Q.Distinguish between the Planning Commission and NITI Aayog.

A comparison-style short-answer question testing understanding of the structural and functional differences between the two bodies. …

The Planning Commission, established in 1950, formulated India's Five Year Plans, decided plan priorities, and allocated central plan funds to states and ministries in a largely top-down manner. It was criticised for being overly centralised, giving states limited say in their own development priorities, and continuing a rigid target-based approach even as the economy became more market-driven after 1991.

NITI Aayog, which replaced it from 1 January 2015, was designed to correct these weaknesses. It is a policy think tank, not a fund-disbursing body — plan-fund allocation now happens through the Finance Commission and the Union Budget. NITI Aayog operates on the principle of cooperative and competitive federalism, with a Governing Council of all state Chief Ministers giving states a direct, institutionalised voice in shaping national strategy. Instead of a single rigid Five Year Plan, it prepares a 15-year vision document, a 7-year strateg …

A common error is claiming NITI Aayog 'prepares Five Year Plans' — it does not; it prepares vision/strategy/action-agenda documents of varying time horizons, and …