RAS question
NITI Aayog was established in which year, replacing the Planning Commission?
Correct answer: (B) 2015.
NITI Aayog was established on 1 January 2015 as the replacement for the Planning Commission.
Explanation
NITI Aayog, the National Institution for Transforming India, was established by the Union Government on 1 January 2015 to replace the Planning Commission. The date matters because the decision was associated with an earlier announcement, but the institutional establishment happened on 1 January 2015. The PIB release also explains why this replacement was important: NITI Aayog was meant to give directional and strategic input to India’s development process, move beyond the one-way centre-to-state policy flow associated with the Planning Commission era, and encourage a continuing partnership with states. That makes 2015 the correct year, not merely a later operational reference or the year of political announcement.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 2014 refers to the announcement context, while the Union Government established NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015.
- (C) By 2016, NITI Aayog had already been established and was no longer a new replacement for the Planning Commission.
- (D) 2017 is too late because the official PIB release records the establishment of NITI Aayog on 1 January 2015.
Concept
This tests the institutional reform part of Indian Economy and governance, especially the shift from Planning Commission-era planning to NITI Aayog’s policy think-tank model. It recurs in RAS because questions often ask for exact years tied to major economic institutions.