NITI Aayog begins mid-term appraisal of 12th Five Year Plan

The NITI Aayog has initiated the mid-term appraisal process of the 12th Five Year Plan, an exercise which has long been followed prior to establishment of the new body that replaced the Planning Commission.

Completing its 100 days, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog on Saturday said the last three months have been "tremendous" in the role of its inception as a think thank of the government.

"NITI Aayog has initiated the process of undertaking the mid-term appraisal of the 12th Plan. This opportunity is also being used to weave in the national development agenda discussed in the meeting of the Governing Council for its suitable implementation in the remaining two years of the 12th Plan," it said in a release. The 12th Plan ends in March 2017.

The erstwhile 50 years old Planning Commission of the socialist era was replaced by NITI Aayog earlier this year. Its role is to act as a think-thank to the government with noted economist Arvind Panagariya as its vice chairman.

Bibek Debroy and V K Saraswat are the full-time members of the institution. While, Sindhushree Khullar is the Chief Executive Officer.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the first governing council meeting of the Aayog in February met with the state chief ministers and lieutenant governors of union territories.

NITI has the role to work with the Centre to forge a model of cooperative federalism, whereby the Centre and states forming Team India can come together to chart a common course for progress and prosperity, said the release.