THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE TRANSFORMATION OF

INDIA(NITI)-AYOG WITH EMPHASIS UPON DIGITALISATION

Let me begin this critical essay upon economic planning, by stating that as a
student of economics who has studied the said subject for more than a year, that
economic planning has taken new forms, dimensions and contours in the ever-
changing world of economic dynamism. I’m given to understand that economic
planning. It is a well-accepted fact of economic studies that earlier economists
hardly paid attention or rather laid emphasis upon the importance and the
imperativeness of natural resources in any economy, however, since they’re not
in plentiful abundance, it does become important, i.e., in my opinion that there
must be a responsible and integrated central mechanism which is to say a
planning authority which is tasked with the responsibility of allocating available
human, capital and physical resources in order to ensure that equal opportunities
don’t stay confined to mere drawing room talk and parliamentarian debates, but
rather, it should and evidently ought to i.e., from the perspective of welfare
economics which I certainly believe is directly related and co-related to
economic planning , translate itself into a palpable reality by and through the aid
of which, a human being may realise his fullest capital potential in a
competitive economy, which otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to achieve let alone
fulfil in the absence of pro-bono economic planning. In the words of Prof H.D.
Dickenson, “Economic planning is the making of major economic decisions-
i.e.- what and how much is to be produced and to whom it’s to be allocated to
on the basis of a comprehensive survey which shall be accordingly executed by
a conscious planning authority.’’

Thus, the very definition of economic planning has been adduced and
accordingly explained, albeit in a quasi-nuanced manner. The purpose of my
project is to elucidate upon the very purpose, the objectives as well as a special
emphasis of digitalisation which is being greatly forwarded and expounded
upon by the NITI-AYOG, especially after the smartphone and the internet
revolution which has off-recently overwhelmed India , and which is being
supportively encouraged by the administration of P.M. Narendra Modi.
However, I’d like to give a brief introduction to the idea of economic planning
which I shall do so in the next paragraph.

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According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,“it’s the process by which decisions
are made and influenced by a central government, which is directly as opposed
to the principle of laissez-faire economics, the latter which attempts to eschew
any attempt to guide the economy, which instead relies upon market forces to
determine the speed, direction and nature of economic development.’’ In
furtherance of this argument, it must also be noted from the perspective and
point of view of Marxist economic jurisprudence that the idea of central
economic planning was the result of a thesis which attempted to disavow and
criticise capitalism as a system based upon the very foundations of debauchery
and greed; furthermore, after the Russian Revolution of 1917 which resulted in
the creation of the USSR, the idea of proletariat based welfare schemes guided
by humane egalitarian values now seemed a viable and even health moralistic
view vis-à-vis capitalist market conspiracies or rather, to be more correct and
objective, domination. It also, I solemnly believe that it raised the hopes of the
creation of egalitarian based economic action; by, for and on behalf of the
marginalised people, who now, under the benefits and aegis of economic
development had a chance to truly develop upon their human capital sans any
bourgeois interference and threats to their market monopolies. As the noted
Soviet leader N.I. Bukharin wrote, “as soon as we deal with an organised
economy, all problems related to ‘political’ economy such as prices, values and
profits will simply disappear… for here the economy is not being regulated by
the blind forces of the market, but by a consciously implemented plan.’’

Now, I will focus the energies of my effort upon writing upon the objectives,
and its emerging role in making India an economically progressive and
emerging nation especially with emphasis upon digitalisation, for it’s due to the
latter that access to information and broad horizons related to the development
of human capital can be surely capitalised upon. The details of the
aforementioned features will be given as follows and accordingly:

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 OVERVIEW OF THE NITI-AYOG

The National Institute for the Transformation of India(NITI)-AYOG, commonly

abbreviated as NITI-AYOG, is an Indian government think tank situated on No.
5 Parliament Street, New Delhi which was established during the political
administration of P.M. Narendra Modi, to replace the old and out-dated
Nehruvian era Planning Commission. As a matter of principle, the NITI-AYOG
was formed to establish the involvement and the participation of Indian State
governments vis-à-vis economic policy making and formulation. It is indeed a
matter of economic history that the Central government in Delhi laid the
foundation stone of this organisation, on 01st January 2015 and its first official
meeting was chaired on 08th of February 2015. However, the narrative behind
its inception must be lucidly explained. It was upon the 29th of May 2014, a
panel of expert evaluation officers submitted an independent assessment report
to the BJP government, with a recommendation to replace/ change the out-dated
Planning Commission with a control commission, then on 13 th of August 2014,
the Union Cabinet passed a resolution to prorogue the Planning
Commission,with a diluted version of the National Development and Reform
Commission(NDRC) of the People’s Republic of China. Then, on 01 st January
2015, the said cabinet resolution came into effect thereby changing and turning
the page of India’s economic history; in fact, the Finance Minister Mr. Arun
Jaitley quoted, ‘‘ the 65 year old Planning Commission had become a redundant
organisation; it was useful at a time when there was a command economy in
existence, but since India has a diverse economy with different and varied
diversified channels of economic growth, it holds no water any longer.’’ To
better understand its composition, the following details are an integral part and
parcel of public information and data, which are enlisted as follows:

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 COMPOSTION OF THE NITI-AYOG

(1) The P.M. of India is the chairman of the said think tank.

