NITI Aayog ,policy think-tank of Government established by Narendra Modi government, has completed two years on this new year. Though duration of two year is not enough to estimate its capability but analysis of its policy designing pattern can draft an account of its functioning.
The stated aim of NITI Aayog's creation was to foster involvement and participation in the economic policy making process by the State governments. Fundamental difference lies between the composition of NITI Aayog and Planning Commission. Governing Council of NITI Aayog includes all the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of States and Union Territories. So the composition of the think-tank is such that it seems to work in Bottom-Up approach and move towards Cooperative Federalism.
Accomplishments
As a policy think-tank of the government, it is expected from the commission to look into the major issues of the country and provide expert or specialised advice. If the reports,submitted by the commission to government, are concerned, it has certainly highlighted major issues and provided specialised solution which erstwhile Planning Commission failed to do.The analysis of team on simultaneous elections is commendable and worth consideration. The report discuss all the possibilities,method,possible outcomes and issues in detail.
In order to move towards Cooperative Federalism, states are required to learn from each other and adopt best practices. NITI Aayog in collaboration with UNDP has documented a resource book"State Forward-Best practices from our states" after consulting with states.This resource book comprise of best practices followed by states in social sector. For instance, Aadhar-enabled PDS through ePOS devices from Andhra Pradesh,System for Attumanal Neutral Distribution(SAND) -An e-governance project on river sand mining from Kerala etc.
At the time of inception critics had argued that "NITI Aayog is mainly focused on manufacturing sector". However, commission's diagnostic analysis of elementary education in Punjab justify its leaning towards social sector and sustainable development goals.
Major pitfalls
NITI Aayog,certainly, consist of distinguished experts and it has put forward assiduously prepared analytical reports on major key areas and issues undoubtedly. Having said that, I feel there are some crucial bottlenecks in functioning of NITI Aayog.
It has recommended replacement of Medical Council of India by National Medical Commission. If the recommendations and provisions of proposed bill are analyzed thoroughly,we can find a number of rough edges in the bill.The point is you are providing a solution to a major problem but your solution itself contains some minor problems.
Secondly,the projections and dreams are sky-touching with typical political rhetoric while there is a no solid action plan to achieve that particular target.For instance,it has recently devised plans to help India achieve 50 medals in 2024 summer Olympics.Reality is far different from the projections. Approach of NITI Aayog has been superficial and lack proper analysis of the ground issues and substantial action items.
Agriculture expert Professor Ramesh Chand has been appointed new full time member of NITI Aayog but so far I have not observed any substantial change in policy and planning in agriculture.
I didn't expect a policy think-tank to suggest schemes like Lucky Grahak Yojana and Digi-dhan Vyapar Yojana.This is not only a benchmark of its poor thought process but a live example of its over-obsession with Digitalization.
Further, it has replaced 5 year plans with a 15 year vision document in tandem with global trends. First of all what is the logical justification of that? Even if it justify the change on certain ground,did it consult the states? If not, how can it claim to be working on the principles of cooperative federalism? States are invited to attend the meetings but their role has been meagre in policy formulation and planning.
Also, when the policy formulation is based on global trends, how can the commission work in a Bottom-Up manner?
Despite of various shortcomings in functioning, I still think that period of two years is not enough to judge the methodology of NITI Aayog. There are challenges ahead in attaining the targets and objectives but I believe it has the potential to design an innovative framework for a better India.
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