H.

P NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, SHIMLA

POLITICAL SCIENCE-IV
ROLE OF DIFFERENT AGENCIES IN PUBLIC POLICY
FORMULATION

Submitted To

Dr. Ved Prakash

Submitted By

Aditya Mishra

B.A. L.l.b. (Hons.)

IV Semester.

Roll No.: 03

THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (NDC).

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A course of principle of action adopted or proposed by an organisation or individual.

The National Development Council (NDC) or the Rashtriya Vikas Parishad is the apex body
for decision making and deliberations on development matters in India, presided over by the
Prime Minister. It was set up on August 6, 1952 to strengthen and mobilize the effort and
resources of the nation in support of the Plan, to promote common economic policies in all
vital spheres, and to ensure the balanced and rapid development of all parts of the country.
The Council comprises the Prime Minister, the Union Cabinet Ministers, and Chief Ministers
of all States or their substitutes, representatives of the union territories and the members of
the Commissions. The first meeting chaired by Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru on
November 8–9, 1952. So far 55 meetings had been held. The 55th Meeting of National
Development Council was held on 24 July 2010 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.

NDC acts as a bridge and link between the Central Government, the State governments
and the Planning Commission, especially in the field of planning, to bring about
coordination of policies and programs of plans. Therefore, the NDC is the highest body,
below the Parliament, responsible for policy matters with regard to planning for social
and economic development.

Objectives

It has been set up with three objectives:-

To strengthen and mobilize the effort and resources of the nation in support of the Plan

To promote common economic policies in all vital spheres and

To ensure the balanced and rapid development of all parts of the country.

Functions the functions of the Council are:-

To prescribe guidelines for the formulation of the National Plan, including the assessment of
resources for the Plan;

To consider the National Plan as formulated by the Planning Commission;

To consider important questions of social and economic policy affecting national

development; and

To review the working of the Plan from time to time and to recommend such measures as are
necessary for achieving the aims and targets set out in the National Plan.

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Composition.

The National Development Council is presided over by the Prime Minister of India and
includes all Union Ministers, Chief Ministers of all the States and Administrators of Union
Territories and Members of the Planning Commission. Ministers of State with independent
charge are also invited to the deliberations of the Council.

THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION FOR TRANSFORMING INDIA (NITI

AAYOG)
The National Institution for Transforming India, also called NITI Aayog, was formed via a
resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015. NITI Aayog is the premier policy ‘Think
Tank’ of the Government of India, providing both directional and policy inputs. While
designing strategic and long term policies and programmes for the Government of India,
NITI Aayog also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre and States.
The Government of India, in keeping with its reform agenda, constituted the NITI Aayog to
replace the Planning Commission instituted in 1950. This was done in order to better serve
the needs and aspirations of the people of India. An important evolutionary change from the
past, NITI Aayog acts as the quintessential platform of the Government of India to bring
States to act together in national interest, and thereby fosters Cooperative Federalism.
At the core of NITI Aayog’s creation are two hubs – Team India Hub and the Knowledge
and Innovation Hub. The Team India Hub leads the engagement of states with the Central
government, while the Knowledge and Innovation Hub builds NITI’s think-tank capabilities.
These hubs reflect the two key tasks of the Aayog.
NITI Aayog is also developing itself as a State of the Art Resource Centre, with the necessary
resources, knowledge and skills, that will enable it to act with speed, promote research and
innovation, provide strategic policy vision for the government, and deal with contingent
issues.

Aims and Functions of Niti Aayog

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The key objectives to establish NITI Aayog were as follows:

1. To work as an advisory body to give directional and strategic inputs to Union

Government and also State governments on request.
2. Put an end to the slow and tardy implementation of the policy by fostering inter-
ministry, inter-state and centre-state coordination.
3. To foster cooperative federalism on the principle of Strong states make a strong
nation.
4. To replace the top-down development approach with bottom-top development
approach.
5. To design policy framework for weaker section of society that may not have benefited
from economic progress.
6. To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system via a
community of national and international experts, practitioners and partners.
7. To serve as a platform for resolution of inter-sectorial and inter-departmental issues in
order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.
8. To monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes, and focus on technology
up gradation and capacity building.

