ROLE OF NITI AYOG IN TRANSFORMING GOVERNANCE

(E-Governance)

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Dr. V.S.R. Krishnaiah Pooja Karmakar

(2016MBA-20)

Shrahi Singh Karanwal

(2016MBA-28)

ABV INDIAN INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

GWALIOR-474 015
2018
Introduction: TRANSFORMING INDIA

India has undergone a paradigm shift over the past six decades - politically, economically,
socially, technologically as well as demographically. The role of Government in national
development has seen a parallel evolution. Keeping with these changing times, the Government
of India has decided to set up NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India), in place
of the erstwhile Planning Commission, as a means to better serve the needs and aspirations of the
people of India.

The new institution will be a catalyst to the developmental process; nurturing an overall enabling
environment, through a holistic approach to development going beyond the limited sphere of the
Public Sector and Government of India. This will be built on the foundations of:

An empowered role of States as equal partners in national development; operationalizing the

principle of Cooperative Federalism.

A knowledge hub of internal as well as external resources; serving as a repository of good

governance best practices, and a Think Tank offering domain knowledge as well as strategic
expertise to all levels of government.

A collaborative platform facilitating Implementation; by monitoring progress, plugging gaps and

bringing together the various Ministries at the Centre and in States, in the joint pursuit of
developmental goals.
Context: INDIA HAS CHANGED

The Planning Commission was constituted on 15.3.1950 through a Government of India

Resolution, and has served India well. India, however, has changed dramatically over the past 65
years. While this has been at multiple levels and across varied scales, the biggest transformatory
forces have been the following:

Demography: Our population has increased over three-fold to reach 121 crores. This includes an
addition of over 30 crore people to Urban India. As well as an increase of 55 crore youth (below
the age of 35), which is more than one and a half times the total population of the country then.
Furthermore, with increasing levels of development, literacy and communication, the aspirations
of our people have soared, moving from scarcity and survival to safety and surplus. We are
therefore looking at a completely different India today, and our governance systems need to be
transformed to keep up with the same.

Economy: Our economy has undergone a paradigm shift. It has expanded by over a hundred
times, going from a GDP of Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 100 lakh crore at current prices, to emerge as
one of the world’s largest. Agriculture’s share in this has seen a dramatic drop, from more than
50% to less than 15% of GDP. And our central government’s Twelfth Five Year Plan size of Rs
43 lakh crore, dwarfs the First Five Year Plan size of Rs 2,400 crore. Priorities, strategies and
structures dating back to the time of the birth of the Planning Commission, must thus be
revisited. The very nature of our planning processes needs to be overhauled to align with this
shift in sheer scale.

Private enterprise: The nature of our economy, and the role of the Government in it, has
undergone a paradigm shift as well. Driven by an increasingly open and liberalized structure, our
private sector has matured into a vibrant and dynamic force, operating not just at the
international cutting edge, but also with a global scale and reach. This changed economic
landscape requires a new administrative paradigm in which the role of Government must evolve
from simply allocating resources in a command and control eco-system, to a far more nuanced
one of directing, calibrating, supporting and regulating a market eco-system. National
development must be seen beyond the limited sphere of the ‘Public Sector’. Government must
thus transition from being a ‘provider of first and last resort’ and ‘major player’ in the economy,
to being a ‘catalyst’ nurturing an ‘enabling environment’, where the entrepreneurial spirits of all,
from small self-employed entrepreneurs to large corporations, can flourish. This importantly,
frees up the Government to focus its precious resources on public welfare domains such as
essential entitlements of food, nutrition, health, education and livelihood of vulnerable and
marginalized groups.

Globalisation: The World at large has also evolved. Today, we live in a ‘global village’,
connected by modern transport, communications and media, and networked international
markets and institutions. As India ‘contributes’ to global dynamics, it is also influenced by
happenings far removed from our borders. This continuing integration with the world needs to be
incorporated into our policy making as well as functioning of government.
States: The States of the Union of India have evolved from being mere appendages of the
Centre, to being the actual drivers of national development. The development of States must thus
become the national goal, as the nation’s progress lies in the progress of States. As a
consequence, the one-size-fits-all approach, often inherent in centralized planning, is no longer
practical or efficient. States need to be heard and given the flexibility required for effective
implementation. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had said with great foresight that it is "unreasonable to
centralise powers where central control and uniformity is not clearly essential or is
impracticable". Therefore, while emanating from global experiences and national synergy, our
strategies will need to be calibrated and customized to local needs and opportunities.

