Eminent economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia was on Wednesday appointed deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.

Ahluwalia, who was part of the team under Dr Manmohan Singh when he was finance minister between 1991-1996, is currently with the International Monetary Fund.

He was recently in New Delhi en route to Beijing. He met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

Apart from serving as economic affairs secretary and finance secretary under both Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram, Ahluwalia has also served as member of the Planning Commission in the rank of minister of state.

Ahluwalia, who was part of the team under Dr Manmohan Singh when he was finance minister between 1991-1996, is currently with the International Monetary Fund.

He was recently in New Delhi en route to Beijing. He met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

Apart from serving as economic affairs secretary and finance secretary under both Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram, Ahluwalia has also served as member of the Planning Commission in the rank of minister of state.

The post of deputy chairman is of Cabinet rank. The PM is the commission's chairman.

After his meeting with Chidambaram on June 12, Ahluwalia had said, "There is a lot of goodwill for both the prime minister and the finance minister. They were part of the original reform team."