NITI Aayog

NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog, a non-constitutional body (not created by the Constitution) replaced the Planning Commission on January 1, 2015. The new institution will act as a catalyst to the development process and is built on the foundation of:

A.      Role of states as equal partners in national development.

B.      A hub for internal and external resources and to provide strategic expertise to all the levels of government.

C.      A platform to facilitate implementation.

Composition

A.      Chairperson – The Prime Minister of India.

B.      Governing Council – Chief Ministers of all states (Including Delhi and Puducherry) and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.

C.      Regional Councils – Formed to address specific issues which impacts more than one state or region.

D.      Special Invitees – Experts, Specialists nominated by Prime Minister.

E.       Full-time Organisational Framework – Vice-Chairperson, Members, Part-time members, ex-officio members, chief executive officer and secretariat.

Specialised Wings

A.      Research Wing – It develops sectoral expertise which contain experts, specialists and scholars.

B.      Consultancy Wing – A match maker which provide resources on priority matters.

C.      Team India Wing – Ensures direct communication between state/ministry for all development related matters.

Reason to replace Planning Commission

For the past 65 years, India has faced change on a large scale, so there is a need to change the ‘Think Tank’ as well.

1.       Demographic Shift

The population has increased to 121 crores which include 55 crores people below 35 years of age. With increasing levels of development, literacy and communication the aspirations of people have changed from scarcity and survival to safety and surplus.

2.       Economic Shift

The GDP of India is now around 100 lakh crores and is one of the largest economies in the world. The share of agriculture in GDP has gone down and the industrial and service sector have gone up. To align with the shift of change, there is a need to change the planning process.

3.       Shift in Private Sector

After the 1991 reforms (Liberalization, Privatisation and Globalisation) the role of private sector increased in the economy. India’s private sector has matured over the years and now is operating at a global scale providing many benefits to the citizens of India. This frees the government to focus on public welfare.

4.       Role of the States

States need to be heard and given the flexibility required for effective implementation. So, while global experiences and national synergy is crucial, the strategies should also focus on local needs and opportunities.

5.       Technology Paradigm

Technology advancements have integrated regions and ecosystems in an interlinked national economy, enhancing transparency, efficiency and accountability. Thus, a new think tank becomes a necessity.

Functions of NITI Aayog

A.      Cooperative Federalism

Enabling state participation in the national policy and achieving time bound implementation. It means by structured and systematic interactions between state governments with the union to understand issues and work accordingly.

B.      Shared National Agenda

It will evolve a shared vision of national development priorities and strategies with the involvement of states. This will provide a national agenda for the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers.

C.      State’s Best Friend at the Centre

It will support state in addressing their challenges and building their strengths through coordinating with ministers and providing consultancy support.

D.      Decentralised Planning

The new body has restructured the planning process empowering the states and guiding them to further empower local governments in developing plans at the village level, which are progressively aggregated to up the higher levels of government.

E.       Vision and Scenario Planning

To develop strategic frameworks across schemes, sectors, regions and time. Focus on identifying gaps and harnessing untapped potentialities. It means planning is done with the focus where we want the nation to go.

F.       Domain Strategies

To build a specialized domain expertise to assist the ministers of the Central and State in planning and problem solving.

G.      Sounding Board

To be an in-house sounding board, sharpening government positions through counter views and criticism.

H.      Network of Expertise

To generate external ideas and expertise into the government policies and programmes through national and international experts.

I.        Knowledge and Innovation Hub

Practice of good governance with the help of resource centre which identifies, analyses and shares important information for the development process to facilitate implementation.

J.        Harmonisation

By communication, coordination and convergence among all stakeholders, the emphasis will be on bringing an integrated approach to development.

K.      Conflict Resolution

It provides a platform for mutual resolution of different issues between centre, states, departments and sectors so that clarity and speed is maintained in execution.

L.       Coordinating Interface with the World

Harnessing global expertise and resources in India’s development process.

M.    Internal Consultancy

To offer internal consultancy function to Central and State governments on policy and programme design providing frameworks to focus on results.

N.     Capacity Building

To enable technology upgradation across governments to get familiar with latest global trends and providing managerial and technical knowhow.

O.     Monitoring and Evaluation

It will monitor the implementation of policies and evaluate their impact through tracking of performance metrics.

Guiding Principles

In the process of carrying out the above functions the Aayog will be guided by an overall vision of development which is inclusive, equitable and sustainable.

A.      Antyodaya: Priorities service and uplift of the poor, marginalized as quoted by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay’s idea of antodaya.

B.      Inclusion: Empower vulnerable and marginalized sections, redressing inequalities of all kind.

C.      Village: Integrate villages into the development process to draw on the vitality of our culture, philosophy and sustenance.

D.      Demographic dividend: Focus of developing the skills of the people of India through education and empowerment through livelihood opportunities.

E.       People’s Participation: Making an awakened and participatory citizenry by transforming the development process into a people driven one.

F.       Governance: Nurture an open, transparent, accountable and pro-active style of governance by focusing on outcome.

G.      Sustainability: Maintain sustainability at the core of our planning and development process building on our ancient tradition of respect for the environment.

Effective Governance

1.       NITI Aayog is based on the 7 pillars of effective governance:

2.       Pro-people agenda that fulfils the aspiration of society and people.

3.       Pro-active in anticipating and responding to citizen needs.

4.       Participative, by involvement of citizens.

5.       Empowering women.

6.       Inclusion of all groups with special attention of minorities.

7.       Equality of opportunity for the youth.

8.       Transparency using technology to make government visible and responsive.

Criticism

Many opposition leaders have hit out at the government by saying that this is just a mere change in nomenclature and nothing else.

Through its commitment to a cooperative federalism, promotion of citizen engagement, unbiased use of technology, participative governance and use of technology, the NITI Aayog provide key inputs into the development process.