Lesson 7. Planning, NITI Aayog, and Sustainable Development

While centralized Five-Year Plans are history, understanding their legacy and the contemporary strategic framework is vital. This includes the objectives and key highlights of early plans, the transition from the Planning Commission to NITI Aayog, and the latter’s role as a think tank (focusing on cooperative federalism, shared vision, and fostering innovation). A major and overlapping part of this topic is Sustainable Development. This mandates a thorough grasp of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), India’s progress and initiatives towards them, and the linkage with national programs. Concepts of inclusive growth, green growth, and circular economy are increasingly important. It also encompasses environmental economics: issues of climate change (India’s NDCs under the Paris Agreement, International Solar Alliance, COP26 commitments), pollution (National Clean Air Programme), conservation (National Mission for Biodiversity, CAMPA), and the economics of renewable energy transitions. Questions often integrate environmental concerns with development policies. Additional Resources: The NITI Aayog’s SDG India Index and its various strategy documents on different sectors are key. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform and India’s Voluntary National Review on SDGs are important. For environmental economics, the MoEFCC’s annual reports, IPCC reports, and World Resources Institute (WRI) publications are highly useful.