Reconstitution of NITI Aayog

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Context:

The Centre has reconstituted the NITI Aayog, incorporating 15 union ministers, including members from NDA allies and four full-time members, into the government think-tank. This reconstitution follows recent changes in the council of ministers, reflecting a renewed focus on policy-making and strategic planning.

Relevance:

GS II: Polity and Governance

Dimensions of the Article:

About NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog – Seven Pillars of Effective Governance
Related Concerns and Challenges:
Performance of NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog: Promoting Federalism
Reconstitution of NITI Aayog

About NITI Aayog

The NITI Aayog serves as the apex public policy think tank of the GoI.
It was established in 2015, by the NDA government, to replace the Planning Commission which followed a top-down model.
It advises both the centre and states on social and economic issues.
It is neither a constitutional body nor a statutory body but the outcome of an executive resolution. It was not created by the act of parliament.

It has two Hubs.

Team India Hub acts as interface between States and Centre.
Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds the think-tank acumen of NITI Aayog.

Composition:

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: To address specific regional issues, Comprising Chief Minister and Lt. Governors Chaired by the Prime Minister or his nominee.
Ad-hoc Membership: Two members in ex-officio capacity from leading Research institutions on a rotational.
Ex-Officio membership: Maximum four from the Union council of ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
Chief Executive Officer: Appointed by the Prime-minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to Government of India.
Special Invitees: Experts, Specialists with domain knowledge nominated by the Prime Minister.

Objectives:

To generate a platform for national development, sectors and strategies with the collaboration of states and centre.
To boost the factor of cooperative federalism between the centre and the states. For national development, it is necessary for both wings to work in synergy.
To develop such mechanisms which work at the ground root level for progressive growth. A nation develops when its regions and states develop.
To work on long term policies and strategies for long-term development.
To set up a system for monitoring progress so that it can be used for analysing and improving methods.
To provide a platform for resolving inter-departmental issues amicably.
To make it a platform where the programmes, strategies, and schemes can be monitored on a day to day basis, and it could be understood which sector needs more resources to develop.
To upgrade technological advancements in such a manner that focus can be made on initiatives and programmes.
To ensure India’s level and ranking at the worldwide level and to make India an actively participating nation.
To progress from food security towards nutrition and standardised meals and focus on agricultural production.
To make use of more technology to avoid misadventures and corruption in governance.
To make the working system more transparent and accountable.

NITI Aayog – Seven Pillars of Effective Governance

NITI Aayog works on principles like Antyodaya (upliftment of poor), inclusion (to include all sections under one head), people participation, and so on.

NITI Aayog is a body that follows seven pillars of governance. They are:

To look after pro-people agenda so that the aspirations and desires of no one are compromised.
To respond and work on the needs of citizens.
Make citizens of the nation involve and participate in various streams.
To empower women in all fields, be it social, technical, economic, or other.
To include all sects and classes under one head. To give special attention to marginalised and minority groups.
To provide equal opportunity for the young generation.
To make the working of government more accountable and transparent. It will ensure less chance of corruption and malpractices.

Related Concerns and Challenges:

NITI Aayog has no powers in granting discretionary funds to states, which renders it toothless to undertake a transformational intervention.
It acts as an advisory body only that advises the government on various issues without ensuring the enforceability of its ideas.
NITI Aayog has no role in influencing private or public investment.
Politicization of the organization has been in recent times.
NITI Aayog has been transformed into a glorified recommendatory body which lacks the requisite power to bring positive change in the government’s actions.

Performance of NITI Aayog

Action Tank Role:
- NITI Aayog functions as an “action tank,” collecting and disseminating new ideas to ensure proactive governance and minimize bureaucratic inertia.
Innovation and Atal Innovation Mission:
- The Atal Innovation Mission, under NITI Aayog, has significantly enhanced India’s innovation ecosystem by fostering entrepreneurial spirit and supporting startups.
Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO):
- DMEO collects real-time performance data from various ministries, enhancing accountability and enabling evidence-based policy decisions at the highest levels.
Key Initiatives:
- Ayushman Bharat: Conceptualized by NITI Aayog, Ayushman Bharat aims to provide healthcare access to all. It exemplifies NITI’s role in policy formulation.
- Water Conservation: Initiatives under NITI Aayog focus on sustainable water management, crucial for India’s agricultural and environmental sustainability.
- Artificial Intelligence: NITI Aayog has spearheaded India’s approach towards leveraging AI for socio-economic development.
POSHAN Abhiyaan:
- NITI Aayog’s POSHAN Abhiyaan addresses child malnutrition by coordinating efforts across ministries, illustrating its role in breaking bureaucratic silos.

NITI Aayog: Promoting Federalism

Cooperative Federalism:
- NITI Aayog fosters cooperative federalism by facilitating direct interaction between states and central ministries, expediting issue resolution.
- Regional councils like the North East Forum and Himalayan States Regional Council promote regional development.
Competitive Federalism:
- NITI Aayog promotes competitive federalism through sectoral indices and initiatives like the Aspirational Districts Program, fostering governance competition among states.
- Best practices emerging from these programs are scaled up and replicated, enhancing governance at grassroots levels.