NITI to be ‘lean and mean’, infuse outside talent

NITI Aayog CEO Sindhushree Khullar is grappling with the seemingly tough task of trimming the NITI bureaucracy from its current sanctioned strength of 1,200.

The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) has been asked to turn into a lean and mean organisation by the government within the next three-six months, but simultaneously advised to infuse outside talent, including at senior levels.

NITI Aayog CEO Sindhushree Khullar is grappling with the seemingly tough task of trimming the NITI bureaucracy from its current sanctioned strength of 1,200.

Simultaneously, she is working on a new template to hire professionals from the private sector on terms completely different from the government service rules.

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Even as NITI Aayog restructures and reinvents itself, the top brass in the institution has started work on the mid-term review of the Twelfth Plan (2012-17). The review, many said, may ot be undertaken by the new institution.

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Bibek Debroy, member, NITI, told The Indian Express in an interview that the institution will present its assessment of the Indian economy. “We will also recommend the priorities for the balance two years of the Twelfth Plan,” he said.

According to government sources, the NITI has already notified three sub-groups as decided during the first meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will chair the sub-group on centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar on skill development and Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Swachh Bharat.

Each sub-group has about 10-11 chief ministers. “The Madhya Pradesh CM has already called the first meeting of the sub-group on CSS on March 27. There is fair amount of curiosity amongst all CMs on centrally sponsored schemes,” said a NITI Aayog official. Most states want the maximum number of CSS to be done away with.

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Government sources also said work allocation amongst the members is yet to be announced by Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya. But broadly, Panagariya may focus on ease of labour and improving manufacturing, Debroy on social sector and VK Saraswat on science and technology and defence.

P Vaidyanathan Iyer

P. Vaidyanathan Iyer is The Indian Express’s Managing Editor, and leads the newspaper’s reporting across the country. He writes on India’s political economy, and works closely with reporters exploring investigation in subjects where business and politics intersect. He was earlier the Resident Editor in Mumbai driving Maharashtra’s political and government coverage. He joined the newspaper in April 2008 as its National Business Editor in Delhi, reporting and leading the economy and policy coverage. He has won several accolades including the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award twice, the KC Kulish Award of Merit, and the Prem Bhatia Award for Political Reporting and Analysis. A member of the Pulitzer-winning International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Vaidyanathan worked on several projects investigating offshore tax havens. He co-authored Panama Papers: The Untold India Story of the Trailblazing Offshore Investigation, published by Penguin. ... Read More

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