NITI Aayog to replace 5-year plans with 15-year vision document

Union Government’s apex think tank NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog has decided to come up with a 15-year vision document in tandem with global trends and economic growth.
NITI Aayog which had replaced erstwhile Planning Commission (PC) in 2015, with its 15-year vision document will also abandon the concept of five-year plans prepared by the PC since 1951.
Key facts

• The first 15-year vision document will come into effect from 2017-18 after the end of the 12th Five year plan. It will be formulated with central objective of eradication poverty.
• It will come along with a seven-year National Development Agenda which will lay down the programmes schemes, and strategies to achieve the long-term vision
• The long vision document (perspective plan) will comprise of three-year macroeconomic framework.
• The framework will predict growth indicators that will be synced with the 14th Finance Commission recommendations.
• It will also be coterminous with the UNDP’s 2030 sustainable development goals to which India is committed to meet broader social objectives.
• The 15-year vision document will also include defence and internal security. They were not been a part of five-year plans.
• The NITI Aayog will also create a dashboard for monitoring, evaluation and review of the implementation of vision document.

The 14th Finance Commission recommendations will remain in force till financial year 2019-20. It had favoured giving states more untied funds along with greater fiscal responsibility in implementing centrally-sponsored schemes. To this effect, it had increased the states’ share in central taxes from 32% to 42%.
UNDP’s 2030 sustainable development goals include 16 long-term goals and 169 sub-targets to be achieved by 2030.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2016