Technology: Advancements in technology and access to information have unleashed the creative
energy that emerges from the Indian kaleidoscope. They have integrated our varied regions and
eco-systems in an interlinked national economy and society, opening up newer avenues of
coordination and cooperation. Technology is also playing a substantial role in enhancing
transparency as well as efficiency, holding government more accountable. It thus needs to be
made central to our systems of policy and governance.

Rationale: INSTITUTIONS MUST CHANGE

This changing reality and growing mismatch has been recognized for years now; with experts,
including many from within the erstwhile Planning Commission, recommending appropriate
changes:

 The 8th Five Year Plan document - the very first after the liberalisation of 1991 – itself
categorically stated that, as the role of Government was reviewed and restructured, the
role and functions of the Planning Commission too needed to be rethought. The Planning
Commission needed to be reformed to keep up with changing trends; letting go of old
practices and beliefs whose relevance had been lost, and adopting new ones based on the
past experiences of India as well as other nations.
 The Standing Committee on Finance of the 15th Lok Sabha observed in its 35th Report
on Demand for Grants (2011-12) that the Planning Commission "has to come to grips
with the emerging social realities to re-invent itself to make itself more relevant and
effective for aligning the planning process with economic reforms and its consequences,
particularly for the poor".
 Former Prime Minister and noted economist, Dr. Manmohan Singh - in his farewell
address to the Commission in April 2014 - also urged reflection on "what the role of the
Planning Commission needs to be in this new world. Are we still using tools and
approaches which were designed for a different era? What additional roles should the
Planning Commission play and what capacities does it need to build to ensure that it
continues to be relevant to the growth process?"
 Mahatma Gandhi had said: "Constant development is the law of life, and a man who
always tries to maintain his dogmas in order to appear consistent drives himself into a
false position". Keeping true to this principle our institutions of governance and policy
must evolve with the changing dynamics of the new India, while remaining true to the
 founding principles of the Constitution of India, and rooted in our Bharatiyata or wisdom
of our civilizational history and ethos.

NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) is to be the institution to give life to
these aspirations. It is being formed based on extensive consultation across the spectrum of
stakeholders, including inter alia state governments, relevant institutions, domain experts and the
people at large.

New Role: FUNCTIONS OF NITI

1. Cooperative and Competitive Federalism: Be the primary platform for operationalizing

Cooperative Federalism; enabling States to have active participation in the formulation of
national policy, as well as achieving time-bound implementation of quantitative and qualitative
targets through the combined authority of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers. This will be
by means of systematic and structured interactions between the Union and State Governments, to
better understand developmental issues, as well as forge a consensus on strategies and
implementation mechanisms. The above would mark the replacement of the one-way flow of
policy from centre-to-state, with a genuine and continuing Centre-State partnership. This
Cooperation would be further enhanced by the vibrancy of Competitive Federalism; with the
Centre competing with the States and vice versa, and the States competing with each other, in the
joint pursuit of national development.

2. Shared National Agenda: Evolve a shared vision of national development priorities and
strategies, with the active involvement of States. This will provide the framework ‘national
agenda’ for the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers to implement.

3. State’s Best Friend at the Centre: Support States in addressing their own challenges, as well
as building on strengths and comparative advantages. This will be through various means, such
as coordinating with Ministries, championing their ideas at the centre, providing consultancy
support and building capacity.

4.Decentralized Planning: Restructure the planning process into a bottom-up model,

empowering States, and guiding them to further empower local governments; in developing
mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level, which are progressively aggregated
up the higher levels of government.

