Is NITI Aayog a commission or institution, asks Lok Sabha member

NEW DELHI: Seeking to pick holes in the recently-constituted NITI Aayog, a Lok Sabha member today wanted to know that whether it is a commission or an institution.

Participating in a debate on Motion of Thanks to President's address, Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJD) said: "It is National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and still you call it commission. How can it be an institution and commission together?

"Are we so poor in translation or we do not understand that we call an institution a commission. It is wrong grammar which we are repeating...."

NITI Aayog came into existence on January 1, 2015, after the government scrapped the socialist-era Planning Commission.

Noted economist Arvind Panagariya has been appointed as the first Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog and erstwhile Planning Commission Secretary Sindhushree Khullar is its CEO.