On the basis of above, functions of NITI Aayog can be divided into four categories viz. (1) To act
as a Resource Centre & Knowledge Hub (2) Design Policy & Programme Framework (3) Foster
Cooperative Federalism (4) Monitoring and Evaluation.

The NITI Aayog comprises the following:

a. Prime Minister of India as the Chairperson

b. Governing Council comprising the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of
Union Territories

c. Regional Councils will be formed to address specific issues and contingencies impacting
more than one state or a region. These will be formed for a specified tenure. The
Regional Councils will be convened by the Prime Minister and will comprise of the Chief

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 Ministers of States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories in the region. These will be
chaired by the Chairperson of the NITI Aayog or his nominee.

d. Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees
nominated by the Prime Minister

e. The full-time organizational framework will comprise of, in addition to the Prime Minister
as the Chairperson:

 Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by the Prime Minister

 Members: Full-time
 Part-time members: Maximum of 2 from leading universities research organizations
and other relevant institutions in an ex-officio capacity. Part time members will be on
a rotational basis.
 Ex Officio members: Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to
be nominated by the Prime Minister.
 Chief Executive Officer: To be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in
the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
 Secretariat as deemed necessary.

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CABINET SECRETARIAT.

Before the adoption of the portfolio system in the Government of India, all governmental
business was disposed of by the Governor-General-in Council, the Council functioning as a
joint consultative board. As the amount and complexity of business of the Government
increased, the work of the various departments was distributed amongst the members of the
Council only the more important cases being dealt with by the Governor-General or the
Council collectively.

This procedure was legalised by the Councils Act of 1861 during the time of Lord Canning,
leading to the introduction of the portfolio system and the inception of the Executive Council
of the Governor-General. The Secretariat of the Executive Council was headed by the Private
Secretary to the Viceroy, but he did not attend the Council meetings. Lord Willingdon first
started the practice of having his Private Secretary by his side at these meetings. Later, this
practice continued and in November, 1935, the Viceroy's Private Secretary was given the
additional designation of Secretary to the Executive Council.

The constitution of the Interim Government in September 1946 brought a change in the
name, though little in functions, of this Office. The Executive Councils Secretariat was then
designated as Cabinet Secretariat. It seems, however, at least in retrospect, that Independence
brought a sort of change in the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat. It no longer remained
concerned with only the passive work of circulating papers to Ministers and Ministries but
developed into an organisation for effecting coordination between the Ministries.’

The Cabinet Secretariat is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. The administrative
head of the Secretariat is the Cabinet Secretary who is also the ex-officio Chairman of the
Civil Services Board. In the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961
"Cabinet Secretariat" finds a place in the First Schedule to the Rules.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE.

The Cabinet Secretariat is headed by the Prime Minister who is its political head and
assisted by a Cabinet Secretary and other Secretariat staff. The Cabinet Secretariat is
organised in three wings:

1. MAIN CIVIL WING

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This Wing is the institutional machinery through which the Cabinet Secretary
provides secretarial service to the Cabinet, Cabinet Committees and the Committees of
Secretaries. It also deals with framing of Rules of Business of the Union Government.

2. MILITARY WING

The Military Wing provides secretarial service to the Defence Committee of

the Cabinet, National Security Council, Military Affairs Committees and a number
of other committees concerned with defence matters.

3. INTELLIGENCE WING

This Wing concerns itself with matters relating to the Joint Intelligence Committee of
the Cabinet.

Apart from the main Secretariat, the Cabinet Secretariat comprises of

following organisations:
1. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC GRIEVANCES

This is an important organ of Cabinet Secretariat which was established in 1988 as

an independent appellate body of a non-statutory nature. It entertains grievances from
the public against decisions and actions of Central Government institutions. It does not
deal with policy matters, service matters, commercial contracts and cases which are pending
in courts, consumer forums etc.

2. SECRETARY FOR SECURITY

The Secretary is an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer responsible for the security of the
Prime Minister and other Ministers. He is assisted by Director, Special Protection Group and
Joint Secretary.

3. SECRETARY FOR RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS WING

The Secretary is responsible for collation of external intelligence. He is assisted by Joint

Secretary, Special Secretary, Directors and Inspector General. He also works as Director
General (Security) and heads Special Frontier Force and Aviation Research Centre.

4. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT DIVISION

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The Division was established in 2009. The Division is headed by the Secretary and assisted
by Director, Deputy Secretaries, Senior Performance Officer and under-Secretaries. The
main functions of the Division are as follows:

I. Design state-of-the-art performance management system in the Government.

II. Document the approved performance evaluation and management methodology.
III. Create user-friendly guidelines and checklists.
IV. Conduct briefing sessions and training programmes for officers at various levels in
the Government.
V. Manage correspondence and communications with other stakeholders.
VI. Create and maintain data base of relevant national and international benchmarks for
various Government agencies.
VII. Organise meetings to discuss and design results-based management frameworks of
Ministries.
VIII. Maintain records and library of relevant documents.
IX. Prepare analytical notes and background papers to facilitate development of
challenging targets.
X. Develop and manage an advanced electronic (E-Government) system to generate
decision makers.
XI. Create knowledge sharing units to disseminate good practices and advice State
Governments on the adoption of similar system at the State level.
XII. Organise international conferences and workshops.
XIII. Organise annual awards ceremony to declare results from best practices.
XIV. Provide technical assistance to departments in order
to improve the quality of performance indicators and targets.
XV. Produce newsletter and create and maintain a website to promote transparency and
effective dissemination of the necessary information.

As of 2011 the Secretary was also acting as Chairperson of

the National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention. The Government enacted
Chemical Weapons Convention Act in 2000.

ROLE AND FUNCTIONS OF CABINET SECRETARIAT.

1. SECRETARIAL ROLE

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The function of the Cabinet Secretariat is to provide secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and
its various committees. It includes:

a. Preparation
b. Providing information and materials necessary for deliberations.
c. Keeping a record of discussions in the Cabinet.
d. Circulation
e. Circulation
f. Preparation and submission of monthly summaries on large number of subjects to
the Cabinet.

2. ADMINISTERS IMPLEMENTATION

The Cabinet Secretariat oversees the implementation of the Cabinet decisions by the
concerned Ministries and other executive agencies. It can call for information from
various Ministries. As a result, each Ministry sends it a monthly statement showing
the progress in the cases relating to Cabinet decisions. In case a Ministry is falling behind
schedule, the matter is taken up with it to accelerate the implementation progress.

3. CENTRE OF INFORMATION

It keeps the President, the Vice-President and all the Ministries informed of the
major governmental activities by circulating brief notes and monthly
summaries on important matters.

4. CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Management of major crisis situations in the country

and coordinating activities of various Ministries in such situations is undertaken by the
Cabinet Secretariat.

5. FRAME RULES OF BUSINESS

The Cabinet Secretariat handles the work relating to the drafting of Rules of Business and
provides necessary assistance to Cabinet Committees. The Rules are framed to
facilitate smooth transaction of business in Ministries of the Union Government.

6. COORDINATING ROLE

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 The Cabinet Secretariat is the prime coordinating agency in the Union Government. It assists
in decision-making in Government by ensuring inter-ministerial coordination, resolving
differences amongst Ministries and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of
the standing Committees of the Secretaries.
The interministerial problems are thrashed out in the meetings of the Committees of
Secretaries. These meetings are held under the chairmanship of the Cabinet.
Secretary for discussing specific matters and proposals emanating from various Secretaries
to the Government. Inter-ministerial coordination is required for:

a. Removing difficulties and differences.

b. Overcoming
c. Coordination
d. Coordination in administrative action.

7. ADVISORY ROLE

Several cases are brought before the Cabinet Secretariat involving the President, the Prime
Minister, various Ministries and the Parliament, on which it provides aid, advice and
assistance. Some of these are:

I. Cases involving legislation including the issuing of Ordinances.

II. Addresses and messages of the President to the Parliament.
III. Proposals to summon or prorogue the Parliament or dissolve the Lok Sabha.
IV. Cases involving negotiations with foreign countries on treaties, agreements etc.
V. Proposals for sending delegations of persons abroad in any capacity.
VI. Proposals to appoint Public Committees of Enquiry and consideration of reports of
such Committees.
VII. Cases involving financial implications.
VIII. Cases which a Minister puts to the Cabinet for decision and direction.
IX. Cases
X. Proposals to vary reverse decisions.
XI. Cases which the President or the Prime Minister may require to be put before
the Cabinet.
XII. Proposals to withdraw prosecutions instituted by the Government.

