Gandhinagar: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Monday laughed off a query about another NRI, Arvind Panagariya, being appointed at a key position by the Modi government.
"I think the NRIs are getting a little over representation!" he quipped when asked why another NRI Panagariya has been appointed to a key post.
Earlier in the month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Colombia University economic professor Panagariya as Vice-Chairman of the newly formed NITI Aayog.
Before him, Arvind Subramanian, a senior fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics, was appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry.
The Finance Minister said though Panagariya is a non-resident, he spent a large part of his life in various international bodies and universities.
"(Panagariya is a) very eminent economist, his area of focus has been the Indian economy. Our Chief Economic Advisor also falls into the same category," he added.
