Who is Parameswaran Iyer, the new NITI Ayog chief

Parameswaran Iyer was the Former Drinking Water and Sanitation Secretary.

New Delhi: Parameswaran Iyer, a former IAS officer has been appointed as the new CEO of Niti Aayog on Friday, according to a government order. He was the Former Drinking Water and Sanitation Secretary. He had resigned from the post in July last year. Iyer, a 1981-batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre and a well-known sanitation specialist, has been appointed the chief executive officer of Niti Aayog. Iyer had taken voluntary retirement from the Indian Administrative Service in 2009. He has succeeded Amitabh Kant, who will retire on June 30, for two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the order stated.

Iyer led the Swachh Bharat Mission, the country-wide sanitation campaign initiated by the Government of India in 2014. He had also worked as a senior rural water sanitation specialist at the United Nations.

Apart from Swacch Bharat Mission, he was also given the additional charge of another of the Prime Minister’s pet projects, the Jal Jeevan Mission, with the goal of providing piped water supply to all households by 2024 through integrated water supply management at the grassroots.

He also served as the Global Lead for Strategic Initiatives in the World Bank's Water Global Practice. Before he joined the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, in 2016, he worked in Vietnam, China, Egypt, Lebanon and Washington for the World Bank. He has been a columnist with the Indian Express.

Iyer also served as a Professor of Management Practices at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad.

The personnel ministry order said Iyer's appointment has been made on the same terms and conditions as were applicable for Kant.