The government today replaced the 64-year old Planning Commission with a new institution named National Institution for Transforming India, NITI. It will serve as Think Tank of the Government. A resolution issued by the Cabinet Secretariat today said, the NITI Aayog will provide the Centre and the States with relevant strategic and technical advice across key elements of policy. This include matters of national and international importance on the economic front, dissemination of best practices from within the country as well as other nations and the infusion of new policy ideas and specific issue-based support. Prime minister Narendra Modi will head the institution and its Vice Chairperson will be appointed by him. The Aayog will also have a governing council comprising all Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
The NITI Aayog will evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the active involvement of states. It will foster cooperative federalism recognizing that strong states make a strong nation. The Aayog will develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level. An important change from the past will be replacement of one way flow of policies from Centre to States by continuous partnership with states. It will help in actively monitoring and evaluating the implementation of programmes and initiatives. It is expected that the Aayog will meet the heightened expectations of the people who now require institutional reforms in governance and policies for nurturing large scale changes.
Expressing his views about the new institution, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, NITI Aayog will emerge as an active and important institution that will play a pivotal role in India's development journey in the years to come. In a series of tweets, Mr Modi said, the new body will celebrate India's diversity and plurality bidding farewell to a one size fits all approach towards development. He said, the guiding principle behind the new institution is pro-people, pro-active and participative development agenda stressing on empowerment and equality. He said, the Aayog will ensure that every individual can enjoy the fruits of development and aspire to lead a better life.
Reacting to the announcement, the Congress said mere name change from Yojana Aayog to Niti Aayog is not objectionable if it is coupled with real reform. In a tweet, party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, if the name change is not followed by any real reform, it is purely cosmetic like earlier naming ceremonies. Aam Aadmi Party leader Yogendra Yadav in a tweet said, the name of the Aayog appears to be good, but only time will tell whether it will bring any real change in the policy or is a red carpet for big business.
