NITI Aayog to be headed by PM, will have 13 objectives

The NITI Aayog, the new name of the Planning Commission, will have the prime minister as chairperson while the governing council will comprise chief ministers and lt governors of the union territories. A list of 13 objectives has been drawn up.

According to an official statement, "regional councils will be formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more than one state or a region. These will be formed for a specified tenure.

"The regional councils will be convened by the prime minister and will comprise of the chief ministers of states and lt. governors of union territories in the region. These will be chaired by the chairperson of the NITI Aayog or his nominee," the statement said. NITI is an acronym for National Institution for Transforming India.

They will also comprise "experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the prime minister".

The full-time organizational framework will comprise of, in addition to the prime minister as the chairperson, a vice chairperson (to be appointed by the prime minister) and an unspecified number of full-time members.

Of the part time members, there would be a maximum of two from leading universities, research organizations and other relevant institutions in an ex-officio capacity. The part time members will be on a rotational basis.

A maximum of four members of the union council of ministers to be nominated by the Prime minister will be ex-officio members.

A chief executive officer will be appointed by the prime minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of secretary in the central government, while there will be a secretariat as deemed necessary.

The NITI Aayog will have the following 13 objectives:

** To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the active involvement of states in the light of national objectives. The vision of the NITI Aayog will then provide a framework 'national agenda' for the prime minister and the chief ministers to provide impetus to.

** To foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the states on a continuous basis, recognizing that strong states make a strong nation.

** To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government.

** To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy.

** To pay special attention to the sections of society that may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress.

** To design strategic and long-term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and monitor their progress and their efficacy. The lessons learnt through monitoring and feedback will be used for making innovative improvements, including necessary mid-course corrections.

** To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international like-minded think tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.

** To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners.

** To offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.

** To maintain a state-of-the-art resource centre, be a repository of research on good governance and best practices in sustainable and equitable development as well as help their dissemination to stake-holders.

** To actively monitor and evaluate implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the identification of the needed resources so as to strengthen the probability of success and scope of delivery.

** To focus on technology upgradation and capacity building for implementation of programmes and initiatives.

** To undertake other activities as may be necessary in order to further the execution of the national development agenda, and the objectives mentioned above.