PM Modi approves reconstitution of NITI Aayog
New Delhi, June 06: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday approved the reconstitution of NITI Aayog and Rajiv Kumar will continue as vice chairman.
Home Minister Amit Shah has been appointed as ex-officio member. According to official sources, besides Shah, Defence Minister Rajanth Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar will be ex-officio members.
Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Commerce and Industry and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Social Justice Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot and Statistics Minister Rao Inderjit Singh will be special invitees to the panel.
The panel's current members V K Saraswat, Ramesh Chand and V K Paul have been repeated.
The NITI Aayog was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015. It is the premier policy 'think tank' of the government of India and provides both directional and policy inputs.
While designing strategic and long-term policies and programmes for the government, NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre and states.
The government, in keeping with its reform agenda, constituted the body to replace the Planning Commission set up in 1950.