(2) A Governing Council composed of all States and UT’s along with
their CM’s, legislators and Lt.Governors’.

(3) A Regional Council in every State, which is composed of CM’s and

legislators who address specific issues and contingencies related to the
State.

(4) A full-time organisational framework composed of a Vice Chairman;

3 full-time members; 2 part time members from leading Indian
universities; and 4 ex-officio members of the Union Council of
Ministers as well as a CEO.

(5) Various experts and specialists from different fields.

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE NITI-AYOG

(1) It’s essentially an advisory body which seeks to provide critical

directional and strategic inputs across the spectrum of key elements of
policy, to both the Central and State governments.

(2) It seeks to put an end to slow and tardy implementation of policies, by

fostering inter-State; Centre-State and inter-ministerial cooperation
and coordination.

(3) It seeks to develop cooperative federalism by following the motto of,

“strong states make a strong nation.”

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 (4) It endeavours to ensure that India will be an active player in debates
and discussions with respect to global commons.

(5) It endeavours to ensure that an active and flourishing middle class will
participate in its engagements and activities.

(6) It endeavours to ensure that technological up-gradation, innovation

and capacity-building are expedited upon.

DIGITALISATION UNDERTAKEN BY THE NITI-AYOG

Thus, after having elucidated upon the overview, the composition, the
objectives of the NITI-AYOG, I would now like to explain the very essence of
digitalisation and its impactful impact of the said organisation because P.M.
Modi’s imperative is to focus upon emancipation through digitalisation. The
latter is, without doubt, a useful modus-operandi as a tool of social change
which can evidently facilitate economic planning, in an organised economy.
Some useful pointers which allude to the pertinent point of economic
development have been explained through a number of newspapers, which has
been accordingly explained:

The NITI Aayog and ABB India signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) today to
support the Indian government realize its ambitious vision of ‘Make in India’
through advanced manufacturing technologies that incorporate the latest
developments in robotics and artificial intelligence. The agreement was signed
in the presence of Mr Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog and Dr Ulrich
Spiesshofer, CEO, ABB by Ms Anna Roy, Adviser (Industry), NITI Aayog and
Mr Sanjeev Sharma, MD, ABB India. NITI Aayog will work with ABB across
various sectors of the economy, such as the power and water utilities, industries
like food as well as the heavy industries and the transport (rail and metro) and
infrastructure to suggest solutions for digitalization, incorporating the Internet
of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. The initiative also
covers the fast growing segment of electric mobility.

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Jointly, NITI AYOG and ABB will work with government ministries, solicit
feedback for areas critical to them and discuss solutions using industrial
automation, and digitalization technologies.

“We are looking forward to learning more about practical applications of future
technologies such as AI and IoT, especially in streamlining governance and
economic systems. Through this collaboration, which will include cross-sectoral
understanding of digitalization at ABB’s world class centres, will be key in
driving progress of key sectors in India. This collaboration is meant to lead to
actionable insights and focused plans that will help India become a centre for
advanced manufacturing,” quoted Mr Amitabh Kant.

Through this SoI, NITI AYOG will facilitate participation of policymakers and
government functionaries in workshops and training programs organized by
ABB India. Such programs will feature subject matter experts and will aim to
sensitize policymakers and officials about relevant AI capabilities, and explore
ways they can be used for revolutionizing manufacturing productivity. The first
workshop for senior government officials, under this collaboration, would be
organised in June, 2018 at ABB Ability Innovation Centre in Bengaluru. Given
the importance of the food processing sector, the workshop will focus on digital
and automation technologies in this sector. Senior officials from the Central,
State Governments and autonomous bodies will be nominated for this
workshop. Similar workshops will be organised for other sectors such as power,
urban development and transport in the future.

NITI AYOG and all stakeholders will be exposed to hands-on experience of

ABB Ability, the company’s comprehensive digital portfolio of solutions that
deliver value of industrial digitalization to utilities, industries and transportation
and infrastructure. Based on the interactions with ABB India, NITI Aayog will
also make recommendations to government ministries for guidelines and
policies regarding development and adoption of AI technology in sectors such
as power & water utilities, manufacturing, e-Mobility and infrastructure, with
industrial automation and digitalization as the backbone.

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NITI AYOG, in collaboration with ABB, will come out with a report on policy
recommendations based on the feedback received in the workshops, by
December this year. The workshops and training programs will be held at ABB
Ability Innovation Centre (ABB AIC). As the company’s biggest research and
development centre in the world, located in Bengaluru, it develops technologies
in areas such as AI, cyber security, automation engineering, data analytics,
augmented and virtual reality and industrial software.

