Parameswaran Iyer, the former Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer who was brought in as chief executive officer of the government policy think-tank NITI Aayog in July last year, was appointed as executive director, World Bank headquarters, on Monday
Iyer will replace Haryana cadre IAS officer Rajesh Khullar at the World Bank, who will return to the country on the request of the Haryana government. Khullar, a 1988 batch IAS officer was appointed to the World Bank in September 2020 and was due to continue till his retirement on 31 August 2023.
Iyer will assume charge of the post for three years, a government order issued following the decision of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet said.
At NITI Aayog, Iyer will be replaced by B.V.R Subrahmanyam, a 1987-batch retired IAS officer from Chhattisgarh. Subrahmanyam has served as the commerce secretary, chief secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, and director and joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office between 2004–2008 and March 2012–March 2015, serving with prime ministers Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi.
A 1981-batch officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, Iyer was slated to serve as Niti Aayog CEO for two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier, according to the notification released by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet last July.
Iyer has over 25 years of experience in the water and sanitation sector. “He spearheaded the implementation of India’s flagship $20-billion Swachh Bharat Mission, which successfully delivered access to safe sanitation to 550 million people,” NITI Aayog said in a statement said upon his appointment.
Rajesh Khullar, who will be returning to the Haryana government, served as executive director at the World Bank Group representing Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Sri Lanka since November 1, 2020.
He also chaired the “Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE) which supports the Boards in assessing the development effectiveness of the World Bank Group, providing guidance on strategic directions of each member institution, monitoring the quality and results of the World Bank Group operations, and overseeing the work of the entities that are part of the World Bank Group’s accountability framework”, according to the World Bank website.
