Reconstitution of Niti Aayog by the Government

The Indian government has recently reconstituted the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) with four full-time members and 15 union ministers, including from BJP allies, as either ex-officio members or special invitees.

About NITI Aayog

• About: NITI Aayog is a government think-tank formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet, replacing the erstwhile Planning Commission.
• Establishment of NITI Aayog: The Planning Commission, established in 1950, was replaced by NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) on January 1, 2015.
• Chairmanship: NITI Aayog operates under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.
• Role: It provides critical directional and strategic input into the development process.
  • Unlike the Planning Commission, NITI Aayog is an advisory body without the power to grant funds or make decisions on behalf of states.
• Founding Principle: The core principle of NITI Aayog is ‘cooperative federalism’ along with emphasis on ‘Bottom –Up’ approach.
• NITI Aayog Hubs: 
  • Team India Hub acts as an interface between States and Centre.
  • Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds the think-tank acumen of NITI Aayog.

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Composition of Niti Aayog

• Chairperson: Prime Minister
• Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by Prime-Minister
• Governing Council: Chief Ministers of all states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
• Regional Council: Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors Chaired by the Prime Minister or his nominee.
• Full-time organisational Members:
  • Vice-Chairperson (appointed by the Prime Minister);
  • Full-time Members: They enjoy the rank of Minister of State;
  • Part-time members: Maximum of 2 members from leading universities, research organisations, and other relevant organisations in an ex-officio capacity. They will serve on a rotational basis.
• Ex-Officio membership: Maximum four from the Union council of ministers to be nominated by the Prime minister.
• Chief Executive Officer: Appointed by Prime-minister for a fixed tenure, in rank of Secretary to Government of India. 
• Special Invitees: Experts, Specialists with domain knowledge nominated by the Prime-minister.

Role of Niti Aayog

• Cooperative Federalism: NITI Aayog was established to promote cooperative federalism and enable good governance in India. 
  • It serves as a key platform for the Government of India, uniting states as ‘Team India’ to collaboratively work towards the national development agenda.
  • NITI Aayog has established models like Development Support Services to States and Union Territories (DSSS) and the Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital (SATH) programme to boost infrastructure development and private-public partnerships.
• Competitive Federalism: NITI Aayog endeavours to promote competitive federalism by facilitating improved performance of States/UTs. 
  • It encourages healthy competition among states through transparent rankings, in various sectors, along with a hand-holding approach. 
• Rankings of Aspirational District: NITI Aayog also releases delta rankings for the performance of Aspirational Districts every month.
  • The ranking of States in various social sectors based on quantitative objective criteria encourages them, and even districts, to improve their performance. 
• Niti Aayog and SDG: NITI Aayog is the nodal institution for achieving SDGs in the country, leading the 2030 Agenda with the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism.
  • It monitors the national and sub-national levels progress through various mechanisms like the SDG India Index and Dashboard, Multidimensional Poverty Index: Progress review 2023, North Eastern Region Index and Dashboard and the likes.
• Collaborative Approach of NITI Aayog: NITI Aayog works closely with all stakeholders, including the State/UT Governments, concerned Ministries/Departments in developing indicator frameworks, review mechanisms and capacity-building.
• Indices launched by NITI Aayog:  School Education Quality Index, State Health Index, Composite Water Management Index, Sustainable Development Goals Index, Agriculture Marketing And Farmer Friendly Reforms Index, India Innovation Index and Export Competitiveness Index.

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Initiatives of NITI Aayog

• IndiaChain: IndiaChain is a blockchain network that is promoted by NITI Aayog for public data, which will be the largest blockchain network in the country.
• E-AMRIT: E-Amrit is a comprehensive portal developed by NITI Aayog providing information on electric vehicles, including myths, purchasing, investments, policies, and subsidies. 
  • It is part of the UK–India Joint Roadmap 2030, created in collaboration with the UK government.
• SATH-E Project: ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital’ is a programme of the NITI Aayog to initiate transformation in the education and health sectors.
• Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP): Its flagship initiative to support and recognise women entrepreneurs. 
• ‘Methanol Economy’ programme: It is a strategic initiative in India aimed at achieving several important goals related to energy, environment, and the economy.
• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM): It is a flagship initiative launched to promote the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country. 
• Women Transforming India Awards: The Women Transforming India Awards is NITI Aayog’s annual initiative to highlight the commendable and ground-breaking endeavours of India’s women leaders and change-makers.
• NGO Darpan: NGO Darpan is an online platform launched by NITI Aayog to create a database of Voluntary Organisations (VOs) and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating in India.

Significant achievements of NITI Aayog over the last few years

• Reforms in Agriculture:
  • Introduced Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act, 2016 to enhance land utilisation and protect rights of tenants and landowners.
  • Revised Model APMC Act to reform agricultural marketing and promote agri-business environment.
  • Introduced Agriculture Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index to track state-level reforms.
• Digital Payments Movement:
  • Advocated for and promoted digital payments nationwide through awareness campaigns, incentives, and partnerships.
  • Implemented schemes like BHIM App and Lucky Grahak Yojana/Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana to boost digital transactions.
• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM):
  • Established Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in schools and Atal Incubation Centres (AICs) to foster innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Skill Development: Led sub-groups on rationalising centrally sponsored schemes and enhancing skill development initiatives across states.
• Transforming India Lecture Series: Introduced to disseminate cutting-edge development ideas and policies among Indian policymakers and the public.
• Indices Measuring States’ Performance in Health, Education and Water Management: As part of the Prime Minister’s Focus on outcomes, NITI has come out with indices to measure incremental annual outcomes in critical social sectors like health, education and water.

NITI Aayog: Its Criticism

• Advisory Body: NITI Aayog acts as an advisory body in policy-making without ensuring the enforceability of its ideas.
• Discretionary Funding: It does not have powers to grant discretionary funds to states, making it toothless to undertake a transformational intervention.
• Combating Inequality: It has been unable to combat inequality which has continued to grow in Indian society.
• Lack of Powers: It has been given the status of a glorified recommendatory body which does not have the power to bring positive change in the government’s actions.

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Way Forward

Resource Allocation: NITI Aayog should be provided with sufficient resources to drive effective societal change.

• Accountabiltiy: NITI Aayog should be made legally accountable to the legislature for not meeting its targets.

Comparison of NITI Aayog and Planning Commission

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