Govt appoints Anurag Jain as director general of NITI Aayog to run policy think tank for two years | Today’s news
The government on Wednesday appointed veteran bureaucrat Anurag Jain, former secretary of the Department of Industrial Promotion and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) as the CEO of NITI Aayog.
Jain, a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, brings nearly four decades of experience in industrial policy, infrastructure development, logistics, finance and governance to the government’s premier public policy think tank.
According to an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Wednesday, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved his appointment with effect from the day he assumes office. He will serve until the end of his approved extension of service and thereafter for a total period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
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Jain succeeds BVR Subrahmanyam, who was appointed Cabinet Secretary after his extended tenure as NITI Aayog CEO ended earlier this week.
Previous stints
An IIT Kharagpur graduate, Jain has held a wide range of assignments spanning district administration, rural development, finance, information technology, urban development, industrial policy and infrastructure.
He last served as the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh. Earlier, he held two key Secretary-level assignments in the Union Government: first as Secretary, DPIIT (September 2021–April 2023) and later as Secretary, MoRTH.
During his tenure at DPIIT, Jain led the implementation of PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, the centre’s flagship initiative to integrate infrastructure planning across ministries through a GIS-based digital platform. The initiative received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in 2023. He also oversaw the implementation of Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, Industrial Policy, Startup India, Logistics Reforms, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Policy and initiatives under the National Logistics Policy and Industrial Corridor Programme.
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At the Ministry of Roads, he oversaw the expansion of the national highway network and initiatives aimed at improving multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency.
Jain also held several influential assignments in the Prime Minister’s Office and the Finance Ministry. As Joint Secretary in the Department of Financial Services, he was instrumental in conceptualizing and implementing the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, which has become the world’s largest financial inclusion programme. He later served as Joint Secretary to the Prime Minister where he worked on key governance and policy initiatives.
His career also includes a stint as Deputy Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), where he oversaw urban planning and housing-related initiatives in the national capital. Prior to that, he served as Secretary to the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, for nearly five and a half years, during which he played a key role in drafting and implementing the Madhya Pradesh Public Service Guarantee Act, a pioneering piece of legislation that was later replicated in several states to ensure time-bound provision of public services.
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As Secretary, Information Technology, Government of Madhya Pradesh, Jain has spearheaded digital governance initiatives that have helped the state become a top player in the country in e-governance and e-readiness assessment. He later served as Additional Principal Secretary (Finance), overseeing state finances, before moving to the Centre.
