Ex-adviser to Finance Minister appointed NITI Aayog member

Subject :Polity

Context:

Recently the government has appointed senior economist Arvind Virmani as a full-time member of the NITI Aayog.

Who is Dr Arvind Virmani:

He is the founder-chairman of the non-profit public policy organisationFoundation for Economic Growth and Welfare and has served as the Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government from 2007-09.
He was a member of the Reserve Bank of India’s Technical Advisory Committee on Monetary Policy from February 2013 to August 2016.
He has also served at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington DC as the Executive Director served there till 2012.

What is NITI Aayog:

NITI Aayog is a premiere policy think tank of the Government of India. It was established with the aim to achieve sustainable development goals by active involvement of state government in the planning process
It was established in 2015 via an executive resolution by replacing the Planning Commission of India

What is the composition of the NITI Aayog:

Chairperson: Prime Minister
Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by Prime-Minister.Equivalent to cabinet minister.
Governing Council: Chief Ministers of all states and Governors of Union Territories.
Regional Council: To address specific regional issues, Comprising Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors Chaired by the Prime Minister or his nominee.
Adhoc Membership: 2 members in ex-officio capacity from leading Research institutions on rotational basis.
Ex-Officio membership: Maximum four from the Union council of ministers to be nominated by the Prime minister.
Chief Executive Officer: Appointed by Prime-minister for a fixed tenure, in rank of Secretary to Government of India.
Special Invitees: Experts, Specialists with domain knowledge nominated by the Prime-minister.