Union government has renamed Planning commission as National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. The renaming of the Planning Commission is being seen as the first step towards replacing it with a new-age institution.
will serve as a ‘Think Tank’ of the government i.e. a directional and policy dynamo. will also provide governments at the central and state levels with relevant strategic and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy formulation. This includes matters of national and international import on the economic front, dissemination of best practices from within the country as well as from other nations, the infusion of new policy ideas and specific issue-based support It will work towards the following objectives Evolve a shared vision of national development priorities Foster cooperative federalism Develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level Focus on technology upgradation, among other things.
Composition 
Chairperson- Prime Minister.
Governing Council- It will consist of- Chief Ministers (of States) and Lt. Governors (of Union Territories).
Regional Council- It will be formed on need basis. It will compromise Chief Ministers (of States) and Lt. Governors (of Union Territories).
Vice-Chairperson- To be appointed by the Prime Minister.
Members- Full time Basis.
Part time members- Maximum of 2. They will from leading universities research organizations and other relevant institutions on a rotational basis.
Ex Officio members- Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister. Special invitees- They will be nominated by the Prime Minister and will be experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees.
Chief Executive Officer- Appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
Secretariat- If deemed necessary.
Government’s decision comes after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2014 Independence Day announcement that the Planning Commission would be replaced with a new-age institution. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 7th December 2014 had held consultation meeting with Chief Ministers of states, where most CM’s had favoured restructuring of the Socialist-era planning body. However, some Congress Chief Ministers opposed disbanding of the existing set-up.
Arvind Panagariya,an eminent free-market economist has been appointed as Vice-chairman of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.As a vice chairman, he will play a pivotal role in coordinating economic strategy and hold position similar to cabinet rank minister.
- is an Indian-American economist and Professor of Economics at Columbia University. He was an ex-Chief Economist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
- He has also worked for the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization, and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in various capacities.
Other Appointments of NITI Aayog
Full-Time Members: Bibek Debroy- Economist. V.K. Saraswat- Former Secretary Defence R&D. Ex-officio members: Rajnath Singh- Union Home Minister. Arun Jaitley- Union Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information & Broadcasting Minister. Suresh Prabhu- Union Minister of Railways. Radha Mohan Singh- Union Minister of Agriculture. Special Invitees: Nitin Gadkari- Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping. Thawar Chand Gehlot-Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment. Smriti Zubin Irani- Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD).
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Senior bureaucrat Sindhushree Khullar as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITI Aayog. She will serve in the post for one year starting from 1st January.
- Earlier, she was member-secretary of Planning Commission.
Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has constituted three sub-groups of Chief Ministers within National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. It was announced by PM while he was chairing the first meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog in New Delhi.
- First sub-group
It will study the 66 centrally-sponsored schemes and recommend which schemes should continue, which should be transferred to states, and which to discontinue.
- Second sub-group
It will focus on skill development and creation of skilled manpower within states.
- Third sub-group
It will decide on the institutional mechanisms to be evolved for Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, so that cleanliness becomes a part of life in perpetuity.
NITI Aayog vs Planning Commission
| Parameter | NITI Aayog | Planning Commission |
|---|---|---|
| Financial clout | To be an advisory body, or a think-tank. The powers to allocate funds might be vested in the finance ministry | Enjoyed the powers to allocate funds to ministries and state governments |
| Full-time members | The number of full-time members could be fewer than Planning Commission | The last Commission had eight full-time members |
| States' role | State governments are expected to play a more significant role than they did in the Planning Commission | States' role was limited to the National Development Council and annual interaction during Plan meetings |
| Member secretary | To be known at the CEO and to be appointed by the prime minister | Secretaries or member secretaries were appointment through the usual process |
| Part-time members | To have a number of part-time members, depending on the need from time to time | Full Planning Commission had no provision for part-time members |
Source: Business-Standard,PIB