NITI Aayog gets two new full-time members

Two new full-time members have been appointed to NITI Aayog, taking the total count of full-time members to seven — the highest since the body was constitute...

What Happened

Two new full-time members have been appointed to NITI Aayog, taking the total count of full-time members to seven — the highest since the body was constituted.
The Prime Minister, who is the ex-officio Chairperson, restructured NITI Aayog in April 2026, appointing Ashok Lahiri as Vice Chairperson (succeeding Suman Bery) along with five full-time members; the two new appointments add to this reconstituted board.
Dr M. Srinivas (Director, AIIMS Delhi) and Prof. Abhay Karandikar (Secretary, Department of Science and Technology) are among the newly appointed full-time members.
The reconstitution comes ahead of the preparation of a new long-term development vision document to replace the earlier "India @2047" framework consultations.

Static Topic Bridges

NITI Aayog: Structure, Composition, and Functions

NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was constituted on January 1, 2015, through a Cabinet resolution, replacing the Planning Commission which had operated since 1950. Unlike the Planning Commission, which followed a top-down centralised planning model and allocated resources via Five-Year Plans, NITI Aayog is a policy think tank that operates on a bottom-up, cooperative federalism model. The Prime Minister is its ex-officio Chairperson; the Vice Chairperson is appointed by the Prime Minister and holds Cabinet Minister rank. It does not have the power to allocate funds — that function moved to the Finance Ministry.

Established: January 1, 2015 (Cabinet resolution); replaced the Planning Commission.
Planning Commission was abolished: August 13, 2014 (announcement); wound up formally in 2015.
Chairperson: Prime Minister (ex-officio).
Vice Chairperson: Appointed by PM; holds Cabinet Minister rank.
Full-time Members: Appointed by PM; hold Minister of State rank.
Part-time Members: Up to two, from leading universities/research organisations (ex-officio).
Ex-Officio Members: Up to four Union Cabinet Ministers nominated by PM.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO): Secretary-rank officer, manages day-to-day administration.
Governing Council: All State Chief Ministers + LGs of UTs — the core cooperative federalism mechanism.
Regional Councils: Constituted by PM for specific themes spanning multiple states.

Connection to this news: The reconstitution expands the full-time member strength to seven, signalling a more active policy-setting agenda as India approaches the Viksit Bharat 2047 planning horizon.

Planning Commission vs NITI Aayog: Key Distinctions

The Planning Commission (1950–2015) was an extra-constitutional body that prepared Five-Year Plans and had powers to allocate resources to states and ministries. It was criticised for its one-size-fits-all approach that ignored regional diversity and crowded out state initiative. NITI Aayog retains the advisory and research functions but cedes resource allocation entirely, pivoting to "competitive and cooperative federalism" — states are now partners in policy design rather than recipients of top-down directives.

Planning Commission: established 1950; chaired by PM; prepared 12 Five-Year Plans.
Twelfth Five-Year Plan (2012–2017) was the last; replaced by three-year Action Plans, seven-year Medium-Term Strategy, and fifteen-year Vision Document under NITI Aayog.
NITI Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) index rates state-wise progress on SDG targets — a key governance monitoring function.
NITI Aayog also houses the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and manages the Aspirational Districts Programme.

Connection to this news: The fresh reconstitution mirrors how the Planning Commission was periodically reconstituted before presenting each Five-Year Plan — NITI Aayog's equivalent cycle aligns with long-term vision document preparation.

Cooperative Federalism and Centre-State Relations

Cooperative federalism refers to a model in which the Centre and states work as partners rather than in a hierarchical relationship. The Constitution's Seventh Schedule divides legislative powers into Union List (List I), State List (List II), and Concurrent List (List III). Historically, the Planning Commission was seen as a centralising force; NITI Aayog's Governing Council — where all Chief Ministers participate — is positioned as the constitutional machinery's informal complement for executive coordination.

Seventh Schedule — Article 246 of the Constitution.
Finance Commission (Article 280) — determines vertical and horizontal devolution of central taxes to states.
NITI Aayog's Governing Council meetings are chaired by the PM and attended by all CMs — the highest executive-level Centre-State deliberation forum outside formal constitutional bodies.

Connection to this news: New full-time members with domain expertise in health (AIIMS) and science and technology (DST) reflect NITI Aayog's evolving role as a sectoral policy coordinator between Union ministries and states.

Key Facts & Data

NITI Aayog constituted: January 1, 2015, by Cabinet resolution.
Replaced: Planning Commission (est. 1950; last plan — 12th Five-Year Plan, 2012–2017).
Current Vice Chairperson (2026): Ashok Lahiri (succeeded Suman Bery).
Total full-time members after May 2026 appointments: 7.
PM is ex-officio Chairperson; Vice Chairperson holds Cabinet Minister rank.
CEO rank: Secretary to Government of India.
Governing Council: all State Chief Ministers + LGs of UTs.
Key recent appointments: Dr M. Srinivas (AIIMS Delhi Director), Prof. Abhay Karandikar (DST Secretary).