Niti Aayog is India's action tank: Rajiv Kumar

LONDON: NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar on Wednesday hailed the planning body as an "action tank" whose action-oriented approach is getting things done in India.

The government's planning chief distinguished the body from the erstwhile Planning Commission, which he said produced five-year plans which were "rarely" used for anything.

"There is so much that has happened in the four years of the Modi government. We are on the cusp of major transformation," Kumar said at a special session during the ongoing UK-India Leadership Conclave in Buckinghamshire.


"Earlier, we have had five-year plans that were rarely used for anything. We have moved away from that to focus on producing implementable design... NITI Aayog is actually an action tank," he added.

Addressing a broad range of subjects, from Digital India, energy and water resources to investment, the NITI Aayog vice-chairman called on foreign investors to be proactive with their feedback to the Indian government.

"Please don't remain below the radar, come forward with your views. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown the government's job is to facilitate investment and then move out and let private entrepreneurs do what they are best at," he said.