'Go getter' in the thinktank: Meet BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog

The 1987 batch IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre took over as the commerce secretary at a time when India was still grappling with the second wave of Covid-19

The unexpected announcement of retired bureaucrat BVR Subrahmanyam’s appointment as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the government’s go-to policy think tank NITI Aayog came as a surprise to many but not to officials who worked closely with him.

Considering what he delivered during his year-long stint before his retirement as the commerce secretary in September, the corridors of power in New Delhi were abuzz with talks of his appointment in a government role of “utmost significance”. That apart, his closeness with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is not unknown.

Subrahmanyam will replace Parameswaran Iyer, whose term lasted just about