Role of NITI Aayog
🟠 Topic 13: Role of NITI Aayog
📌 Introduction
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was established in January 2015, replacing the Planning Commission. It marked a paradigm shift in India’s approach to economic planning by moving from centralized planning to collaborative, participatory governance.
NITI Aayog serves as a policy think tank, fostering cooperative federalism, enabling states to have a greater say in policy formulation, and promoting evidence-based policy making.
🔹 Why NITI Aayog Replaced Planning Commission
Key Limitations of Planning Commission ⚠️
1️⃣ Centralized Approach – The Planning Commission imposed top-down plans, often ignoring state-specific needs.
2️⃣ License Raj Legacy – Plans emphasized input and output targets, leading to bureaucratic hurdles.
3️⃣ Rigid Planning Framework – Five-Year Plans were inflexible to changing economic dynamics.
4️⃣ Weak Coordination – Lack of effective center-state collaboration, leading to poor plan implementation.
🔹 Structure of NITI Aayog
| Body/Position | Role |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Prime Minister of India |
| Vice Chairperson | Appointed by PM (cabinet rank) |
| CEO | Full-time executive (secretary rank) |
| Governing Council | Chief Ministers & LGs |
| Regional Councils | Formed to address specific regional issues |
| Special Invitees | Experts from academia, industry, and other fields |
🔹 Objectives of NITI Aayog 🎯
1️⃣ Foster Cooperative Federalism
- Strengthen center-state cooperation.
- Enable state-specific policy frameworks.
2️⃣ Policy Think Tank
- Provide policy inputs for central and state governments.
- Conduct research, innovation, and analysis.
3️⃣ Promote Sustainable Development
- Focus on inclusive and sustainable growth aligned with SDGs.
4️⃣ Act as Knowledge Hub
- Collect and analyze real-time data to improve policy formulation.
5️⃣ Encourage Competitive Federalism
- Benchmark states on various indicators to promote healthy competition.
🔹 Key Functions of NITI Aayog
| Function | Description |
|---|---|
| Policy Formulation | Develop long-term policy blueprints. |
| State Support | Provide technical assistance for state policies. |
| Monitoring & Evaluation | Track policy implementation using data analytics. |
| Resource Allocation Advice | Advise on optimal use of central funds. |
| Innovation & Best Practices | Identify global and local innovations for adoption. |
🔹 Major Initiatives of NITI Aayog
1️⃣ Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) 🏞️
- Identified 112 underdeveloped districts.
- Focus on health, education, infrastructure, agriculture, and financial inclusion.
- Promotes real-time data monitoring and competitive ranking of districts.
2️⃣ SDG India Index 🌏
- Tracks India’s progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- Provides state-wise performance rankings to encourage competitive federalism.
3️⃣ Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) 🚀
- Fosters entrepreneurship and innovation.
- Established Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) in schools and Atal Incubation Centres (AIC).
4️⃣ India Knowledge Hub 📊
- Central repository of best practices and successful initiatives across states and sectors.
- Facilitates cross-learning among states.
5️⃣ Public Policy Support 📚
- Develops policy papers on employment, health, education, urbanization, agriculture, etc.
- Examples include Three-Year Action Agenda (2017-2020) and Strategy for New India @75.
🔹 Cooperative vs Competitive Federalism
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Cooperative Federalism | Center & states work together on policy formulation & implementation. | GST Council, COVID management strategy |
| Competitive Federalism | States compete to attract investment, improve governance, and achieve development targets. | Ease of Doing Business Rankings, Aspirational Districts Programme |
🔹 Comparison: Planning Commission vs NITI Aayog
| Feature | Planning Commission | NITI Aayog |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Centralized body | Policy think tank |
| Planning Approach | Top-down | Bottom-up |
| State Role | Limited | Stronger role |
| Flexibility | Rigid | Flexible |
| Focus | Five-Year Plans | Sectoral & state-specific strategies |
| Monitoring | Limited | Real-time data & feedback-based |
🔹 Criticism of NITI Aayog
1️⃣ Advisory Role Only – Lacks power to allocate funds.
2️⃣ Weak Enforcement Mechanism – Cannot enforce recommendations.
3️⃣ Too Dependent on Center – Seen as a tool of central government rather than an independent institution.
4️⃣ Slow Progress on Competitive Federalism – Some states resist benchmarking exercises.
🔹 Importance in India’s Development Journey
NITI Aayog plays a critical role in:
- Shaping long-term economic vision.
- Supporting states with customized policy advice.
- Tracking India’s progress towards SDGs.
- Encouraging innovation & startup culture.
- Ensuring cooperative and competitive federalism.
📊 Case Study – Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP)
- ADP is often cited as NITI Aayog’s flagship success story.
- Real-time monitoring, district rankings, and targeted interventions have led to measurable improvements in:
- Health outcomes.
- School attendance.
- Access to financial services.
- Example: Dahod district in Gujarat improved maternal health services through ADP interventions.
📚 Practice MCQ
1️⃣ Consider the following statements regarding NITI Aayog:
- It was established by an Act of Parliament.
- It prepares long-term policy frameworks.
- It has the power to allocate financial resources to states.
- It replaced the Planning Commission in 2015.
Which of the above statements are correct?
✅ Options:
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
(b) 2 and 4 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 2, 3 and 4 only
2️⃣ Which of the following initiatives is led by NITI Aayog?
✅ Options:
(a) Ayushman Bharat
(b) Aspirational Districts Programme
(c) PM Kisan Yojana
(d) Mahatma Gandhi NREGA
3️⃣ Consider the following statements regarding Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP):
- It ranks districts on real-time performance.
- It focuses on health, education, infrastructure, and financial inclusion.
- States play no role in its implementation.
- It uses a bottom-up planning approach.
Which of the above statements are correct?
✅ Options:
(a) 1, 2 and 4 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
4️⃣ Which type of federalism does NITI Aayog promote?
✅ Options:
(a) Competitive Federalism
(b) Cooperative Federalism
(c) Both
(d) Neither
5️⃣ NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) promotes:
✅ Options:
(a) Rural employment
(b) Agricultural mechanization
(c) Innovation and entrepreneurship
(d) Primary education
