Former Secretary of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Parameswaran Iyer, is an IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre who led the government's Swachh Bharat Mission from 2016 to 2020.
New Niti Aayog CEO term Parameswaran Iyer will become the government's third chief executive officer of the public policy think tank. According to the Department of Personnel and Training, his initial tenure will be for two years.
His tenure will begin at the expiration of the current CEO's term, which is set to finish on June 30, 2022. Kant, a retired IAS officer (Kerala cadre) from the 1980 batch, was appointed CEO of NITI Aayog in 2016. He received a one-year extension in June 2021.
Professional Background of Parameswaran Iyer
After 17 years of service, the 63-year-old took voluntary retirement from the IAS in 2009. He then joined the World Bank's water and sanitation efforts. Before becoming Water and Sanitation Secretary in 2016, he worked for the World Bank in China, Vietnam, Egypt, Lebanon, and Washington.
In 2016, he was named Secretary of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation. He was the driving force behind the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, which intended to eliminate open defecation in rural India by constructing over 90 million toilets.
He resigned from his job in July 2020 and went to the United States to rejoin the World Bank. Iyer formerly worked for the United Nations as a Senior Rural Water Sanitation Specialist. He also served in education under Mayawati's government in Uttar Pradesh.
