Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday approved the appointment of academics Guram Anya and R Balasubramaniam as full-time members of NITI Aayog, following reconstitution of the body and new appointments on April 24.
Their appointments as full-time members of NITI Aayog will come into effect from their assumption of charge and continue till further orders, a notification from the Cabinet Secretariat said. On April 24, Prime Minister Ashok Kumar appointed Lahiri as Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, along with Rajeev Gauba, KV Raju, Gobardhan Das, Abhay Karandikar and M. Srinivas as full-time members in a move to reshape the research centre.
A statement issued by the government hailed Anya’s inclusion in NITI Aayog as a “historic moment that brings a prominent intellectual voice from Arunachal Pradesh to the highest level of national policy making”. Anya, who has over 18 years of experience in teaching, research and public policy engagement, has served as an academic and member of the Arunachal Pradesh Private Education Regulatory Commission (APPEIRC). She currently heads the Hindi department at Dera Natung Government College (DNGC) in Itanagar.
She was the first woman from the Nishi community, an ethnic group from Arunachal Pradesh, to earn a doctorate and the first person in the state to study Hindi at doctoral level. The statement also highlights that Anya has made significant contributions to indigenous literature, culture and knowledge systems, and has also authored and edited numerous books and research publications on Nieshei literature and culture.
Balasubramaniam, an academic in his own right, is an HR member of the Capacity Building Committee under Mission Karmayogi and has written several books, including, most recently in 2024, The Power Within: The Leadership Legacy of Narendra Modi, which focuses on 50 years of the Prime Minister’s public life.
