***The correct answer is Option 4 - Prime Minister***
NITI Aayog:
After independence, a Planning Commission based on socialist model was formed for the planned development of India. But in the era of globalization, especially in the 21st century, it was becoming ineffective and irrelevant, particularly in terms of coping with the pressing challenges of development. Hence, during his Independence Day speech on 15 August 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about the abolition of the Planning Commission. NITI Aayog was constituted in place of Planning Commission on 1 January 2015 with the objective of providing the necessary and technical advice to the Union Government regarding policy making at the Central and State levels. The Prime Minister of India is the ex-officio Chairman of NITI Aayog and he appoints the Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog. The first Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog was Arvind Panagariya. To harmonize the interests of national security and economic policy and to prepare strategic and long-term framework of policy and program, NITI Aayog acts as a think tank of the Union Government. By adopting a ‘Bottom-Up Approach’, the NITI Aayog acts in the spirit of cooperative federalism as it ensures equal participation of all states in the country. |
