Budget 2018: NITI Aayog comes of age with an imprint in major policies

As many as six major announcements made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Union Budget 2018-19 had clear imprints of the NITI Aayog

For much of its first three years, the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog has remained an associate player in India’s policy framework, with several of its recommendations being widely appreciated. But Budget 2018-19 has firmly placed it as the country’s foremost policy institution, with several of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's key announcements showing clear NITI Aayog imprints.
 
As many as six major announcements made by Jaitley had a role of the NITI Aayog, reflecting the body's growing clout and acceptance in policy formation. NITI has also emerged as a prime body for fostering ‘cooperative federalism’, an idea