5. Vision & Scenario Planning: Design medium and long-term strategic frameworks of the big
picture vision of India’s future - across schemes, sectors, regions and time; factoring in all
possible alternative assumptions and counterfactuals. These would be the drivers of the national
reforms agenda, especially focussed on identifying critical gaps and harnessing untapped
potentialities. The same would need to be intrinsically dynamic with their progress and efficacy
constantly monitored for necessary mid-course recalibration; and the overall environment
(domestic and global) continuously scanned for incorporating evolving trends and addressing
emerging challenges. The above would mean a fundamental transition from merely planning for
where the Nation’s money goes, to planning where we want the Nation to go. And given its
unique position as the aggregator and integrator of all developmental initiatives of the
Government of India and States, the NITI Aayog would be ideally suited for the same.

6. Domain Strategies: Build a repository of specialized domain expertise, both sectoral and
cross-sectoral; to assist Ministries of the Central and State governments in their respective
development planning as well problem solving needs. This will especially enable the imbibing of
good governance best practices, both national as well as international; especially with regards to
structural reform.

7. Sounding Board: Be an in-house sounding board whetting and refining government positions,
through objective criticisms and comprehensive counter-views.

8. Network of Expertise: Main-stream external ideas and expertise into government policies
and programs through a collaborative community of national and international experts,
practitioners and other partners. This would entail being Government’s link to the outside world,
roping in academia (universities, think tanks and research institutions), private sector expertise,
and the people at large, for close involvement in the policy making process.

9. Knowledge and Innovation hub: Be an accumulator as well as disseminator of research and

best practices on good governance, through a state-of-the-art Resource Centre which identifies,
analyses, shares and facilitates replication of the same.

10. Harmonization: Facilitate harmonization of actions across different layers of government,

especially when involving cross-cutting and overlapping issues across multiple sectors; through
communication, coordination, collaboration and convergence amongst all stakeholders. The
emphasis will be on bringing all together on an integrated and holistic approach to development.

11.Conflict Resolution: Provide a platform for mutual resolution of inter-sectoral, inter-

departmental, inter-state as well as centre-state issues; facilitating consensus acceptable and
beneficial to all, to bring about clarity and speed in execution.

12. Coordinating interface with the World: Be the nodal point for strategically harnessing
global expertise and resources coming in from across nations, multi-lateral institutions and other
international organisations, in India’s developmental process.

13. Internal Consultancy: Offer an internal consultancy function to central and state
governments on policy and program design; providing frameworks adhering to basic design
principles such as decentralization, flexibility and a focus on results. This would include
specialised skills such as structuring and executing Public Private Partnerships.

14. Capacity building: Enable capacity building and technology up-gradation across
government, benchmarking with latest global trends and providing managerial and technical
knowhow.

15. Monitoring and Evaluation: Monitor the implementation of policies and programmes, and
evaluate their impact; through rigorous tracking of performance metrics and comprehensive
program evaluations. This will not only help identify weaknesses and bottlenecks for necessary
course correction, but also enable data-driven policy making; encouraging greater efficiency as
well as effectiveness’.

Purpose: GUIDING PRINCIPLES

In carrying out the above functions, NITI Aayog will be guided by an overall vision of
development which is inclusive, equitable and sustainable. A strategy of empowerment built on
human dignity and national self-respect, which lives up to Swami Vivekananda’s idea of our
duty to encourage everyone in his struggle to live up to his own highest idea”.

Antyodaya: Prioritize service and uplift of the poor, marginalized and downtrodden, as
enunciated in Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay’s idea of ‘Antyodaya’. Development is incomplete
and meaningless, if it does not reach the farthest individual. In the centuries old words of
Tiruvalluvar, the sage-poet, nothing is more dreadfully painful than poverty”.

Inclusion: Empower vulnerable and marginalized sections, redressing identity-based inequalities

of all kinds gender, region, religion, caste or class. As Sankar Dev wrote decades ago: "to see
every being as equivalent to one’s own soul is the supreme means (of attaining deliverance)".
Weaker sections must be enabled to be masters of their own fate, having equal influence over the
choices the nation makes.

Village: Integrate our villages into the development process, to draw on the vitality and energy
of the bedrock of our ethos, culture and sustenance.

