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Niti Ayog – National Institution for Transforming India
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.
Objectives of Niti Aayog
- Active involvement of States in development process and to foster cooperative federalism
- Developing plans at village level and paying attention to the section which are not benefiting from the economic progress.
- Preparing policy and plans for long term goals, monitoring them, collecting feedback, making improvements time to time from the feedback.
- Collaboration of National and International think tanks and different departments to provide advice.
- Developing Economic policy which also helps in National Security.
- Resolving different inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues for faster execution of plans.
- Up gradation of technologies and capacity building.
- NITI Aaayog is based on the 7 pillars of effective governance – (1) Pro-People (2) Pro-Activity (3) Participation (4) Empowering (5) Inclusion of all (6) Equality (7) Transparency.
Composition of NITI Aayog
- Chairperson: Prime Minister of India
- Governing Council: Comprising the Chief Ministers of all States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
- Regional Councils: Will be formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more than one state or region.
Strategy and Planning in the NITI Aayog will be anchored from State-level. Regional Councils will be convened by the Prime Minister for identified priority domains, put under the joint leadership of related sub-groups of States (grouped around commonalities which could be geographic, economic, social or otherwise) and Central Ministries.
Regional Councils
- Have specified tenures, with the mandate to evolve a strategy and oversee implementation.
- Be jointly headed by one of the groups Chief Ministers (on a rotational basis or otherwise) and a corresponding Central Minister.
- Include the sectoral Central Ministers and Secretaries concerned, as well as State Ministers and Secretaries. It will be linked to corresponding domain experts and academic institutions.
- Have a dedicated support cell in the NITI Aayog Secretariat.
- States would thus be empowered to drive the national agenda. As a consequence, deliberation would be more grass-roots informed, and recommendations would have more ownership, given their joint formulation.
- Special Invitees: experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister.