New Delhi, April 25 (IANS) Newly appointed Niti Aayog’s Vice Chairman, Dr. Ashok Lahiri, on Saturday met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital. This meeting took place a day after assuming charge, marking his first official engagement in the role.Following the meeting, Lahiri, who is also a BJP MLA from West Bengal and a renowned economist, shared the details on social media platform X."Today, I met with the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi," he wrote on X.Lahiri had succeeded Suman Bery, who has been serving in the role since May 2022.Adding to the Bengal angle, Gobardhan Das, a prominent immunologist and academic, is also set to join NITI Aayog as a member.

Das, who contested the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections from Purbasthali Uttar on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket but lost, has previously served as Director of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, and was a faculty member at Jawaharlal Nehru University.His inclusion alongside Lahiri signals a notable representation of Bengalis in the country’s top policy-making body.Lahiri, who represents Balurghat in the current Bengal Assembly but is not contesting the ongoing elections, brings with him a distinguished career in economics.He served as the 12th Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India and has held positions at the Delhi School of Economics, the Asian Development Bank, Bandhan Bank, and the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy.

His global experience includes stints with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.An alumnus of Presidency University, Kolkata, Lahiri is widely respected for his academic and policy contributions.With a career spanning over four decades, he is regarded as one of India’s senior economists.For the Bharatiya Janata Party, the elevation of two Bengalis to NITI Aayog could be projected as recognition of Bengal’s intellectual and policy leadership, while also serving as a counter-narrative to the All India Trinamool Congress’s dominance in the state.

/IANS