Demographic dividend: Harness our greatest asset, the people of India; by focussing on their
development, through education and skilling, and their empowerment, through productive
livelihood opportunities.

People’s Participation: Transform the developmental process into a people-driven one, making
an awakened and participative citizenry the driver of good governance. This includes our
extended Indian family of the Non-Resident Indian community spread across the world, whose
significant geo-economic and geo-political strength must be harnessed.

Governance: Nurture an open, transparent, accountable, pro-active and purposeful style of

governance, transitioning focus from Outlay to Output to Outcome.

Sustainability: Maintain sustainability at the core of our planning and developmental process,
building on our ancient tradition of respect for the environment.

Mechanism: STRUCTURE OF NITI

NITI Aayog will be a lean organisation, modelled as a network of expertise; focusing on
functionality, flexibility and domain knowledge.

NITI Aayog comprises:

Chairperson: Prime Minister of India

Governing Council: comprising the Chief Ministers of all States and Lt. Governors of Union
Territories.

Regional Councils: will be formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more
than one state or region. Strategy and Planning in the NITI Aayog will be anchored from State-
level; with Regional Councils convened by the Prime Minister for identified priority domains,
put under the joint leadership of related sub-groups of States (grouped around commonalities
which could be geographic, economic, social or otherwise) and Central Ministries. Regional
Councils will:

● Have specified tenures, with the mandate to evolve strategy and oversee implementation.

● Be jointly headed by one of the group Chief Ministers (on a rotational basis or otherwise) and
a corresponding Central Minister.

● Include the sectoral Central Ministers and Secretaries concerned, as well as State Ministers and
Secretaries.

● Be linked with corresponding domain experts and academic institutions.

● Have a dedicated support cell in the NITI Aayog Secretariat.

Special Invitees: experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special
invitees nominated by the Prime Minister.

Full-time Organizational Framework: will comprise of, in addition to the Prime Minister as
the Chairperson:

● Vice-Chairperson: to be appointed by the Prime Minister.

● Members: full-time.

● 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.

● Ex-Officio Members: maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to be

nominated by the Prime Minister.

● Chief Executive Officer: to be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank
of Secretary to the Government of India.
● Secretariat: as deemed necessary

NITI Aayog will also house a number of specialised Wings, including:

Research Wing that will develop in-house sectoral expertise as a dedicated think tank of top
notch domain experts, specialists and scholars.

Consultancy Wing that will provide a market-place of whetted panels of expertise and funding,
for Central and State Governments to tap into; matching their requirements with solution
providers, public and private, national and international. By playing match-maker instead of
providing the entire service itself, NITI Aayog will be able to focus its resources on priority
matters, providing guidance and an overall quality check to the rest.

Team India Wing comprising representatives from every State and Ministry, will serve as a
permanent platform for national collaboration. Each representative will:

● Ensure every State/Ministry has a continuous voice and stake in the NITI Aayog.

● Establish a direct communication channel between the State / Ministry and NITI Aayog for all
development related matters, as the dedicated liaison interface.

A national Hub-Spoke institutional model will be developed, with each State and Ministry
encouraged to build dedicated mirror institutions, serving as the interface of interaction. These
institutions, in turn, will nurture their own networks of expertise at State and Ministry level.

NITI Aayog will function in close cooperation, consultation and coordination with the Ministries
of the Central Government, and State governments. While it will make recommendations to the
Central and State Governments, the responsibility for taking and implementing decisions will
rest with them.
Highlights of initiatives under NITI Aayog

NITI Ayog, The National Institution for Transforming India, was formed via a resolution of
the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015. NITI Ayog has emerged as the premier policy ‘Think
Tank’ of the Government of India fostering the spirit of cooperative federalism under the
dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Ever since its inception the
institution has taken a series of initiatives aimed at giving a push to the economy and
transforming the lives of millions across the country.
Following are the highlights of the initiatives taken by NITI Ayog:
I. Vision Document, Strategy & Action Agenda beyond 12th Five Year
Plan: Replacing the Five Year Plans beyond 31st March, 2017, NITI Aayog is in the
process of preparing the 15-year vision document keeping in view the social goals set
and/ or proposed for a period of 15 years; A 7-year strategy document spanning 2017-
18 to 2023-24 to convert the longer-term vision into implementable policy and action
as a part of a “National Development Agenda” is also being worked upon. The 3-year
Action Agenda for 2017-18 to 2019-20, aligned to the predictability of financial
resources during the 14th Finance Commission Award period, has been completed and
will be submitted before the Hon’ble PM on April 23rd at the 3rd Governing Council
Meeting

