Niti Aayog

Niti Aayog or National Institution for Transforming India Aayog is a policy think tank of the Government of India, which aims to involve the state’s economic policy making in the country. During his first Independence Day speech in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the establishment of Niti Aayog.

Niti Aayog means a group of people with authority entrusted by the government to formulate/regulate policies concerning transformation of India. It is a commission to help government in social and economic issues. The idea of Niti Aayog arose after the first IEO assessment report was submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Ajay Chibber who is the head of Independent Evaluation Office (IEO).

The report says the planning commission has to be replaced by another body. The Prime Minister initially named the body National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) but it was later named Niti Aayog. The Prime Minister of India heads the Niti Aayog, governing council comprising chief ministers of all the states and union territories with legislature and lieutenant governors of other union territories.

Regional Councils will be formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more than one state or a region. These will be formed for a specified tenure. The regional councils will be convened by the Prime Minister and will consist of Chief Ministers of States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories in the region. These will be chaired by the Chairperson of the NITI Aayog or his nominee

Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister Full-time organisational framework comprising:

• Vice-Chairperson: Arvind Panagariya
• Members: Two (2) Full-time: economist Bibek Debroy and former DRDO chief V.K. Saraswat
• Part-time members: Maximum of two from leading universities research organizations and other relevant institutions in an ex-officio capacity. Part-time members will be on a rotational basis
• Ex Officio members: Maximum of four members of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister
• Chief Executive Officer: To be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. Sindhushree khullar appointed as the Chief Executive Officer.
• Secretariat is deemed necessary

Aim of Niti Aayog

• Niti Aayog is to provide critical directional and strategic input into the development process.
• One way flow of policy from centre to state will be replaced by a genuine and continuing partnership of states.
• It provides government at the central and state levels with relevant strategic and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy.
• It will also seek to put an end to slow and tardy implementation of policy, by fostering better inter-ministry coordination and better centre-state coordination. It will help evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, and foster cooperative federalism, recognising that strong states make a strong nation.
• The NITI Aayog will develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans to the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government. It will ensure special attention to the sections of society that may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress.
• The NITI Aayog will create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and partners. It will offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.
• In addition, the NITI Aayog will monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes, and focus on technology upgradation and capacity building.
• Through the above, the NITI Aayog will aim to accomplish the following objectives and opportunities:
• An administration paradigm in which the government is an enabler rather than a provider of first and last resort.
• Progress from food security to focus on a mix of agricultural production, as well as actual returns that farmers get from their produce.
• Ensure that India is an active player in the debates and deliberations on the global commons.
• Ensure that the economically vibrant middle-class remains engaged, and its potential is fully realised.
• Leverage India's pool of entrepreneurial, scientific and intellectual human capital.
• Incorporate the significant geo-economic and geo-political strength of the Non-Resident Indian Community.
• Use urbanisation as an opportunity to create a wholesome and secure habitat through the use of modern technology.
• Use technology to reduce opacity and potential for misadventures in governance.

The NITI Aayog aims to enable India to better face complex challenges, through leveraging of India's demographic dividend, and realisation of the potential of youth, men and women, through education, skill development, elimination of gender bias, and employment. Redressal of inequalities based on gender bias, caste and economic disparities. Poverty elimination

Integrate villages institutionally into the development process. Support to business and employment creation with Safeguarding environmental and ecological assets.

Niti Aayog has been critisised for replacing the Planning Commission. The Congress sought to know whether the reform introduced by the BJP-led government was premised on any meaningful programme or if the move was simply born out of political opposition to the party that ran the Planning Commission for over 60 years.