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General Knowledge
NITI Aayog
The supplied notes present NITI Aayog as the Government of India’s policy think tank and emphasise long-term strategy, technical advice, state participation and cooperative federalism.
1. Formation and identity
NITI Aayog stands for National Institution for Transforming India. The supplied notes state that it was formed through a Union Cabinet resolution on 1 January 2015 and replaced the Planning Commission.
2. Core role
- Design strategic and long-term policies and programmes.
- Provide technical advice to the Centre, States and Union Territories.
- Promote a bottom-up approach and involvement of States in economic policy-making.
- Promote cooperative federalism.
- Act as a policy think tank rather than simply reproducing the earlier Planning Commission model.
3. Composition highlighted in the notes
| Component | Source-note description |
|---|---|
| Chairperson | Prime Minister |
| Governing Council | Chief Ministers of all States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories |
| Regional Council | Created for specific regional issues; chaired by PM or nominee |
| Special Invitees | Experts/specialists nominated by Prime Minister |
| CEO | Appointed by Prime Minister for a fixed tenure |
4. Team India and Knowledge & Innovation Hub
The resource describes two broad hubs: Team India, which brings States and the Centre together, and the Knowledge and Innovation Hub, which strengthens think-tank capabilities.
5. Objectives
- Evolve a shared national development vision with active State involvement.
- Foster cooperative federalism.
- Develop mechanisms for planning from the village level upward.
- Pay special attention to sections at risk of missing the benefits of economic progress.
- Design strategic policy frameworks and monitor progress.
- Create platforms for resolving inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues.
- Support technology upgradation, capacity building, knowledge and innovation.
6. Remember the distinction
A useful way to revise the source is to separate formation, composition, objectives and special initiatives/wings. This prevents similar-looking facts from getting mixed together in MCQs.
Study note: This lesson is an expanded teaching version of the supplied resource topic. Examples and explanations are written for learning and exam preparation; the brief source notes are not reproduced verbatim.