Issues with NITI Aayog

What is the issue?

NITI Aayog has failed to achieve few of its commitments.

What is status of with NITI Aayog?

• National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog, was created as an alternative to the Planning Commission in 2015.
• It was believed that it would be crisp and original in its ideas and prepare India to sustain growth, jobs and living standards.
• Two-and-a-half years later, it is found that it promises remains largely unfulfilled.
• So far, the NITI Aayog has not come up with very many exciting recommendations.

What are the weak segments of NITI Aayog?

• Disinvestment: The suggestions on privatisation of Air India, and on a larger disinvestment plan is less than compelling.
• Agriculture: Its suggestions on agriculture marketing reforms are no different from prescriptions of the past.
• They do not shed any light on managing the transition from an old set of institutions to new ones.
• Trade technology: It had less plans on services and manufacturing powerhouse in a rapidly changing world, where automation is rendering a host of existing skills redundant.
• Management: NITI Aayog was meant to be a lean, efficient alternative to the clumsy Planning Commission.
• It has options of funding sharing mechanisms, but has very less focus decision making with respective to cooperative federalism.

What can be done?

• NITI Aayog needs to recognise that with paradigm shifts taking place with respect to globalisation, immigration, automation and financial sector policies.
• It needs good management skills in handling the cooperative federalism.
• It should rope States into developing a coherent approach in sectors that lie in the latter’s domain, such as agriculture, education and job creation.

Source: Business Line