NITI Aayog

Miscellaneous

NITI Aayog, established on January 1, 2015, has completed 10 years as India’s premier policy think tank.

NITI Aayog, established on 1st January 2015, replaced the Planning Commission with a focus on a ‘Bottom-Up’ approach to governance, emphasizing ‘Maximum Governance, Minimum Government’ and the spirit of ‘Cooperative Federalism.’

Key Features

Hubs
- Team India Hub: Acts as an interface between the States and the Centre.
- Knowledge and Innovation Hub: Builds the think-tank capabilities of NITI Aayog.
Composition
- Chairperson: Prime Minister.
- Vice-Chairperson: Appointed by the Prime Minister.
- Governing Council: Includes Chief Ministers of all states and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
- Regional Councils: Address specific regional issues and are chaired by the Prime Minister or a nominee.
- Ad-hoc Membership: Experts from research institutions (rotational).
- Ex-Officio Membership: Up to four Union Ministers nominated by the Prime Minister.
- CEO: Appointed by the Prime Minister.
- Special Invitees: Specialists and domain experts nominated by the Prime Minister.

Comparison: NITI Aayog vs. Planning Commission

Aspect	NITI Aayog	Planning Commission
Nature	Advisory think tank	Extra-constitutional body
Approach	Bottom-up	Top-down
State Involvement	States are equal partners	States acted as spectators
Policy Imposition	Does not impose policies	Imposed policies on states
Fund Allocation	No powers, handled by Finance Ministry	Had powers to allocate funds
Leadership	CEO appointed by Prime Minister	Secretaries appointed via regular process

Key Initiatives of NITI Aayog

Initiative	Objective
SDG India Index	Measures India's progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Composite Water Management Index	Evaluates states' performance in water resource management.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)	Promotes innovation and entrepreneurship across India.
SATH Project	Supports sustainable action for transforming human capital in education, health, and water.
Aspirational District Programme	Aims to improve socio-economic indicators in underdeveloped districts.
School Education Quality Index	Assesses the quality of school education across states.
District Hospital Index	Evaluates the performance of district hospitals in India.
Health Index	Tracks the health system performance of states and Union Territories.
Agriculture Marketing and Reform Index	Encourages states to adopt reforms for better agricultural marketing.
India Innovation Index	Assesses innovation capabilities and ecosystems of Indian states.
Women Transforming India Awards	Recognizes exceptional women leaders driving change in society.
Good Governance Index	Monitors the impact of governance at the state and district levels.