NITI Aayog A Brief Overview

National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) - 

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

The Planning Commission which has a legacy of 65 years has been replaced by the NITI Aayog. The 

utility and significance of the Planning Commission had been questioned for a long. The replacement 

seems to be more relevant and responsive to the present economic needs and scenario in the country.

 NITI Aayog Chairman – Narendra Modi

 NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman – Dr. Rajiv Kumar (September 2017 – present) is the current Vice 

Chairman of the NITI Aayog.

Latest News about Niti Ayog:

1. „One District, One Product Policy‟ – It is a recent agenda of the Niti Aayog Governing Council. It intends 

to boost export at the district level.

2. Niti Aayog to commission a study on the select judgements and verdicts of Supreme Court and National 

Green Tribunal on the economy of India.

3. National Action Plan for Migrant Workers is underway and for the same Niti Aayog is a responsible 

authority.

4. The NITI Aayog has framed a model Act on conclusive land titles that it hopes will be adopted and 

implemented by states. The aim is to facilitate easy access of credit to farmers and reduce a large number 

of land-related litigations, besides enabling transparent real estate transactions and land acquisition for 

infrastructure developments.

5. Recently the NITI Aayog vice-chairman had mentioned that the Government will introduce the 

production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for more sectors to boost domestic manufacturing. The 

objective of the PLI scheme is to incentivise investors in this country to put up globally comparable 

capacity in scale and competitiveness. The Government of India has already introduced the PLI scheme 

for pharmaceutical, medical devices, mobile phones and electronic manufacturing companies. It is now 

considering extending the scheme to other sectors as well.

NITI Aayog Evolution

The NITI Aayog was formed on January 1, 2015. In Sanskrit, the word “NITI” means morality, 

behaviour, guidance, etc. But, in the present context, it means policy and the NITI stands for “National 

Institution for Transforming India”. It is the country‟s premier policy-making institution that is 

expected to bolster the economic growth of the country. It aims to construct a strong state that will help 

to create a dynamic and strong nation. This helps India to emerge as a major economy in the world. The 

NITI Aayog‟s creation has two hubs called “Team India Hub” and “Knowledge and Innovation 

Hub”.

1. Team India: It leads to the participation of Indian states with the central government.

2. The Knowledge and Innovation Hub: it builds the institution‟s think tank capabilities.

NITI Aayog is additionally creating itself as a State of the Art Resource Center, with the essential 

resources, knowledge, and skills that will empower it to act with speed, advance research and 

innovation, bestow crucial policy vision to the government and manage unforeseen issues. The reason 

for setting up the NITI Aayog is that people had expectations for growth and development in the

administration through their participation. This required institutional changes in administration and 

active strategy shifts that could seed and foster substantial scale change.

Objectives of NITI Aayog

1. The active participation of States in the light of national objectives and to provide a framework „national 

agenda‟.

2. To promote cooperative federalism through well-ordered support initiatives and mechanisms with the 

States on an uninterrupted basis.

3. To construct methods to formulate a reliable strategy at the village level and aggregate these gradually at 

higher levels of government.

4. An economic policy that incorporates national security interests.

5. To pay special consideration to the sections of the society that may be at risk of not profiting satisfactorily 

from economic progress.

6. To propose strategic and long-term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and review their 

progress and their effectiveness.

7. To grant advice and encourage partnerships between important stakeholders and national-international 

Think Tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.

8. To generate knowledge, innovation, and entrepreneurial support system through a shared community of 

national and international experts, etc.

9. To provide a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues to speed up the 

accomplishment of the progressive agenda.

10. To preserve a state-of-the-art Resource Centre, be a repository of research on good governance and best 

practices in sustainable and equitable development as well as help their distribution to participants.

11. To effectively screen and assess the implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the 

identification of the needed resources to strengthen the likelihood of success.

12. To pay attention to technology improvement and capacity building for the discharge of programs and 

initiatives.

13. To undertake other necessary activities to the implementation of the national development agenda, and 

the objectives.

7 pillars of effective governance envisaged by NITI Aayog

The NITI Aayog is based on the 7 pillars of effective Governance. They are:

1. Pro-people: it fulfils the aspirations of society as well as individuals

2. Pro-activity: in anticipation of and response to citizen needs

3. Participation: involvement of the citizenry

4. Empowering: Empowering, especially women in all aspects

5. Inclusion of all: inclusion of all people irrespective of caste, creed, and gender

6. Equality: Providing equal opportunity to all especially for youth

7. Transparency: Making the government visible and responsive

NITI Aayog Composition

The NITI Aayog will comprise the following:

1. Prime Minister of India is the Chairperson

2. Governing Council consists of the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union 

Territories in India.

3. Regional Councils will be created to address particular issues and possibilities affecting more than one 

state. These will be formed for a fixed term. It will be summoned by the Prime Minister. It will consist of 

the Chief Ministers of States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories. These will be chaired by the 

Chairperson of the NITI Aayog or his nominee.

4. Special invitees: Eminent experts, specialists with relevant domain knowledge, which will be nominated 

by the Prime Minister.

5. The full-time organizational framework will include, in addition to the Prime Minister as the Chairperson:

1. Vice-Chairperson (appointed by the Prime Minister)

2. Members:

 Full-time

 Part-time members: Maximum of 2 members from foremost universities, leading research 

organizations, and other innovative organizations in an ex-officio capacity. Part-time 

members will be on a rotational basis.

3. Ex Officio members: Maximum of 4 members of the Council of Ministers which is to be 

nominated by the Prime Minister.

4. Chief Executive Officer: CEO will be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure. He will 

be in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.

Niti Aayog – Achievements

The latest report 2019-20 mentions the achievements of Niti Aayog:

1. Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme in India – It is a 

collaborative research project between Niti Aayog and the United Nations‟ Food and Agriculture 

Organization (FAO).

 It aims to monitor, analyse and reform food and agricultural policies.

 The first phase of the MAFAP programme ran between 23rd September and 31 December 2019.

 National Agriculture Price Policy and National Food Security Policy for selected agricultural 

product marketing committees and districts respectively were reported.

 The second phase of the MAFAP programme is scheduled between 1st January 2020 and 31st 

December 2021.

2. The Niti Aayog governing council promoted Zero Budget Natural Farming.

3. Additionally, natural farming is being promoted as „Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati‟ programme 

under Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).

4. Village Storage Scheme has been conceptualised. Similarly, Union Budget 2021 has proposed Dhaanya 

Lakshmi Village Storage Scheme, yet to be implemented.

UPSC questions on Planning Commission

Get UPSC Previous Year Question Papers

Q. Which of the following bodies does not/do not find mention in the Constitution? (UPSC Civil 

Services Preliminary Examination 2013)

1. National Development Council

2. Planning Commission

Frequently Asked Questions related to NITI Aayog

What is NITI Aayog and its function?

NITI AAYOG stands for NATIONAL INSTITUTION FOR TRANSFORMING INDIA. Its function is to foster 

cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous 

basis, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation.

What is the difference between the NITI Aayog and the Planning Commission?

NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission of India. It is basically a think-tank or an advisory body. The 

Planning Commission designed Five Years Plans in India. 

Which type of body is NITI Aayog?

Niti Aayog is an executive body. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the Planning Commission‟s 

abolition and created NITI Aayog through an executive resolution. It is neither a constitutional body nor a 

statutory body. 

What are the achievements of NITI Aayog?

NITI Aayog has identified 117 Aspirational districts for transformation through development of education, health 

& nutrition, agriculture & water resources, skill development, financial inclusion and basic infrastructur