II. Reforms in Agriculture:

a. Model Land Leasing Law

Taking note of increasing incidents of leasing in and out of land and suboptimal use of
land with lesser number of cultivators, NITI Aayog has formulated a Model Agricultural
Land Leasing Act, 2016 to both recognize the rights of the tenant and safeguard interest
of landowners. A dedicated cell for land reforms was also set up in NITI. Based on the
model act, Madhya Pradesh has enacted separate land leasing law and Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand have modified their land leasing laws. Some States, including Odisha,
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, are already at an advance stage of formulating
legislations to enact their land leasing laws for agriculture.
b. Reforms of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act
NITI Aayog consulted with the States on 21 October 2016 on three critical reforms –

 Agricultural marketing reforms

 Felling and transit laws for tree produce grown at private land
 Agricultural land leasing

Subsequently, Model APMC Act version 2 prepared. States are being consulted to adopt APMC
Act version 2.
 c. Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index
NITI Aayog has developed the first ever ‘Agriculture Marketing and Farmer Friendly
Reforms Index’ to sensitise states about the need to undertake reforms in the three key
areas of Agriculture Market Reforms, Land Lease Reforms and Forestry on Private Land
(Felling and Transit of Trees). The index carries a score with a minimum value “0”
implying no reforms and maximum value “100” implying complete reforms in the
selected areas.
As per NITI Aayog’s index, Maharashtra ranks highest in implementation of various
agricultural reforms. The State has implemented most of the marketing reforms and offers
the best environment for undertaking agri-business among all the States and
UTs. Gujarat ranks second with a score of 71.50 out of 100, closely followed by
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Almost two third States have not been able to reach even
the halfway mark of reforms score, in the year 2016-17. The index aims to induce a
healthy competition between States and percolate best practices in implementing farmer-
friendly reforms.
III. Reforming Medical Education

A committee chaired by Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog recommended scrapping of the

Medical Council of Indi and suggested a new body for regulating medical education. The
draft legislation for the proposed National Medical Commission has been submitted to
the Government for further necessary action.

IV. Digital Payments Movement:

a. An action plan on advocacy, awareness and co-ordination of handholding efforts

among general public, micro enterprises and other stakeholders was prepared.
Appropriate literature in print and multimedia was prepared on the subject for
widespread dissemination. Presentations/ interactions were organized by NITI
Aayog for training and capacity building of various Ministries/Departments of
Government of India, representatives of State/UTs, Trade and Industry Bodies as
well as all other stakeholders.

b. NITI Aayog also constituted a Committee of Chief Ministers on Digital Payments

on 30th November 2016 with Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh,
Chandrababu Naidu, as the Convener to promote transparency, financial inclusion
and a healthy financial ecosystem nationwide. The Committee submitted its
interim report to Hon’ble Prime Minister in January 2017.

c. To incentivize the States/UTs for promotion of digital transactions, Central

assistance of Rs. 50 crore would be provided to the districts for undertaking
Information, Education and Communication activities to bring 5 crore Jan Dhan
accounts to digital platform.
 d. Cashback and referral bonus schemes were launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister on
14.4.2017 to promote the use of digital payments through the BHIM App.

e. Niti Aayog also launched two incentive schemes to to promote digital payments
across all sections of society - the Lucky Grahak Yojana and the Digi Dhan
Vyapar Yojana –Over 16 lakh consumers and merchants have won Rs. 256 crore
under these two schemes .

f. Digi Dhan Melas were also held for 100 days in 100 cities, from December 25th to
April 14th.

