The Structure of NITI Aayog

(e) The full time organisational framework

In addition to the Prime Minister as Chairperson:

Three details worth memorising because they are the ones examiners test: the two part time members, the four ex officio ministers, and the rank of Secretary with a fixed tenure for the Chief Executive Officer. The fixed tenure is a small but real protection of independence, because an officer who cannot be moved at will can report inconvenient findings.

What replaced what. The Planning Commission had a Deputy Chairman, who in practice ran it and enjoyed the rank of a Cabinet Minister. NITI Aayog has a Vice Chairperson and, separately, a Chief Executive Officer with the rank of Secretary. Splitting the political head from the administrative head is itself a change of design.

The parts that are not in the Resolution

Three things exist in practice and are not in paragraph 13, so an answer should mark them as such.

Verticals and divisions. The Aayog works through subject verticals such as agriculture, health, education, industry, infrastructure, natural resources, governance, and data management and analysis. These are administrative arrangements within the Secretariat.

Attached and specialised bodies. Bodies such as the Atal Innovation Mission, the Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office, and the National Institution's data and index units function under it.

The Governing Council's subgroups and committees. Groups of Chief Ministers have been constituted from time to time on particular subjects, and they are a working device rather than a structural provision.

The structure compared with the Planning Commission

A worked example: which limb handles which problem

Problem one: four neighbouring States share a river basin and disagree about water use in a drought year. This is exactly what a Regional Council is for: more than one State, a specific contingency, a defined tenure, convened by the Prime Minister and chaired by the Chairperson or his nominee.

Problem two: the Union wants every State to adopt a model law on agricultural marketing. This belongs to the Governing Council, where every Chief Minister sits, because the subject is national, permanent and requires the States' agreement rather than their compliance.

Problem three: an evaluation is needed of whether a nutrition scheme actually reduced stunting. This is work for the Secretariat and the evaluation office, using data, and it will be presented as evidence rather than as a direction.

Problem four: the design of a policy on electric vehicle batteries requires knowledge nobody in government has. This is what the special invitees and the part time members from universities and research institutions exist for.

What the example is for. The structure is not decorative. Each limb answers a different kind of problem, and an examiner asking "describe the structure" is really asking whether you understand why it has four different kinds of member.

What beginners get wrong

"The Governing Council comprises the Chief Ministers of States and the Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories." That is the original wording, superseded on 16 February 2015. The current text includes the Chief Ministers of Union Territories with Legislatures, and the Lieutenant Governors of the other Union Territories.

"NITI Aayog has a Deputy Chairman." That was the Planning Commission. NITI Aayog has a Vice Chairperson and a separate Chief Executive Officer.

"The Regional Councils are permanent." They are formed for a specified tenure to address a specific issue.

"There is no limit on ex officio members." There is: a maximum of four members of the Union Council of Ministers, and a maximum of two part time members.

"The verticals are part of the structure under the Resolution." They are administrative arrangements within the Secretariat, not provisions of paragraph 13.

Limits and criticism of the structure

It is an executive creation, so the structure can be changed by another resolution without reference to Parliament or to the States.

The Governing Council meets infrequently. A council that includes every Chief Minister cannot meet often, so most of the work falls to the Secretariat, which is staffed by the Union.

Regional Councils have been used sparingly, so a limb designed for inter State problems has done less than its place in the structure suggests.

The States are represented but the institution is Union staffed and Union funded, which is the standing objection to describing it as a federal body.

No representation of local government. The Resolution requires plans built upward from the village, but panchayats and municipalities have no place in the structure.

Quick revision

1. Paragraph 13 of the Resolution of 1 January 2015 contains the whole structure. Item (b) was substituted on 16 February 2015.
2. (a) Prime Minister as Chairperson.
3. (b) Governing Council, as amended: Chief Ministers of all the States and of Union territories with Legislatures, and Lieutenant Governors of the other Union territories.
4. (c) Regional Councils: for issues affecting more than one State or a region, for a specified tenure, convened by the Prime Minister, comprising the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of the region, chaired by the Chairperson or his nominee.
5. (d) Special invitees: experts, specialists and practitioners, nominated by the Prime Minister.
6. (e) Full time framework: Vice Chairperson appointed by the Prime Minister; full time Members; a maximum of 2 part time members from universities and research institutions, ex officio and rotational; a maximum of 4 ex officio members from the Union Council of Ministers; a Chief Executive Officer appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India; and a Secretariat.
7. Not in the Resolution: the subject verticals, the attached bodies such as the Atal Innovation Mission and the evaluation office, and the subgroups of Chief Ministers.
8. Design change from the Planning Commission: the political head (Vice Chairperson) is separated from the administrative head (Chief Executive Officer), and a standing body of all Chief Ministers is inside the institution rather than outside it.