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THE CENTRAL SECRETARIAT.

The Central Secretariat system in India is based on two principles:

(1) The task of policy formulation needs to be separated from policy implementation.

(2) Maintaining Cadre of Officers operating on the tenure system is a prerequisite to the
working of the Secretariat system.

The Central Secretariat is a policy making body of the government and is not, to undertake
work of execution, unless necessitated by the lack of official agencies to perform certain
tasks. The Central Secretariat normally performs the following functions:

(1) Assisting the minister in the discharge of his policy making and parliamentary functions.
(2) Framing legislation, rules and principles of procedure.
(3) Sect oral planning and programme formulation.
(4) (a) Budgeting and control of expenditure in respect of activities of the
Ministry/department.
(b) Securing administrative and financial approval to operational programme and their
subsequent modifications.
(c) Supervision and control over the execution of policies and programmes by the executive
departments or semi-autonomous field agencies.
(d) Imitating steps to develop greater personnel and organizational competence both in the
ministry/department and its executive agencies.
(e) Assisting in increasing coordination at the Central level.

Structure of secretariat

The Central Secretariat is a collection of various ministries and departments. A ministry is

responsible for the formulation of the policy of government within its sphere of responsibility
as well as for the execution and review of that policy. A ministry, for the purpose of internal
organisation, is divided into the following subgroups with an officer in charge of each of
them.

The lowest of these units is the section in charge of a Section Officer and consists of a
number of assistants, clerks, typists and peons. It deals with the work relating to the subject

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allotted to it. It is also referred as the office. Two sections constitute the branch which is
under the charge of an und secretary, also known as the branch officer.

Two branches ordinarily form a division which is headed by a deputy secretary. When the
volume of work in a ministry exceeds the manageable charge of a secretary, one or more
wings are established with a joint secretary in charge of each wing.

At the top of the hierarchy comes the department which is headed by the secretary himself or
in some case by an additional/special secretary. In some cases, a department may be as
autonomous as a minister and equivalent to it in rank.

LEGISLATURE :

In a democratic form of government, the role of the legislature as the prime policy making
hotly is significant. Since it is the representative body, it deliberates on various issues and
formulates the policies. Yet, it is now widely accepted that the power of the legislature is
more real in a constitutional sense than in terms of practical politics. Legislatures in the 20th
century have declined in power in relation to the executive despite the fact that they still have
many functions. It is now regarded as a constitutional procedural device for legitimizing the
policies and decisions of government, rather than as an independent policy making unit. The
members of the ruling party, having the majority, push through various policy initiatives
,which are formulated by the Cabinet, having planned within the respective ministries after
consultation with affected interests or concerned communities. It is observed that there is a
high level centralisation of policy initiative and policymaking, at least so far as major policy
initiatives are concerned, and what is more , nearly all the functionaries and institutions
involved in policymaking, have implicitly accepted the role of the Prime Minister. The New
Educational Policy by the parliament in 1986 Budget Session is the Prime Ministers
handwork and so is the policy of liberalisation. Similarly, in case of the education policy, the
basic framework of policy is formulated by the administrators, further strengthened by the
union Education Ministry sent for the consideration of the Cabinet and finally for the
approval of the legislature. Thus, the initiative does not emanate from the legislature.

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CABINET:

In the democratic form of government, it is the constitutional task of the Cabinet to decide the
policies which are to be placed before the legislature for its sanction. Members of the Cabinet
are the immediate and proximate policy makers". Within the Cabinet it is said that, the power
of the Prime Minister in recent times has increased. It is also stated that the Prime Minister
exerts strong influence over policy decisions if he has the majority support of members of the
union legislature. Same is the case with the Chief Minister at the state level. The Cabinet and
the Cabinet Committees play only an advisory and deliberative role while the real decisions
are taken by the Prime Minister himself9.

The Union Cabinet endorsed the 'Challenge of Education a Policy Perspective' a status paper
meant to provide the basis for the formulation of the 'National Policy on Education 1986'
(NPE 1986). It is worth mentioning here that the initiative for the formulation of the NPE
1986 was taken by the then Prime Minister, himself, although he was not holding the
portfolio of education.

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