
"Having served as a CM in the past, I am very much aware
of the importance of actively consulting the states. NITI Ayog does precisely
that,” tweeted Modi, who had in his Independence Day speech mooted the idea of replacing
the Planning Commission.
In Hindi, NITI (Hindi: नीति) means Policy, and Ayog (Hindi: आयोग) means Commission.
In Hindi, NITI (Hindi: नीति) means Policy, and Ayog (Hindi: आयोग) means Commission.
AIMS and OBJECTIVES of NITI AYOG:
The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Ayog
will discuss implementation and evaluation framework of 12 pet projects of
Prime Minister Narendra Modi such as Make
in India, Digital India and Swachh Bharat with state governments.
The new institution has to zero in on what will work in and for India. It will
be a Bharatiya approach to development.
Union Government of India had announced formation of NITI
Ayog on 1st January 2015.
NITI Ayog would therefore mean:
- A group of people with authority entrusted by the government to formulate/regulate policies concerning transforming India.
- It is a commission to help government in social and economic issues.
- Also it's an Institute of think tank with experts in it.
The NITI Ayog comprises the following:
- Minister of India as the Chairperson
- Governing Council comprising the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lieutenant Governors of 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 Prime comprise of the Chief Ministers of States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories in the region. These will be chaired by the Chairperson of the NITI Ayog or his nominee
- Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister
Full-time
organizational framework (in addition to Prime Minister as the Chairperson)
comprising
- Vice-Chairperson: Arvind Panagariya
- Members: Two (2) Full-time
- 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
- Secretariat as deemed necessary
Present Members:
The various members of NITI Aayog are:
- Chairperson: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
- CEO: Sindhushree Khullar
- Vice Chairperson: Arvind Panagariya
- Ex-Officio Members: Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Suresh Prabhu and Radha Mohan Singh
- Special Invitees: Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Zubin Irani and Thawar Chand Gehlot
- Full-time Members: Bibek Debroy & V. K. Saraswat
- Governing Council: All Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories
Difference
between Planning Commission and NITI Ayog (Old VS New):
Financial clout
NITI
Ayog: The powers to allocate funds might be vested in the
finance ministry.
Planning
Commission: Enjoyed the powers to allocate funds to ministries and
state governments.
States' role
NITI
Ayog: State governments are expected to play a more
significant role than they did in the
Planning Commission
Planning
Commission: States' role was limited to the National Development
Council and annual
interaction during Plan meetings
Member secretary
NITI
Ayog: To be known at the CEO and to be appointed by the prime
minister
Planning
Commission: Secretaries or member secretaries were appointment
through the usual
process
Organization
NITI
Ayog: New posts of CEO, of secretary rank, and
Vice-Chairperson. Will also have five full
time members and two part-time
members. Four cabinet ministers will serve as ex-officio members.
Planning
Commission: Had deputy chairperson, a member secretary and full-time
members.
Participation
NITI Ayog:
Consulting states while making policy and deciding on funds allocation. Final
policy
would be a result of that.
Planning
Commission: Policy was formed by the commission and states were then
consulted about
allocation of funds.
PM seeks Budget ideas at NITI Aayog's first meet on 6th
February 2015
Ahead of his government's first full year budget, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi on 6th Feb sought ideas from economists to attract
investments, create jobs and finance infrastructure to put India back on high
growth path.
The meeting also discussed suggestions with regard to
effective implementation of several flagship schemes of the government and how
poverty levels can be brought down.
Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, Aayog's full
time members Bibek Debroy and V K Saraswat, Minister of State for Finance
Jayant Sinha, Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, ex-RBI governor Bimal
Jalan, Subir Gokarn, Ashok Gulati and G N Bajpai were also present in the
meeting. Economists invited to the first meeting of the NITI (National
Institute for Transforming India) Aayog on Friday drew Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s attention to the need for a renewed focus on India’s high-cost,
low-productivity farm sector, in addition to the manufacturing sector that is
being given a push through the “Make in India” campaign.