National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and its function

NITI Aayog Overview:

The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015. NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs. While designing strategic and long term policies and programmes for the Government of India, NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre and States.

The Government of India, in keeping with its reform agenda, constituted the NITI Aayog to replace the Planning Commission instituted in 1950. This was done in order to better serve the needs and aspirations of the people of India. An important evolutionary change from the past, NITI Aayog acts as the quintessential platform of the Government of India to bring States to act together in national interest, and thereby fosters Cooperative Federalism.

At the core of NITI Aayog’s creation are two hubs – Team India Hub and the Knowledge and Innovation Hub. The Team India Hub leads the engagement of states with the Central government, while the Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds NITI’s think-tank capabilities. These hubs reflect the two key tasks of the Aayog.

NITI Aayog is also developing itself as a State of the Art Resource Centre, with the necessary resources, knowledge and skills, that will enable it to act with speed, promote research and innovation, provide strategic policy vision for the government, and deal with contingent issues.

Constitution:

Chairperson

Shri Narendra Modi, Hon'ble Prime Minister

Vice Chairperson

Dr. Arvind Panagariya

Full-Time Members

Dr. Bibek Debroy

Shri V.K. Saraswat

Prof. Ramesh Chand

Ex-officio Members

Shri Rajnath Singh, Minister of Home Affairs 

Shri Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs

Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railways 

Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare

Special Invitees

Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; and Minister of Shipping

Shri Thaawar Chand Gehlot,Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment 

Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Textiles.

Chief Executive Officer

Shri Amitabh Kant

Function of NITI Aayog

1. NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India):

(i) To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in the light of national objectives

• 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
• To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government
• To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy
• To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefiting adequately from economic progress
• To design strategic and long term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and monitor their progress and their efficacy. The lessons learnt through monitoring and feedback will be used for making innovative improvements, including necessary mid-course corrections
• To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international like-minded Think tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.
• To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners.
• To offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter­ departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.
• To maintain 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 dissemination to stake-holders
• To actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the identification of the needed resources so as to strengthen the probability of success and scope of delivery
• To focus on technology upgradation and capacity building for implementation of programmes and initiatives
• To undertake other activities as may be necessary in order to further the execution of the national development agenda, and the objectives mentioned above

(ii) National Institute of Labour Economics Research and Development (NILERD)

2. The NITI Aayog is the successor in interest to the Planning Commission.

source:http://niti.gov.in