“We are excited to partner with NITI AYOG and develop ways to for key areas
of India’s economy to benefit from and implement the latest technologies in
digitalization, artificial intelligence, robotics, and industrial automation. We
look forward to working with key stakeholders in the Indian government, and
supporting key initiatives of Prime Minister Modi such as ‘Make in India’,” said
Dr Ulrich Spiesshofer.” <1>

A GENERAL INTERPRETATION OF DIGITALISATION IN

ECONOMIC PLANNING
Digital is not just about technology implementation. It encompasses the
transformation of business, enterprises and governments using technology, so as
to make experiences better, communication effective and work simpler. Thus
far, digital has been characterised by four aspects—social media, mobility,
analytics and cloud— commonly called SMAC, which is changing the
dynamics and the very fabric of what India is, fundamentally.

For the government, the shift to digital has primarily been about transparency
and reach—taking services and resources in the healthcare, education and
financial sectors to the rural population of India. While ambitious, these efforts
mark a major paradigm shift in the planning of governance and service delivery.

The rising levels of digitisation and digital adoption, though noteworthy, are
still not sufficient to bring the bottom layers of the pyramid under the coverage
of digital benefits. This is a global challenge and impacts both developed and
developing nations, albeit to varying degrees, but it has most definitely and
positively impacted India, be what one may say, opine or think. Economic
(extreme poverty) and social (high degree of illiteracy) factors are often
universal, while India has some unique challenges of its own, accentuated by its
vast geography and diversity of language and due to tardy development caused
by the Planning Commission and lax government planning. Digitalisation is

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uplifting our country towards advancement and filling gaps owing to physical
infrastructure. With digital, government services are reaching citizens in the
remotest of locations. For instance due to economic digital planning undertaken
by the Indian government, farmers are receiving weather updates on their
phones, which are helping them plan their agricultural activities. Thus, digital
and technology play a crucial role in ensuring the efficient translation of
economic planning into an evident and perceivable economic reality, which
allows them to unleash their economic potential in-toto. <2>

A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NITI-AYOG

When an economist who is well aware of transient economic vicissitudes taking

place in the country, he would most certainly argue that the pages of economic
planning have been indeed turned and that an objective analysis of the NITI-
AYOG requires an understanding of both sides of the coin, i.e., both positively
and negatively in order to arrive at a reasonable and sensible conclusion with
respect to this advanced body of economic development. Human development
is, from a developmental point of view, an integral part of economic planning
and strategizing; in continuation, it does become important to analyse certain
various aspects of digitalisation undertaken by this think-tank .The good part
about the NITI-AYOG is that it is a coordinated body which aims and
endeavours to ensure a consolidated and integrated approach to crystallising
economic planning through human development i.e., via net/ aggregate
participation with community members as well as integrated and established
government units; secondly, through digitalisation, economic planning does
take a diverse manifestation by which human capital can be tapped into
because human patterns can be easily predicted and understood through
internet and digital utilisation ,which are essentially economic in scope which is
to say that, the needs of humans are constantly adapting to new milieus and
which are interdependent upon external stimuli; thirdly, since it’s contingent
upon the syndicalism of cooperation between private and public individuals
who are highly skilled with respect to their capabilities that it is but impossible
for such a singularly created body to immediately forge some sort of middle
ground between various conflicting parties in order to achieve target goals so
set out by the government in power; lastly, since it’s based upon the very

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principles of welfare enrichment and aggregate benefits , the overall human
development through digital connectivity and pattern analysis can ne evidently
obtained thus..

As opposed to these said points, it must be firstly said that since the NITI-
AYOG is the brainchild of political enterprise, it would be certain that it would
favour the development of certain sectors favoured by the existing political
establishment which currently has a mandate to rule and govern and which also
has an exclusive carte-blanche to develop these sectors. Secondly, it’s over-
prioritisation of digitalisation will and most certainly lead to a mass and large
scale violation of data and privacy of internet users; as a matter of principled
conjecture, the government may, on the pretext of furthering human
development through digitalisation may gather information on their citizens and
accordingly make them vulnerable to government sponsored espionage
disguised under the garb of economic welfare, for no authority has a right- even
in natural law-to excessively monitor its citizens because the age of police states
are passé and welfare states are in vogue, and this principle must always be
morally enforced . Thirdly, it may be a temporary breeze of relief which is to
say, since it was established by the BJP government, it may be prorogued by a
new political order, which couldn’t care less about economic planning and
welfare. Having explained, to the best possible ability with reference to the
subject matter of the NITI-AYOG and its broad nuances, I sincerely submit my
written submissions to the concerned faculty.

CITATITIONS
<1> www.pib.nic.in/ pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1533208.
Accessed at 9:00PM,IST.
<2> www.pwc.in/services/taking-us-india-econmoic-realations-to-
the-next-level/digital-bridge-to-growth.html. Accessed at
9:30PM,IST

Submitted by:

SANGRAM SINGH

B.A.,LL.B(H) -SECTION-A (BATCH OF 2016-2021).