The Planning Commission which has a legacy of 65 years has been replaced by the NITI Aayog.

The
utility and significance of the Planning Commission had been questioned for a longer period. The
replacement seems to be more relevant and responsive to the present economic needs and scenario in
the country.T he NITI Aayog was formed on January 1, 2015. In Sanskrit, the word “NITI” means
morality, behaviour, guidance, etc. But, in the present context, it means policy and the NITI stands for
“National Institution for Transforming India”. It is the country’s premier policy-making institution that is
expected to boostr the economic growth of the country. It aims to construct a strong state that will help
to create a dynamic and strong nation. This helps India to emerge as a major economy in the world. The
NITI Aayog’s creation has two hubs called “Team India Hub” and “Knowledge and Innovation Hub”.

Team India: It leads to the participation of Indian states with the central government.

The Knowledge and Innovation Hub: it builds the institution’s think tank capabilities.

NITI Aayog is additionally creating itself as a State of the Art Resource Center, with the essential
resources, knowledge, and skills that will empower it to act with speed, advance research and
innovation, bestow crucial policy vision to the government and manage unforeseen issues. The reason
for setting up the NITI Aayog is that people had expectations for growth and development in the
administration through their participation. This required institutional changes in administration and
active strategy shifts that could seed and foster substantial scale change.

Planning Commission was replaced by a new institution – NITI Aayog with emphasis on ‘Bottom –Up’
approach to envisage the vision of Maximum Governance, Minimum Government, echoing the spirit of
‘Cooperative Federalism’.

The government of India has a number of policies and programmes which are brought into action for
the welfare of the people. These policies and programmes require a lot of strategic planning which is
designed by the NITI. It is a policy think tank of the Indian government which provides inputs regarding
the different programmes and policies of the government. NITI Aayog gives relevant advice to the
centre and state governments as well as to the Union territories.

This institution was formed in the year 2015 through a resolution(decision) of the Union cabinet and is
chaired by the Honorable Prime Minister of India and the Chief Ministers of all states and Union
territories along with the legislatures and Lt. Governors of other Union Territories.

The NITI Aayog plays an important role in designing the strategies for the long term policies and
programmes put forth by the government of India.

This institution replaced the planning commission which was instituted in 1950. By taking this step, the
government of India aimed at providing a common platform for all the states to get together and act in
national interest while also serving the needs of the people in a much better way.
OBJECTIVES
1. To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the
active involvement of States.
2. 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
3. To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these
progressively at higher levels of government
4. To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are
incorporated in economic strategy and policy.
5. To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefiting
adequately from economic progress.
6. To design strategic and long-term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and
monitor their progress and their efficacy. The lessons learned through monitoring and feedback
will be used for making innovative improvements, including necessary mid-course corrections.
7. 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.
8. To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative
community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners.
9. To offer a platform for the resolution of inter-sectoral and inter- departmental issues in order to
accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. To focus on technology upgradation and capacity building for implementation of programmes
and initiatives
13. To undertake other activities as may be necessary in order to further the execution of the
national development agenda, and the objectives mentioned above.