 11, 2005.