Plan to reshape Planning Commission in the works: Modi

PM to meet chief ministers of all states on this on Sunday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the plans to reshape the Planning Commission, in sync with the changing times, were in the works. For this, he had called a meeting of all chief ministers on Sunday, he said.

Making a brief intervention in the Lok Sabha, during the Question Hour, the Prime Minister said government was planning to involve knowledgeable people and those who could provide new ideas to redefine and restructure the Planning Commission.

This was the first time since his maiden address to the nation on August 15 that the prime minister spoke on the need to reshape the Commission. In his Independence Day speech in August, he had signalled the abolition of the Commission. Since then, a series of discussions have been held among experts and economists on the likely shape of the new body to replace the Planning Commission.

According to the tentative structure, officials said, the new body was expected to be called ‘Neeti Aayog’ (policy commission) and would comprise four major departments — those for direct benefits transfer, inter-state councils, the Unique Identification Authority of India and programme evaluation. Each of these would be headed by a secretary.