V. Atal Innovation Mission: The Government has set up Atal Innovation Mission (AIM)
in NITI Aayog with a view to strengthen the country’s innovation and
entrepreneurship ecosystem by creating institutions and programs that spur innovation
in schools, colleges, and entrepreneurs in general. In 2016-17, the following major
schemes were rolled out:
a. Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs): To foster creativity and scientific temper in students,
AIM is helping to establish 500 ATLs in schools across India, where students can
design and make small prototypes to solve challenges they see around them, using
rapid prototyping technologies that have emerged in recent years.
b. Atal Incubation Centres (AICs): AIM will provide financial support of Rs.10 crore
and capacity buidling for setting AICs across India, which will help startups
expand quicker and enable innovation-entrepreneurship, in core sectors such as
manufacturing, transport, energy, education, agriculture, water and sanitation, etc.
VI. Indices Measuring States’ Performance in Health, Education and Water
Management: As part of the Prime Minister’s Focus on outcomes, NITI has come out
with indices to measure incremental annual outcomes in critical social sectors like health,
education and water with a view to nudge the states into competing with each other for
better outcomes, while at the same time sharing best practices & innovations to help each
other - an example of competitive and cooperative federalism..

VII. Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalization of Centrally Sponsored

Schemes: Based on the recommendations of this Sub-Group, a Cabinet note was
prepared by NITI Aayog which was approved by the Cabinet on 3rd August, 2016.
Among several key decision, the sub-group led to the rationalization of the existing
CSSs into 28 umbrella schemes.

VIII. Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Constituted by NITI

Aayog on 9th March, 2015, the Sub-Group has submitted its report to the Hon’ble
Prime Minister in October, 2015 and most of its recommendations have been
accepted.

IX. Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Skill Development: Constituted on 9th March,

2015, the report of the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Skill Development was
 presented before the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 31/12/2015. The recommendation and
actionable points emerging from the Report were approved by the Hon’ble Prime
Minister and are in implementation by the Ministry of Skill Development

X. Task Force on Elimination of Poverty in India: Constituted on 16th March, 2015

under the Chairmanship of Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, the
report of the Task Force was finalized and submitted to Hon’ble Prime Minister on
11th July, 2016. The report of the Task Force primarily focusses on issues of
measurement of poverty and strategies to combat poverty. Regarding estimation of
poverty, the report of the Task Force states that “a consensus in favour of either the
Tendulkar or a higher poverty line did not emerge. Therefore, the Task Force has
concluded that the matter be considered in greater depth by the country’s top experts
on poverty before a final decision is made. Accordingly, it is recommended that an
expert committee be set up to arrive at an informed decision on the level at which the
poverty line should be set.” With respect to strategies to combat poverty, the Task
Force has made recommendations on faster poverty reduction through employment
intensive sustained rapid growth and effective implementation of anti-poverty
programs.

XI. Task Force on Agriculture Development: The Task Force on Agricultural development
was constituted on 16th March, 2015 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Arvind
Panagariya, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. The Task Force based on its works prepared
an occasional paper entitled “Raising Agricultural Productivity and Making Farming
Remunerative for Farmers” focusing on 5 critical areas of Indian Agriculture. These
are (i) Raising Productivity, (ii) Remunerative Prices to Farmers, (iii) Land Leasing,
Land Records & Land Titles; (iv) Second Green Revolution-Focus on Eastern States;
and (v) Responding to Farmers’ Distress. After taking inputs of all the States on
occasional paper and through their reports, the Task Force submitted the final report to
Prime Minister on 31st May, 2016. It has suggested important policy measures to
bring in reforms in agriculture for the welfare of the farmers as well as enhancing their
income.

XII. Transforming India Lecture Series: As the government’s premier think-tank, NITI
Aayog views knowledge building & transfer as the enabler of real transformation in
States. To build knowledge systems for States and the Centre, NITI Aayog launched
the ‘NITI Lectures: Transforming India’ series, with full support of the Prime Minister
on 26th August 2016. The lecture series is aimed at addressing the top policy making
team of the Government of India, including members of the cabinet and several top
layers of the bureaucracy. It aims is to bring cutting edge ideas in development policy
to Indian policy makers and public, so as to promote the cause of transformation of
India into a prosperous modern economy. The Hon’ble Deputy Prime Minister of
Singapore, Shri Tharman Shanmugaratnam, delivered the first lecture on the topic:
India and the Global Economy. On November 16th, 2016, Bill Gates, Co-Founder, Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation, delivered the second lecture in the series under the
theme: 'Technology and Transformation'.
Budget 2018:(Enhances NITI’s role in the national policy, frontier technologies).

