GK Question

polity hard mcq

NITI Aayog, replacing the Planning Commission in 2015, promotes 'cooperative federalism' through which key mechanism?

  1. Imposing uniform development plans on all States
  2. Including all State Chief Ministers in its Governing Council for policy dialogue and competitive rankings
  3. Centralizing all development funding decisions
  4. Eliminating State-level planning bodies

Answer: Including all State Chief Ministers in its Governing Council for policy dialogue and competitive rankings

NITI Aayog's cooperative federalism model (2015-present): (a) Governing Council: PM (Chairperson) + all CMs + UT Lt. Governors — platform for Centre-State policy dialogue, (b) Functions: (i) Bottom-up planning (States propose priorities), (ii) Best practices sharing, (iii) Competitive federalism rankings (Health Index, SDG Index, School Education Quality Index), (iv) Policy innovation labs, (v) Monitoring and evaluation, (c) Contrast with Planning Commission: Top-down plan formulation, resource allocation via formula, (d) Challenges: NITI Aayog lacks constitutional/statutory status, funding authority; influence depends on persuasion, not allocation power, (e) Impact: Shift from directive to facilitative federalism; effectiveness depends on political will for cooperation. Illustrates evolution of Centre-State coordination mechanisms in Indian federalism.

Topic Federalism - Cooperative Mechanisms Evolution
Exam Relevance Cooperative federalism mechanisms frequently asked in UPSC and SSC exams
More in polity Back to all questions