NITI Aayog to have specialised wings, including 'Team India'

The newly-created NITI Aayog will be a think-tank having experts and representative on its board from states and the Centre and will have specialised wings including 'Team India'.

It will suggest remedies to respective governments implementing schemes, policies and projects.

"While it will make recommendations to the central and State Governments, the responsibility for taking and implementing decisions will rest with them (Centre and states both)," an official statement said.

According to the statement, NITI Aayog will function in close cooperation, consultation and coordination with the central ministries and state governments.

NITI Aayog will house a number of specialised wings, including Research, Consultancy and Team-India.

As per the statement, the Research Wing will develop in-house sectoral expertise as a dedicated think-tank of top notch domain experts, specialists and scholars.

The Consultancy Wing will provide a market-place of panels of expertise and funding for Central and State Governments to tap into.

By playing match-maker instead of providing the entire services itself, NITI Aayog will be able to focus its resources on priority matters, providing guidance and an overall quality check .

The Team India Wing will comprise representatives from every State and Ministry and serve as a permanent platform for national collaboration.

Each representative will ensure every state/ministry has a continuous voice and stake in the NITI Aayog.

They will also establish a direct communication channel between the state/ministry and NITI Aayog for all development related matters as the dedicated liaison interface.

A national Hub-Spoke institutional model will be developed, with each State and Ministry encouraged to build dedicated mirror institutions, serving as the interface of interaction. These institutions, in turn, will nurture their own networks of expertise at state and ministry level, it said.

It will provide critical directional and strategic input to the development process, focusing on deliverables and outcomes. This, along with being as incubator and disseminator of fresh thought and ideas for development, will be the core mission of the Aayog.