Senior IAS officer Anurag Jain has taken charge as the new Chief Executive Officer of NITI Aayog. The 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre was appointed by the Union government for a two-year term or until further orders.
Jain succeeds BVR Subrahmanyam, whose tenure ended in February 2026. Nidhi Chhibber, Director General of NITI Aayog’s Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office, had been handling the additional responsibility of CEO since then.
Academic Background
Jain studied Electrical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur, where he completed a BTech with honours. He later earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School in the United States.
Long Administrative Career
Jain began his career in Madhya Pradesh as an Assistant Collector in Sagar in 1990. He later served as Collector of Mandla, Mandsaur and Bhopal.
In 2005, he became secretary to then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and later handled the Information Technology department. His official profile credits him as a key figure behind the implementation of Madhya Pradesh’s Public Service Delivery Management Act.
Jain moved to the Centre in 2011 as Joint Secretary in the Department of Financial Services. During this period, he was involved in the conceptualisation and implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
He later served as Joint Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office from 2015 to 2018.
Roles in Key Government Departments
Jain subsequently served as Vice-Chairman of the Delhi Development Authority before becoming Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade in September 2021.
He held the DPIIT position until April 2023 and then took charge as Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
In October 2024, Jain returned to Madhya Pradesh as Chief Secretary. During his tenure, he was involved in developing nearly 30 sector-specific investment policies covering various areas of trade and industry.
The Centre granted him a one-year extension in service in 2025.
His appointment as NITI Aayog CEO brings extensive experience across state administration, economic policy, financial services, infrastructure, industry and central government departments to the organisation.
