January 06, 2015
Talking to CNBC TV late last week, Kirit Parikh, former Member of Indias Planning Commission said the structure of NITI Aayog is very similar to the Planning Commission. He seems to be right. The latter was reporting to the National Development Council consisting of Indias state chief ministers and Lieutenant Governors of Indian territory, whereas the former will now have a governing council that will comprise of Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors (See illustration).
Critics say that even the objectives of the new planning body seem to lack innovation, sans intuitive elements like technology, increased emphasis on consultation. "Basically the objectives of the new institution sound very much like that of the Planning Commission. The monitoring and evaluation roles have been retained," Pronab Sen, a former principal adviser in the Planning Commission and chairman of the National Statistical Commission was reported to have said last week.
One of the objectives mentioned in Indias cabinet resolution that presented NITI clearly states: "to actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the identification of the needed resources so as to strengthen the probability of success and scope of delivery". This seems to suggest that the new body will continue to hold the function of resource-allocation, though disbursements shall be by the finance ministry. At the time of writing this note, there was no clarity on this front.
NITI Aayog is also reported to have the responsibility to develop mechanisms for the formulation of village-level plans and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government. Though unlike its predecessor body, NITI Aayog hopes to bid farewell to a one size fits all approach towards development.
This is where the new Indian planning body plans to stand apart from the previous one. So instead of formulating the plan first and then taking the buy-in of the Indian states, the new body aims to make plans in a more cooperative fashion in what the cabinet resolution for NITI Aayog calls: cooperative federalism.
The resolution, available on the website of Indian governments Press Information Bureau says, that "villages continue to be the bedrock of our ethos, culture and sustenance. They need to be fully integrated institutionally into the development process so that we draw on their vitality and energy." One of the objectives of NITI Aayog, according to the resolution, is "to develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government." But then again, this seems to be going back to Indias constitution that demands a district level planning, which should then be consolidated upwards - and therefore isn really a planning innovation.
The other difference highlight by the Indian government is that - much like Pakistans Vision 2025 - the government sees itself as an "enabler" instead of "provider of first and last resort". The new body is envisioned as a hink tank for the government. Again, much like Pakistans Vision 2025, NITI Aayog has special emphasis on transparency in governance; financial and especially non-financial reliance on its diaspora abroad; harnessing the potential of IT, youth and knowledge economy; and partnering with private and third sector stakeholders, including private sector think tanks.
In another emphasis point made in the resolution, the Indian government states: "perhaps most importantly, the institution must adhere to the tenet that while incorporating positive influences from the world, no single model can be transplanted from outside into the Indian scenario. We need to find our own strategy for growth. The new institution has to zero in on what will work in and for India. It will be a Bharatiya approach to development".
Then again, while the "Bharatiya approach" looks like a great catchphrase to sell, Indias own development experience so far has been rather unique to the extent that it often trumps academics, who often say that "India is an exception" to this or that economic or political theory. Ergo, the Bharatiya approach is already been practiced by India.
In the final analysis, the unveiling of NITI Aayog tanks all the hype generated after the scrapping of Indias Planning Commission late last year. On paper, the only major difference is going bottom-up with the plans instead of going top-down, whereas much clarity is still needed in terms of whether NITI would be allocating funds or not.
The rest of NITI seems much like Pakistans very own Vision 2025 document, which may be new for India but not new to the re-conceptualization of planning bodies in other economies according to the requirements of 21st century. However, the difference is - and this column hopes that it is wrong - that 10 years from now India might have actually followed its renewed vision, whereas future Pakistani leaders would be pouring old wine in another bottle called Vision 2050.
THE COMMISSION - THEN AND NOW
While the central allocation to states will be done by the finance ministry, the new structure may also signal the end ofthe five-year or annual plans.
A comparison between NITI Aayog and the last Planning Commission of India:
Sources: PI inning Commission & PIB
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