Economist Ashok Lahiri to join Niti Aayog as vice-chairman

Renowned economist Ashok Lahiri and scientist Gobardhan Das, two illustrious personalities from West Bengal, were on Friday named as the Niti Aayog vice-chairman and member, respectively, government sources said.

Lahiri, currently a BJP MLA in West Bengal, is a former chief economic advisor to the government of India and a member of the 15th Finance Commission. He is not contesting the ongoing assembly elections in the state.

Das is the director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal. Prior to assuming this position, he was working as a professor and chair of the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Lahiri will become the number two in the Niti Aayog after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the chairman of the government think tank.

Formal appointments of Lahiri and Das as the Niti Aayog vice chairman and member, respectively, are expected soon, the sources said.

With this, West Bengal once again finds two of its prodigal sons in the top echelons of Indian policymaking circles, marking another milestone in the state's rich legacy of seminal contributions to scholarship and nation-building, they said.

The announcement of the appointment of Lahiri and Das to the key posts comes in the midst of the elections in West Bengal, where the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP are fighting a bitter battle.

Lahiri is amongst India's most experienced and senior economists with a career spanning over four decades.

He has served multiple important roles across the policy spectrum, from chief economic advisor to Finance Commission member. He has also worked with Asian Development Bank, World Bank and IMF.

An alumnus of Delhi School of Economics and Presidency University, Lahiri is a proud Kolkatan, and a leading Bengali 'Bhodrolok' (gentleman) championing the cause of West Bengal's development and progress.

Scientist Das is a celebrated molecular science professor, specialising in immunology, infectious diseases and cell biology, with a career spanning nearly three decades.

He is recognised internationally for his research on the pathogenesis of tuberculosis.

Having led cutting-edge research across the world, including at Yale University and Houston Methodist Hospital in the US, and KwaZulu-Natal University and National Research Foundation in South Africa, he chose to return home to serve his motherland, the sources said.

An alumnus of Viswa-Bharati University, Das went on to become a professor at JNU, and is presently leading IISER Bhopal as its director.

Das' professional excellence and global achievements are even more inspiring when seen in the context of his inspirational personal life story of overcoming unimaginable odds as a true son of the soil.

Born to Hindu Dalit refugees from Bangladesh who had to leave everything behind to escape persecution, Das grew up in very challenging conditions in West Bengal.

With his father a poor farmer, he had to study under street lamps as a student. He also went through the horror of losing 17 members of his family in riots in West Bengal.

His steadfast commitment to nation-building through all of this will now serve as a ray of hope and inspiration for countless people across West Bengal and the nation at large, the sources said.

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