Test yourself

1. Set out the structure of NITI Aayog as provided by the Resolution. Paragraph 13 provides that it comprises the Prime Minister of India as Chairperson; a Governing Council; Regional Councils; special invitees; and a full time organisational framework. The Governing Council, as substituted on 16 February 2015, comprises the Chief Ministers of all the States and of the Union territories with Legislatures, and the Lieutenant Governors of the other Union territories. Regional Councils are formed to address specific issues and contingencies affecting more than one State or a region, for a specified tenure, are convened by the Prime Minister, comprise the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of the region, and are chaired by the Chairperson or his nominee. Special invitees are experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge nominated by the Prime Minister. The full time framework consists of a Vice Chairperson appointed by the Prime Minister, full time Members, a maximum of two part time members from leading universities and research institutions in an ex officio and rotational capacity, a maximum of four ex officio members from the Union Council of Ministers nominated by the Prime Minister, a Chief Executive Officer appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, and a Secretariat.

2. What did the amendment of 16 February 2015 change, and why does it matter? It substituted item (b) of paragraph 13. The original provided for a Governing Council of the Chief Ministers of all the States and the Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories. The substituted text provides for the Chief Ministers of all the States and of the Union territories with Legislatures, and the Lieutenant Governors of the other Union territories. It matters because Delhi and Puducherry have elected legislatures and Chief Ministers, and the original wording would have seated their appointed Lieutenant Governors in a body whose whole purpose is cooperative federalism. It also matters for an examination answer, because most notes reproduce the superseded wording.

3. What are the Regional Councils, and how do they differ from the Governing Council? Regional Councils are formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting more than one State or a region. They differ from the Governing Council in three respects. They are regional rather than national, comprising only the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of the region concerned. They are temporary, being formed for a specified tenure rather than standing permanently. And they are convened by the Prime Minister for a purpose and chaired by the Chairperson of NITI Aayog or his nominee, whereas the Governing Council is a permanent part of the institution. They exist for problems such as a shared river basin or a drought crossing State boundaries.

4. How does the full time structure of NITI Aayog differ from that of the Planning Commission, and what does the difference achieve? The Planning Commission had a Deputy Chairman who in practice ran it and held the rank of a Cabinet Minister. NITI Aayog separates the two roles: a Vice Chairperson appointed by the Prime Minister, and a Chief Executive Officer appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. The separation puts a political head and an administrative head in different offices, and the fixed tenure of the Chief Executive Officer is a modest protection of independence, since an officer who cannot be transferred at will is better placed to report findings that are unwelcome. NITI Aayog also brings outside expertise into its own structure, through a maximum of two part time members from universities and research institutions and through special invitees, which the Commission did not provide for in the same way.

5. What limits does the Resolution place on membership? Two numerical limits. Part time members are to number a maximum of two, drawn from leading universities, research organisations and other relevant institutions, holding office in an ex officio capacity and on a rotational basis. Ex officio members are to number a maximum of four, drawn from the Union Council of Ministers and nominated by the Prime Minister. The Resolution places no number on full time Members, and provides for a Secretariat as deemed necessary.

6. Criticise the structure of NITI Aayog. It rests on an executive resolution, so the structure can be altered or abolished by another resolution without reference to Parliament or to the States, which is a weak foundation for a body meant to reconcile Union and State interests. The Governing Council, comprising every Chief Minister, cannot meet frequently, so most work falls to a Secretariat that is staffed and funded by the Union, which qualifies the description of the body as federal. The Regional Councils, which are the limb specifically designed for inter State problems, have been used sparingly. And although the Resolution requires plans to be formulated at the village level and aggregated upwards, panchayats and municipalities have no place in the structure at all, so the third tier of government is represented in the objectives and absent from the institution.