NITI Aayog Reconstituted with New Vice Chairman and Seven Full-Time Members
Two new full-time members have been appointed to NITI Aayog, taking the total count of full-time members to seven — the highest since the body was constituted.
The Prime Minister, who is the ex-officio Chairperson, restructured NITI Aayog in April 2026, appointing Ashok Lahiri as Vice Chairperson (succeeding Suman Bery) along with five full-time members; the two new appointments add to this reconstituted board.
Dr M. Srinivas (Director, AIIMS Delhi) and Prof. Abhay Karandikar (Secretary, Department of Science and Technology) are among the newly appointed full-time members.
The reconstitution comes ahead of the preparation of a new long-term development vision document to replace the earlier "India @2047" framework consultations.
NITI Aayog: Structure, Composition, and Functions
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was constituted on January 1, 2015, through a Cabinet resolution, replacing the Planning Commission which had operated since 1950. Unlike the Planning Commission, which followed a top-down centralised planning model and allocated resources via Five-Year Plans, NITI Aayog is a policy think tank that operates on a bottom-up, cooperative federalism model. The Prime Minister is its ex-officio Chairperson; the Vice Chairperson is appointed by the Prime Minister and holds Cabinet Minister rank. It does not have the power to allocate funds — that function moved to the Finance Ministry.
The reconstitution expands the full-time member strength to seven, signalling a more active policy-setting agenda as India approaches the Viksit Bharat 2047 planning horizon.
Planning Commission vs NITI Aayog: Key Distinctions
The Planning Commission (1950–2015) was an extra-constitutional body that prepared Five-Year Plans and had powers to allocate resources to states and ministries. It was criticised for its one-size-fits-all approach that ignored regional diversity and crowded out state initiative. NITI Aayog retains the advisory and research functions but cedes resource allocation entirely, pivoting to "competitive and cooperative federalism" — states are now partners in policy design rather than recipients of top-down directives.
The fresh reconstitution mirrors how the Planning Commission was periodically reconstituted before presenting each Five-Year Plan — NITI Aayog's equivalent cycle aligns with long-term vision document preparation.
Cooperative Federalism and Centre-State Relations
Cooperative federalism refers to a model in which the Centre and states work as partners rather than in a hierarchical relationship. The Constitution's Seventh Schedule divides legislative powers into Union List (List I), State List (List II), and Concurrent List (List III). Historically, the Planning Commission was seen as a centralising force; NITI Aayog's Governing Council — where all Chief Ministers participate — is positioned as the constitutional machinery's informal complement for executive coordination.
New full-time members with domain expertise in health (AIIMS) and science and technology (DST) reflect NITI Aayog's evolving role as a sectoral policy coordinator between Union ministries and states.
- NITI Aayog constituted: January 1, 2015, by Cabinet resolution.
- Replaced: Planning Commission (est. 1950; last plan — 12th Five-Year Plan, 2012–2017).
- Current Vice Chairperson (2026): Ashok Lahiri (succeeded Suman Bery).
- Total full-time members after May 2026 appointments: 7.
- PM is ex-officio Chairperson; Vice Chairperson holds Cabinet Minister rank.
- CEO rank: Secretary to Government of India.
- Governing Council: all State Chief Ministers + LGs of UTs.
- Key recent appointments: Dr M. Srinivas (AIIMS Delhi Director), Prof. Abhay Karandikar (DST Secretary).