Anurag Jain takes helm of NITI Aayog as new CEO

The Centre appointed senior bureaucrat Anurag Jain as the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog on Wednesday, bringing a full-time chief back to the government’s apex policy think tank months after former CEO BVR Subrahmanyam completed his tenure.

Jain, a 1989-batch IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, brings decades of experience spanning economic policy, infrastructure, finance and public administration.

He has served in key positions at both the Centre and the Madhya Pradesh government and had emerged as one of the leading names under consideration for the NITI Aayog post.


The appointment ends a leadership gap at the institution following the departure of Subrahmanyam, a former 1987-batch IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre, who took charge as NITI Aayog CEO in February 2023.

Subrahmanyam was initially appointed for a two-year term and was later granted a one-year extension. His extended tenure ended on February 24, 2026, after which Nidhi Chhibber, Director General of NITI Aayog’s Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office, was given additional charge as CEO.

During his career, Subrahmanyam held several high-profile assignments, including Union Commerce Secretary and Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, besides serving in the Prime Minister’s Office.

Jain now takes the helm of NITI Aayog at a crucial juncture, as the policy body plays a central role in shaping the PM Modi-led Central government’s long-term economic roadmap, coordinating with states and advancing the Viksit Bharat 2047 agenda.