UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 42 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on NITI Aayog Planning Commission
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectPolity
- TopicNon-Constitutional Bodies
- DifficultyEasy
- TypeDirect
The Government of India has established NITI Aayog to replace the
Show answer
Answer: D. Planning Commission
Verdict
The answer is the Planning Commission. NITI Aayog replaced it in January 2015.
Analysis
The Planning Commission was set up by an executive resolution in 1950 and formulated the Five Year Plans until it was replaced by the National Institution for Transforming India, conceived as a policy think tank with a cooperative federalism mandate rather than a plan and allocation body. The Human Rights Commission, the Finance Commission and the Law Commission all continue to exist. The Finance Commission is the most tempting distractor because it also deals with resource transfers to States, but it is a constitutional body under Article 280 and could not be replaced by executive action.
Source
The Hindu report on NITI Aayog as the new policy body.
How to crack it
Classify bodies as constitutional, statutory or executive before answering any question about their creation or abolition. A body created by executive resolution can be dissolved by executive resolution, while a constitutional body cannot, and that single test eliminates the Finance Commission immediately. It is also worth carrying the substantive contrast: the Planning Commission allocated plan funds from the centre, while NITI Aayog advises and coordinates without that allocating power.