The Planning Commission of India
• The Planning Commission was set – up on March 15, 1950 under the chairmanship of JL Nehru, by a resolution of Union Cabinet.
• It is an extra – constitutional, non – statutory body.
• It consists of Prime Minister as the ex – officio Chairman, one Deputy – Chairman appointed by the PM and some full time members.
• The tenure of its members and deputy chairman is not fixed. There is no definite definition of its members also. They are appointed by the Government on its own discretion. The number of members can also change according to the wishes of the Government.
• Now this commission is scrapped by new Government and new institution NITI Aayog is created.
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India)
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) is the replacement of Planning Commison of India.
The NITI Aayog will comprise the following :
1. Prime Minister as the Chairperson .
2. Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by the Prime Minister Members.
3. Governing Council comprising the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories.
4. Part-time members: Maximum of 2 from leading universities research organizations and other relevant institutions in an ex-officio capacity. Part time members will be on a rotational basis.
5. Ex Officio members: Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
6. Chief Executive Officer : To be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
Role of NITI Aayog:
1. The States will now have a greater say. Previously it was the Planning Commission that formulated plans and then asked the States to implement them (provided they agreed), this time the States themselves will be able to actively participate in the planning so that there is no communication gap and the plans can be implemented effectively, because states are in the
2. NITI Aayog will seek to provide a critical directional and strategic input into the development process.
3. NITI Aayog will emerge as a “think-tank” that will provide suggestions to Governments at the central and state levels.
4. The NITI Aayog will develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans to the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government. It will ensure special attention to the sections of society that may be at risk of not benefiting adequately from economic progress.
5. The NITI Aayog will create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and partners.
6. NITI Aayog will monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes, and focus on technology up gradation and capacity building.
