AIIMS Delhi director, DST Secretary appointed members of NITI Aayog

They will replace long-serving full time Members V K Saraswat, V K Paul, Ramesh Chand and Arvind Virmani. Saraswat, a former director general of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was the first full-time Member of the NITI Aayog, having been appointed in January 2015. For quite some time, he was the only full-time member of the Aayog, before being joined by Ramesh Chand, an agriculture scientist, and V K Paul, an eminent pediatrician, in June 2019. Virmani, a former chief economic advisor to the government, was appointed in 2022.

Former Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, who was appointed to the Aayog last year, is the only full-time Member to have been retained in this revamp, and reappointed.

The reconstituted NITI Aayog looks very same to the existing one in terms of the expertise of its top functionaries — an economist as the vice-chairperson, and two scientists, two economists and one bureaucrat among its full-time Members.

Karandikar, a former director of IIT Kanpur, is known for his work on wired and wireless network technologies. He has been one of the brains behind the introduction of 5G technology in the country. His team has worked on developing an architecture that can help provide “frugal 5G” connecting rural India to the network. Karandikar spearheaded the efforts that led to the setting up of Telecommunication Standards Development Society (TSDSI), of which he was the founding chairman.

“I am happy to be trusted with this new challenge. It is very different from what I have been doing as DST Secretary, which is more about execution and implementation of programs and policies. NITI Aayog is an opportunity to look at, and formulate, policies at a much broader level. I hope to contribute in a meaningful way,” Karandikar said.

Das, a molecular biologist and immunologist, is currently serving as director of IISER Bhopal. He is known for his work on tuberculosis, with his research focusing on the strengthening of the immune system against this pathogen.

“I am the son of an ordinary farming family from the Dalit community in a remote village in West Bengal. From childhood, the scent of the soil, the value of hard work, and the reality of struggle have been an integral part of my life. Today’s responsibility is not just a position for me; it is a reflection of the dreams, hopes, and faith of countless ordinary people like me,” Das wrote on social media platform X.

“I firmly believe that for the complete development of the country, it is very important to improve the quality of life in remote areas, the farming community, and among ordinary people. For this purpose, I pledge to work with honesty, dedication, and full responsibility under the guidance of the Prime Minister,” he said, eliciting a response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Your journey, filled with tireless hard work and humility, is truly inspiring for everyone. The invaluable contributions you have made in the fields of public health, science, and innovation fill the entire nation with pride,” said Modi in his reply to Das on X.