Security & legal proposals to now come under Niti

The government has asked its think tank Niti Aayog to appraise its security and law related proposals, a remit that was outside the planning body's purview till now.

It recently created two independent and dedicated verticals related to security and law to be headed by retired Major General K Narayanan under the Aayog to seek its intervention in related matters.

Narayan will be the project director and point of contact for the ministries of defence, external affairs and home affairs on all security related matters.

The move came ahead of the due reconstitution of Aayog after the formation of the new government on Sunday. The term of the Aayog vice chairman and members is co-terminus with that of the government. The prime minister is the ex officio chairman of the Aayog.

For the last 10 years of its existence, security as well as legal matters were not discussed at the Aayog, though the views of the think tank were sought across all important matters related to the economy, health, education, and social sectors.

A senior government official told ET that the Aayog has made significant contributions to India's policy landscape in the last 10 years, and it is time to seek its expert opinions on security as well as legal matters and hence the creation of new verticals.

The focus of the Aayog's security vertical will be on matters pertaining to making India self-reliant in the defence sector and it will work in coordination with the ministry of home affairs (MHA), ministry of external affairs (MEA) and the ministry of defence (MoD).

Besides, the vertical will also work with MHA for the government's Vibrant Village Programme for villages in the border areas between India and its neighbouring countries.

On the other hand, the law vertical will undertake reviews of Cabinet notes and new law drafts for legal scrutiny and generating opinions from a law and justice perspective for the subject matters raised besides suggesting legal and regulatory reforms in the judicial and other industrial sectors going forward.

The Aayog's law vertical will be expected to appraise programmes or projects requiring legal scrutiny, drafting and vetting of legal documents, vetting and legal evaluation of guidelines or policy and examining proposals referred by the ministry of law and justice.