Question

Write in brief about NITI Aayog.

Answer 1

NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India). After Independence, the Planning Commission was the apex planning body. India adopted Five Year Plans which identified short term and long term goals of development in areas such as agriculture, irrigation, industrialization, infrastructure, social security, etc. In 1991, the New Economic Policy focused on economic liberalization.

The Planning Commission has now been replaced by the NITI Aayog (established on lot January 2015). The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairman of NITI Aayog. Since India has moved from centralized planning to decentralized planning, this body proposes grassroots level planning from village and district levels to be harmonized with state-level planning and finally with national planning.

NITI Aayog has a Governing Council comprising the Chief Ministers of all 29 states and of Delhi and Puducherry and Lt. Governors of Union Territories. As of 2019 Vice-Chairman is Rajiv Kumar and CEO is Amitabh Kant.