Comment in 150 words: Structure and Function of NITI Aayog. (2015, 10 Marks)
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015. Like its predecessor, it was created by a Cabinet resolution and is neither constitutional nor statutory. It was set up as a policy think tank to build a shared national vision with the states under the banner of “cooperative and competitive federalism”.
Structure
- Chairperson: the Prime Minister.
- Governing Council: the Chief Ministers of all states and of Union Territories with legislatures, and the Lieutenant Governors of the other UTs. The 11th meeting (11 June 2026), on “Viksit Bharat @2047”, was attended by all 28 Chief Ministers.
- Regional Councils of the Chief Ministers concerned, convened for issues that affect more than one state.
- Vice-Chairperson of Cabinet rank (Ashok Kumar Lahiri since May 2026); full-time members; part-time members from universities and research bodies; up to four Union ministers ex officio; and special invitees.
- CEO of Secretary rank (Anurag Jain), plus attached bodies: the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office (DMEO) and the Atal Innovation Mission.
Functions
- Vision and strategy. The Three-Year Action Agenda (2017-18 to 2019-20) replaced Five-Year Plans. It was followed by Strategy for New India @75 (2018) and now the Viksit Bharat @2047 frame, with Viksit Rajya documents for states.
- Cooperative federalism. The Governing Council and sub-groups of Chief Ministers took part in work such as the 2015 rationalisation of centrally sponsored schemes. The State Support Mission helps states build State Institutions for Transformation.
- Competitive federalism. Public rankings create competition among states: the SDG India Index (2018), the Export Preparedness Index (2020), and indices for health, water and school education.
- Monitoring. DMEO tracks schemes against output–outcome frameworks and suggests course corrections. The Aspirational Districts Programme (2018, 112 districts) and Aspirational Blocks Programme (2023, 500 blocks) rank areas on how fast they improve.
- Knowledge hub linking government with academia, industry and civil society.
Assessment
NITI’s defining feature is that it allocates no money. Transfers now come through the Finance Commission and ministries. This makes NITI more federal, since an unelected body no longer funds elected governments. It also makes NITI less consequential, since it can rank a state but not induce it to act. Balveer Arora judges it an imperfect clone of the Commission. Boycotts by several Chief Ministers in 2025 showed that consultation is not the same as a share in decisions.
Conclusion
NITI Aayog has turned planning from command into persuasion, working through evidence, rankings and dialogue. Its value will depend on whether it gains a statutory mandate and a real say in resource decisions.