NITI Aayog Budget Allocation Increased by More than 20% : The New India Budget presented
by the Finance Minister has cemented NITI Aayog’s role as a driver of transformational change
in the country, said Hon’ble MoS (IC) for Planning Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, addressing a press
conference today highlighting the budget allocations, achievements and programs of NITI
Aayog.

Allocations for the Ministry of Planning, which is embodied by the NITI Aayog, have increased
by more than 20% over last year i.e. to Rs 339.65 crore in 2018-19 from Rs 279.79 crore in
2017-18.

Further, the budget envisages a defined role for NITI Aayog in critical areas of artificial
intelligence and agriculture policy, apart from reiterating a shared vision for national
development in line with NITI Aayog’s Three Year Action Agenda, the Seven Year Strategy and
the 15 Year Vision Document.

NITI in the Budget

NITI Aayog, in consultation with Central and State Governments, will put in place a fool-proof
mechanism so that farmers will get adequate price for their produce.

NITI Aayog, in consultation with State Governments, will evolve a suitable mechanism to enable
access of lessee cultivators to credit without compromising the rights of the land owners.

NITI Aayog will initiate a national program to direct our efforts in the area of artificial
intelligence, including research and development of its applications.

Apart from the above mentions, NITI Aayog through its officers, advisers and policy shaping
role has been predominant in the planning of Ayushman Bharat, the world’s largest health
insurance scheme.
NITI: Learning from the past, shaping the future

Since its inception NITI Aayog has occupied a niche space in India’s policy environment.
Through ambitious recommendations and dynamic initiatives, NITI has mobilized its expertise
as the ‘think-tank’ of the government, in areas such as:

 Envisaging a roadmap for revitalizing Indian agriculture and doubling farmer’s income
 Framing of new guidelines for devolution of dedicated funds for SC/ST community
 National Energy Policy
 National Nutrition Strategy
 National Medical Council Bill
 National Medical Strategy
 Recommendations on strategic disinvestment of CPSEs
 Formulation of Model Land Leasing Bill
 Development support to the North East through North East Industrial Development
Scheme (NEIDS) 2017
 Employment task force
 Appraisal of the 12th Five Year Plan
 Evolving policy on shared and connected mobility
 Holistic development of Islands

NITI Aayog is also directly involved in on-ground policy interventions through various
programmes and schemes. Some of these are outlined below.

1. Atal Innovation Mission:

Spurring innovation through Atal Tinkering Labs in schools and Atal Incubation Centres across
the country, AIM has been a widely popular programme of NITI. Atal Grand Challenges and
Tinkering Marathons have encouraged young entrepreneurs across the country to learn, innovate
and engage with cutting-edge technology.

 2441 ATL Schools selected as on Date:

 941 Selected in Phase 1 announced from the applications invited in 2016.
 1500 Selected in Phase 2 announced on 25-Dec-2017 i.e. on Atal Ji’s
93rd Birthday from applications invited in 2017.
 Grant-in-aid including one-time establishment cost of Rs 10 lakh and
operational expenses of Rs 10 lakh for maximum of 5 years for each ATL
 All States are covered as of now in ATL Selections

 Incubation Centres:
 Established Incubation Centre: 6 EIC Supported in 16-17. Around 8-10 are
in pipeline for approval during 2017-18.
 Funding support for scaling up of operations of Rs 10 crore for EICs, to be
paid in installments
  Atal Incubation Centre: 13 selected in 16-17, around 20-25 in pipeline for
consideration during 17-18. Funding support upto Rs 10 crore for
maximum of 5 years.

