New Chief Executive Officer of Niti Aayog: Former Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Parameswaran Iyer has been named the new chief executive of the NITI Aayog.

Key Points:

• At present, Mr. Iyer functions as the Programme Manager of the 2030 Water Resources Group, a platform hosted by the World Bank for water conservation.
• As per the notification issued by the Department of Personnel and Training, Parameswaran Iyer's initial term will be for two years.
• He will become the third chief executive officer of the public policy think tank of the government.
• He will succeed Amitabh Kant, whose term is scheduled to end on June 30, 2022.

• Kant, who is a 1980-batch retired IAS officer (Kerala cadre), will be stepping down from the top post of the policy think tank after a six-year-long stint.
• He took over as the NITI Aayog CEO in 2016.
• He was given a one-year extension till June 2022.
• Under Mr. Kant, the NITI Aayog helped the Centre launch several programmes such as Digital India and Make in India. 

About Parmeshvaran Iyer:

• Parameswaran Iyer is an IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre.
• Iyer is a former Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
• He took voluntary retirement from the Indian Civil Services in 2009.
• In 2009, he became the water resources manager at the World Bank.
• In 2016, he joined the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation as its Secretary.
• He had also worked as a senior rural water sanitation specialist at the United Nations.
• He spearheaded the government’s Swachh Bharat Mission between 2016 and 2020.

NITI Aayog:

• It refers to the National Institution for Transforming India Aayog.
• NITI Aayog is the premier policy 'Think Tank' of the Government of India (GoI). It was established on 1 January 2015 with an objective to foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous basis, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation.
• The Governing Council of NITI, with The Prime Minister as its Chairman, comprises Chief Ministers of all States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories (UTs).
• The current CEO of NITI Aayog is Parameswaran Iyer.