PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE
1 . NITI Aayog
Context : Government has reconstituted NITI Aayog. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the re-constitution of National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog
About 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.
- 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.
Background
- 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.
Functions
- To evolve a shared vision of national development priorities sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States in the light of national objectives
- To foster cooperative federalism through structured support initiatives and mechanisms with the States on a continuous basis, recognizing that strong States make a strong nation
- To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government
- To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interests of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy
- To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefiting adequately from economic progress
- To design strategic and long term policy and programme frameworks and initiatives, and monitor their progress and their efficacy. The lessons learnt through monitoring and feedback will be used for making innovative improvements, including necessary mid-course corrections
- To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international like-minded Think tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.
- To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners.
- To offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.
- To maintain a state-of-the-art Resource Centre, be a repository of research on good governance and best practices in sustainable and equitable development as well as help their dissemination to stake-holders
- To actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the identification of the needed resources so as to strengthen the probability of success and scope of delivery
- To focus on technology upgradation and capacity building for implementation of programmes and initiatives
- To undertake other activities as may be necessary in order to further the execution of the national development agenda, and the objectives mentioned above
Members
Chairperson
- Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister
Vice Chairperson
- Dr. Rajiv Kumar
Full-Time Members
- Shri V.K. Saraswat
- Prof. Ramesh Chand
- Dr. V. K. Paul
Ex-officio Members
- Shri Raj Nath Singh, Minister of Defence
- Shri Amit Shah, Minister of Home Affairs
- Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs
- Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare;Minister of Rural Development; Minister of Panchayati Raj.
Special Invitees
- Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
- ShriThaawar Chand Gehlot, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
- Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways; and Minister of Commerce and Industry
- Shri Rao Inderjit Singh, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and Minister of State(Independent Charge) of Ministry of Planning.
Chief Executive Officer
- Shri Amitabh Kant
2 . Competition Commission of India
Context :
Need of Competition Commission of India
- Competition is the best means of ensuring that the ‘Common Man’ or ‘Aam Aadmi’ has access to the broadest range of goods and services at the most competitive prices. With increased competition, producers will have maximum incentive to innovate and specialize.
- This would result in reduced costs and wider choice to consumers. A fair competition in market is essential to achieve this objective.
- Goal is to create and sustain fair competition in the economy that will provide a ‘level playing field’ to the producers and make the markets work for the welfare of the consumers.
The Competition Act
- The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007, follows the philosophy of modern competition laws.
- The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.
Competition Commission of India
- The objectives of the Act are sought to be achieved through the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been established by the Central Government
- CCI consists of a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.
- It is the duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India.
- The Commission is also required to give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from a statutory authority established under any law and to undertake competition advocacy, create public awareness and impart training on competition issues.
3 . Marshall Islands
Context : Agreement for Exchange of Information between India and Marshall Islands notified
About the Agreement
- The Agreement enables exchange of information, including banking and ownership information, between the two countries for tax purposes.
- It is based on international standards of tax transparency and exchange of information and enables sharing of information on request. The Agreement also provides for representatives of one country to undertake tax examinations in the other country.
- The Agreement will enhance mutual co-operation between India and Marshall Islands by providing an effective framework for exchange of information in tax matters which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance.
About Marshall Islands
- Marshall Island is an island country and a United States associated state near the equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the International Date Line