In a new IMFG Forum Paper, four experts weigh in on the future of India’s economic policy.
For over half a century, the Indian Planning Commission has been one of India’s leading public economic institutions. The Indian Government’s decision to dissolve it in August 2014 marks an important watershed moment for the country. What does it mean for the future of India’s economic policy and the federal structure of India`s democracy? Does the new body that has replaced it represent a meaningful step toward the central government’s vision of a competitive and cooperative federalism, or is it merely a branding exercise, presenting the same wine in new bottles?
A new IMFG Forum Paper, Requiem for an Institution: The End of the Indian Planning Commission, brings together commentaries on the birth of the National Institution for Transforming India Aayog (NITI Aayog). While it is early days for this new advisory body, these preliminary commentaries offer insights into its likely direction, and raise universal questions about how to get the relationship between central, state, and local governments right.
About the Authors
- Richard M. Bird is Senior Fellow at IMFG, and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Economics at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
- Bharat Punjabi was IMFG’s Postdoctoral Fellow for 2014-2015.
- Sanjay G. Reddy is Associate Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research.
- Mitu Sengupta is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University.