Parameswaran Iyer is also the brains behind the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a campaign to eradicate open defecation by constructing over 90 million toilets in rural India.
Parameswaran Iyer, the former secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, was appointed as the new CEO of Niti Aayog on Friday. According to a government order, Iyer was chosen to replace Amitabh Kant who will retire on June 30.
Kant, who was appointed as the CEO in 2016, will leave the government think-tank after a tenure of six years. His term was extended by a year in June 2021. Meanwhile, Iyer, the force behind the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission, will take over the reins for two years.
Who is Parameswaran Iyer?
A 1981-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, 63-year-old Iyer is a well-known sanitation specialist. After his 17-year service as an IAS, Iyer resigned in 2009. He later on made a comeback as the secretary of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (D0DWS) in 2016.
Iyer was born in Srinagar and his father was an Indian Air Force officer. He went to St Stephen’s college and also represented India at the Junior Davis Cup.
The newly appointed NITI Aayog CEO is also the brains behind the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a campaign to eradicate open defecation by constructing over 90 million toilets in rural India.
He stepped down from his post of secretary of DoDWS in July 2020, and went on to work with the World Bank in the United States.
Iyer has previously worked as Senior Rural Water Sanitation Specialist at the United Nations between April 1998 and February 2006. He has also worked with the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh in the field of education.
According to the order, Iyer’s appointment has been made on the same terms and conditions as were applicable for Kant. A 1981-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, Iyer is a well-known sanitation specialist, and best known for spearheading Prime Minister Narendra Modi government’s flagship scheme the Swachh Bharat Mission between 2016 and 2020.
He had taken voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service in 2009. He had also worked as a senior rural water sanitation specialist at the United Nations. Iyer becomes the third CEO of the government’s think tank.
Analysts said water conservation and sanitation would gain importance in the coming years because of global warming and climate change. They also pointed out that water would be the cause of major conflict in the future. The apex policy-making institution of the government, which replaced the Planning Commission, saw the sudden departure of Rajiv Kumar who was its vice-chairman in April.
The government swiftly appointed Suman Bery, the director-general of the NCAER, as the next chief. Outgoing Niti Aayog CEO Kant played a key role in Niti Aayog’s policy making, with a focus on digital India, asset monetisation, disinvestment, aspirational districts programme production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme and electric vehicles, among others. He was appointed as the CEO of the Niti Aayog on February 17, 2016, for a fixed two-year term.
Kant was later given an extension till June 30, 2019. His term was further extended for two years till June 2021, and then another oneyear extension was given till June 30 this year. Meanwhile, the government has for a second time in as many years re-advertised the post of chairman of oil and gas regulator PNGRB, which has been lying vacant since December 2020. The oil ministry this week issued an advertisement inviting applications.
