The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has reconstituted NITI Aayog, including more members from its allies as special invitees.
Odisha Representation Changes
From Odisha, Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, also a BJP MP from Sundargarh, has been inducted into the government think-tank as a special invitee. He replaced Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, a Rajya Sabha member from Odisha. This move reflects an increase in representation from BJP allies in the NDA.
Leadership and Members
There have been no changes to the positions of Vice-Chairman and full-time members. Prime Minister Narendra Modi remains the chairperson of NITI Aayog. Economist Suman K Berry continues as Vice-Chairman.
Official Notification
According to an official notification, the reconstituted NITI Aayog includes 15 Union Ministers, four full-time members, and several special invitees from BJP-led NDA allies. The new ex-officio member is Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Other ex-officio members are Union Ministers Rajnath Singh (Defence), Amit Shah (Home), and Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance). Full-time members VK Saraswat, Ramesh Chand, VK Paul, and Arvind Virmani remain unchanged.
Focus on Allies
Special invitees in the reconstituted Aayog include Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport and Highways), Jagat Prakash Nadda (Health), HD Kumaraswamy (Heavy Industries and Steel), Jitan Ram Manjhi (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), and Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh (Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying). Other special invitees are Union Ministers Virendra Kumar (Social Justice and Empowerment), Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu (Civil Aviation), Annpurna Devi (Women and Child Development), Chirag Paswan (Food Processing Industries), and Rao Inderjit Singh (Statistics and Programme Implementation).
The think-tank now includes members from several BJP allies in the NDA. Kumaraswamy belongs to the Janata Dal (Secular), Manjhi is from Hindustani Awam Morcha, Rajiv Ranjan Singh is from Janata Dal (United), Naidu is from TDP, and Paswan is from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).
Exclusions
Former Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has not been included in the Aayog this time, as he is no longer a cabinet minister. Previously, Piyush Goyal and Ashwini Vaishnaw were special invitees in the think-tank, but both have now been excluded despite Vaishnaw continuing to hold the railways portfolio.
The National Institution for Transforming India, or NITI Aayog, was constituted in 2015 after the NDA scrapped the 65-year-old Planning Commission.
(With inputs from agencies)
