Centre Reconstitutes NITI Aayog: New Structure, Key Members, and Strategic Goals

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog?
• Performance of NITI
• NITI Aayog: Promoting Federalism
• Reconstitution of NITI Aayog

Why in News?

The Centre has reconstituted the NITI Aayog with 15 union ministers, including those from NDA allies and four full-time members, being a part of the government think-tank. The government reconstituted NITI Aayog after changes were made in the council of ministers.

What is National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog?

• About:
  • NITI Aayog, was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on 1 January 2015. It was constituted to replace the Planning Commission - instituted in 1950. 
  • It is the premier policy think tank of the Government of India, providing directional and policy inputs.
  • NITI Aayog acts as a platform to bring the States to act together in national interest and thereby fosters cooperative federalism.
• Composition
  • Chairperson: The Prime Minister of India

Full time organisational framework:

• Vice Chairperson: Appointed by the PM, s/he enjoys the rank of a Cabinet Minister.
• Full-Time Members: Enjoys the rank of a Minister of State.
• Part-Time Members: Maximum 2.
• Ex-Officio Members: Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Minister to be nominated by the PM.
  • Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Appointed by the PM for a fixed tenure, s/he enjoys the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
  • Special Invitees: These will be experts with relevant domain knowledge to be nominated by the PM.
• Governing Council of NITI Aayog:
  • The council is the premier body tasked with evolving a shared vision of national priorities and strategies, with the active involvement of States.
  • It presents a platform to discuss inter-sectoral, inter-departmental and federal issues to accelerate the implementation of the national development agenda.
• Composition of Governing Council:
  • It is chaired by the PM and comprises Chief Ministers of all the States and UTs with legislatures and Lt Governors of other Union Territories.
  • The council also comprises of Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog; Full-Time Members, NITI Aayog; and Special Invitees.

Performance of NITI:

• As an action Tank: By collecting fresh and new ideas and sharing them with the government at the Central and State level, it ensures that there is no inactivity in any organisation or institution.
• Improving innovation: A commendable work has been done by the Atal Innovation Mission (established under NITI Aayog), which has helped in improving the innovation ecosystem in India.
• Bringing greater responsibility in the system: Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) has been established by the NITI Aayog, which collects performance data of various Ministries on a real-time basis.
  • These data are then used at the highest policy-making levels to improve performance and establish accountability.
• Some important initiatives of NITI Aayog: Some of the initiatives like Ayushman Bharat, water conservation measures, approach towards artificial intelligence, have been conceptualised in NITI Aayog and respective Ministries are taking them forward.
  • POSHAAN ABHIYAAN by NITI Aayog is cutting across the silos within the government and helping in reducing malnourished children in India.

NITI Aayog: Promoting Federalism

• Cooperative Federalism
  • NITI has provided a platform for direct issue-based interaction between States and Central Ministries thereby helping quick resolution of outstanding issues.
  • The NITI Forum for North East has been constituted and tangible sectoral proposals are being implemented by the States in partnership with the North East council.
  • NITI has designed some major initiatives for island development which are being implemented under the overall guidance of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
  • It is also envisaged that like the NITI Forum for the North East, other regional councils of contiguous States could be formed.
    • The first step has been taken by forming the Himalayan States Regional Council and forming a coalition of all thirteen central universities in these states.
• Competitive Federalism
  • It promotes competitive federalism principally through pushing its sectoral indices which are put out in the public domain.
    • The indices on water, education, health, innovation, export preparedness, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have attracted significant positive attention.
  • It has also introduced a competition element in ‘Aspirational Districts Program’ by focusing on governance improvement on the ground.
    • These districts have shown significant improvement in indicators pertaining to health and nutrition, education etc.
  • Besides, several best practices in governance have emerged from these districts which are now being scaled up and replicated at the block level in some states.

Reconstitution of NITI Aayog

• About
  • The government reconstituted the NITI Aayog, expanding the number of special invitees from five to eleven.
  • This new group of special invitees includes five ministers from the BJP's allied parties.
• Key post holders
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the Chairperson and economist Suman K Bery will continue to be the Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog.
  • Scientist V K Saraswat, agricultural economist Ramesh Chand, paediatrician V K Paul and macro-economist Arvind Virmani will also continue to be full-time members of the government think-tank.
  • BVR Subrahmanyam will also remain the CEO.
  • The four ex-officio members will be:
    • Union Ministers Rajnath Singh (Defence), Amit Shah (Home), Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Agriculture) and Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance).

Q.1. What are Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 global objectives established by the United Nations in 2015 to address pressing global challenges. They aim to achieve a better and more sustainable future by 2030, encompassing economic, social, and environmental dimensions.

Q.2. What is Cooperative Federalism?

Cooperative federalism is a governance model where national, state, and local governments collaborate to solve common problems and achieve shared goals. This approach fosters cooperation and coordination across different levels of government, enhancing policy implementation and promoting unity while respecting the autonomy of each governmental unit.

Source: Centre reconstitutes NITI Aayog, brings in allies as special invitees | PIB | The Hindu | India Today