2. Cooperative Federalism

o Sub-groups of Chief Ministers on critical subjects(April 2017):

 Restructuring of Centrally sponsored schemes

 Skill development
 Swachh Bharat
 Promotion of Digital Payments

o National consultations with Chief Secretaries of all states and Finance secretaries

o Programme to transform Aspirational Districts by engaging with DMs and Prabhari

officers of 115 districts across the country

o Representations made to NITI by groups of Secretaries, creating cross ministry

interactions and collaborations

3. Competitive federalism

 Introduction of Digital Transformation Index and Innovation Index for ranking states.
 Launch of the Health Index, which is to become an annual exercise across the country
evaluating health outcomes.
 Organized extensive workshops for consultation with States and UTs on indices
 Sustainable Action for Transforming Human Capital (SATH): handholding for states to
develop key indicators across areas of health and education.
 School Education Quality Index (SEQI), Composite Water Management Index.

4. Sustainable Development Goals

 As nodal body for monitoring implementation of SDGs, KPI created by NITI Aayog to
assess progress of states
 Draft mapping of goals with measurable indicators

5. Outcome based evaluation and monitoring across 15 key sectors of the economy

 Extensive data-based, performance evaluation of states through DMEO dashboard and

progress tracker
 A rigorous exercise to bring qualitative improvement in the Output-Outcome Framework
by
o reviewing and identifying relevant outputs and outcomes
o quantifiable and measurable indicators to monitor
o Strategic Outcomes Verification Process (SOVP) for performance monitoring
 o Program Evaluation
o 12 programs evaluated
o Evaluation report finalised for
 Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme
 National Scheduled Caste Finance Development Corporation
 RTE
 Harmonized Sarv Siksha Abhiyaan
 PMAY (Urban)

 Compiling, transmitting and emulating best practices across states.

 SAMAVESH: enabling cooperation between NITI and knowledge, research partners and
institutions

6. National and International Partnerships:

 NITI Lecture Series: 3 lectures held so far by luminaries on governance

 NITI-DRC dialogue: China Cell constituted at NITI to foster cooperation
 Global Entrepreneurship Summit 2017: US India summit with over 2500 top
entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem players
 Champions of Change: Facilitated Hon’ble Prime Minister’s stakeholder consultation with
start-ups and industry for policy inputs across 12 sectors

7. Adoption of Frontier Technologies

 NITI Aayog working on a position paper on blockchain technology, AI and its applications
in governance
 Partnering with state governments/UTs to run pilots on land records, Electronic health
records, etc.

 Working on a concept paper for “IndiaChain” – a shared, India specific blockchain

infrastructure
 Implementation of MIS database for NITI Aayog
 Arbitration and enforcement in India Conference.
 Digital Hub for Govt. Best Practices for NITI Aayog

8. Research, Study and Collaborations

 5 Research Studies completed

 7 National Seminars and 2 International Seminars Approved
 10 New Research Studies approved and 1st instalment Released
 Release of 2nd instalment for 9 Research studies
 15 Logo support proposals approved
 9. Strengthening Arbitration and Legal Reforms

 Global Conference on ‘Strengthening Arbitration and Enforcement in India’

 Law Day Conference on ‘Balancing Roles of Three Wings of the State’ in association with
Law Commission of India
 Participation of over 1500 participants each day including Hon’ble President, Speaker,
Lok Sabha; PM, other Ministers, Judges of Supreme Court, High Court, legal fraternity
and academia.

NITI Aayog, as the premier ‘think-tank’ of the Government of India has been crucial in
navigating and charting the course of the country in matters of national and international
importance on the economic front, dissemination of best practices from within the country and
from other nations, the infusion of new policy ideas and specific issue-based support.
Conclusion: VEHICLE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE

NITI Aayog will seek to facilitate and empower this critical requirement of good governance,
which is people-centric, participative, collaborative, transparent and policy-driven. It will
provide critical directional and strategic input to the development process, focusing on
deliverables and outcomes. This, along with being as incubator and disseminator of fresh thought
and ideas for development, will be the core mission of NITI Aayog.
REFRERENCES:

1. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=176698
2. www.niti.gov.in
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NITI_Aayog
4. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/NITI-Aayog
5. www.pmindia.gov.in/en/tag/niti-aayog