Indian Government has appointed former Drinking Water and Sanitation Secretary Parameswaran Iyer, who spearheaded the Swachh Bharat Mission, as the next CEO of Niti Aayog, according to a government order. He will replace Amitabh Kant, who will demit office on June 30.

 

Iyer’s initial tenure will be for two years starting July 01, 2022, according to a notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training.

 

Iyer, 63, took voluntary retirement from the IAS in 2009, after 17 years in service. In 2016, he returned to helm the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation as Secretary. He spearheaded the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a campaign to eradicate open defecation by constructing over 90 million toilets in rural India. He resigned from the post in July 2020, and later went on to work with the World Bank in the US.

 

Iyer earlier worked as Senior Rural Water Sanitation Specialist at the United Nations. He also worked with the erstwhile Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh in the field of education.

 

"Honoured and humbled to have been given the incredible opportunity to serve the country again - this time as CEO, Niti Aayog. Deeply grateful to Hon’ble PM Narendra Modi for another chance to work under his leadership towards a transformed India', quoted Iyer via his twitter handle.