Govt reconstitutes NITI Aayog, appoints new vice chairman; members

The government, on Friday, notified the appointment of five new members at NITI Aayog along with appointment of Ashok Lahri as its vice chairman, reconstituting the country’s premier think-tank, more than a decade after it was formed in 2015.

AlThe new members of the Aayog, headed by the prime minister, include Rajiv Gauba, Prof. K. V. Raju, Prof. Gobardhan Das, Dr. M. Srinivas and Prof. Abhay Karandikar. Gauba was appointed in March 2025.

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“NITI Aayog has emerged as a vital pillar in India’s policy-making architecture, fostering cooperative federalism, furthering reforms and boosting ‘Ease of Living.’ It serves as a dynamic platform for innovation and long-term strategic thinking across sectors,” PM Narendra Modi tweeted.

The new team is likely to take charge on Monday.

Lahiri, an economist and the former chief economic advisor, will replace Suman Bery who has been the vice chairman of the Aayog for four years.

Gobardhan Das is the director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal while KV Raju is currently the part-time member of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM (EAC-PM).

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Prof Abha Karandikar is the secretary in the department of science and technology, Dr M Srinivas is director at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences while Rajiv Gauba is the former cabinet secretary.
As per the notification, all ex-officio members and special invitees at the Aayog remain the same.

The new members will replace the existing team that included economist Ramesh Chand, who has been spearheading the Aayog’s agriculture policy matters, economist Arvind Virmani, who was steering trade matters, VK Saraswat, who was responsible for Niti’s work on science and technology, and Dr VK Paul, who was looking after health policy and had played a vital role at the time of Covid pandemic.