Centre Appoints IAS Officer Anurag Jain as New NITI Aayog CEO

Shantanu Thakur

23 Jul 2026

2 Min

The Central Government has appointed senior IAS officer Anurag Jain as the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog. The appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) and comes at a decisive moment for India as it begins to speed up its reforms and policies under the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.

Who is Anurag Jain?

Anurag Jain is an IAS officer from the 1989 batch and is a member of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. He has had a long career of almost 40 years in public service, including many roles in state government as well as central government.

Jain is an award-winning officer who has made contributions toward industrial policies and infrastructure development. His vast experience in the field of governance and administration makes him an exemplary candidate for leading the most important policy-making body in India.

NITI Aayog's New CEO Officially Appointed

The formal order for the appointment was fulfilled by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) after getting a nod from the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC).

As per the order, Anurag Jain will take over charge as the Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog with effect from the day he assumes office.

The appointment shall remain valid up to the expiry of the approved extension of his service and shall continue for a total of two years or until further orders.

The terms and conditions of the appointment remain unchanged as for that of his predecessor.

Recent Leadership Changes in NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog's leadership has shifted multiple times in 2026.

This year saw:

Economist Ashok Kumar Lahiri being named Vice Chairperson, replacing Suman K. Bery.
Apart from him, the central government has also appointed Rajiv Gauba, Professor K. V. Raju, Professor Gobardhan Das, M. Srinivas, and Professor Abhay Karandikar as full-time members.

Through these appointments, the government aims to enhance the institutional capacity of NITI Aayog in terms of policy formulation and execution in different sectors.

NITI Aayog's New Initiatives

NITI Aayog has been actively involved in India's reform agenda.

Recently, NITI Aayog has released its first-ever Investment Friendliness Index 2026 to assess the States of India based on their investment ecosystem.

Best-performing States:

Gujarat- 56.6
Maharashtra- 53.7
Tamil Nadu- 53.3

The index is based on performance in 84 indicators grouped under eight key pillars such as:

Policy and governance
Infrastructure
Business facilitation
Fiscal management
Institutional support
Regulatory framework

The aim of the index is to stimulate healthy competition and encourage reforms in line with Viksit Bharat@2047.

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