JOIN US The over six-decade-old Planning Commission was on Thursday replaced by National Institution for Transforming India or Niti Aayog with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying “we bid farewell to a one size fits all approach towards development”.
With the prime minister as its chairman, the new body will serve as a government think-tank and provide the Centre and states with strategic and technical advice on key policy matters, including economic issues of national and international importance.
The body will focus on providing necessary support to more than 50 million small businesses, a major source of employment generation.
The Niti Aayog will have a governing council comprising chief ministers and Lt governors and will work towards fostering co-operative federalism for providing a national agenda to the Centre and states.
The new panel will have a chief executive officer and a vice-chairperson who will be appointed by the prime minister. It will have some full-time members and two part-time members. Four Union ministers will serve as ex-officio members.
Unlike the Planning Commission, Niti Aayog will not have a deputy chairman. The prime minister will nominate experts as special invitees. “Through the Niti Aayog, we wish to ensure that every individual can enjoy the fruits of development & aspire to lead a better life (inclusive growth),” Modi tweeted.
“Having served as a CM in the past, I am very much aware of the importance of actively consulting the states. Niti Aayog does precisely that. Through Niti Aayog, we bid farewell to a “one size fits all” approach towards development. The body celebrates India’s diversity & plurality,” the tweet further stated.
The new body has been set up by a resolution of the Cabinet as was done in the case of the Planning Commission 65 years ago. “Being the incubator of ideas for effective governance will be the core mission of Niti Aayog,” said an official statement.
The body is designed to create knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners. It will also actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes.