Chief economic adviser K.V. Subramanian on Friday announced that he was stepping down from his post in early December and returning to academia following the completion of his three-year term in the finance ministry.

His tenure is ending on December 6.

The government had appointed Subramanian, an ISB Hyderabad professor, as CEA. He had taken over the charge of CEA on December 7, 2018, nearly five months after his predecessor Arvind Subramanian had left the role.

Arvind Subramanian had stepped down before the end of his term citing “pressing family commitments".

The CEA’s announcement has come ahead of the budgetary exercise for 2022-23 starting from October 12.

Finance ministry officials said the government would soon start the selection process and invite applications for a new appointment.

However, even if his successor is appointed on time, the person will have only a few months to pen the economic survey of 2021-22.

In a statement, Subramanian thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for their support and inspiring leadership.

“I have decided to return back to academia following the completion of my 3-year fulfilling tenure," he said.

“Being provided the opportunity to contribute during a period of tremendous uncertainty and epochal change has been the lucky icing on the cake. So, while being conscious of the enormous privilege bestowed on me, I will happily return back to serving the country as a researcher after fulfilling my three-year commitment,” Subramanian said in a long statement.

A day prior to his decision to leave, Subramanian praised the Modi government for unleashing competitive forces in the economy which have helped start-ups.

The focus of policies in the last seven years has been on enabling competition in the economy, he said, stressing this is partly responsible for the growth of startups.