NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and former union finance minister P. Chidambaram took a dig at Arvind Panagariya, who earlier resigned as the NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman, saying his resignation was a 'wise decision' as it was taken well before he's proved wrong for predicting that growth in Q4 of 2017-18 will touch 8 percent.
“After predicting that growth in Q4 of 2017-18 will touch 8%, Mr Panagariya has wisely resigned before proved wrong,” the Congress leader tweeted on late Tuesday night.
Panagariya resigned from his post on Tuesday, and will hand over charge of his office on August 31.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appointed him as the first vice-chairman of NITI Aayog on January 5, 2015.
He said that about two months ago he had expressed his desire to Prime Minister Modi to be relieved by August 31.
Panagariya had gained a prominence in the Central Government and is considered by some as the ‘government’s man’.
He had, many times, praised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government for putting back the economy on track.
The Indian American economist is reportedly returning to the United States to resume his academics.
A Rajasthan University alumnus, Panagariya holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from the Princeton University.
Panagariya has in the past been the Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank and a Professor of Economics and Co-director, Center for International Economics, University of Maryland at College Park.
He has also worked for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in various capacities.