UNDP's Ajay Chibber to join Planning Commission

The government is set to appoint former assistant secretary general of the United Nations Ajay Chibber as head of an independent body to evaluate performance of Central government schemes.

The government is set to appoint former assistant secretary general of the United Nations Ajay Chibber as head of an independent body to evaluate performance of Central government schemes.

Chibber was earlier in the race for position of chief economic advisor in the government but lost to Raghuraman Rajan, choice of finance minister P Chidambaram. The post had fallen vacant after resignation of Kaushik Basu, a professor of Cornell University.

Government sources said that with Chibber out of finance ministry his name has been recommended for appointment as head of Programme Evalulation Office (PEO), a body to be set up by the Planning Commission for independent evaluation of central government schemes.

The Cabinet had recently approved a proposal to set up the office and the plan panel believes it will start rolling once Chibber joins. "Chibber's name has been sent to Prime Minister's Office for approval," a senior plan panel official told HT.

Chibber, an alumni of Delhi School of Economics, had worked for over 25 years in the World Bank covering research and policy issues, was appointed as head of UNDP's Regional Bureau of Asia and Pacific in 2007.

In UNDP, he headed its independent evaluation group, the experience which would come handy as head of PEO. He had earlier worked with the planning commissioner as a consultant.