Who was the first Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog?
- (a)Rajiv Kumar
- (b)Amitabh Kant
- (c)Arvind Pangariya
- (d)Rao Inderjit Singh
Correct — C, Arvind Panagariya (the booklet spells the surname 'Pangariya'). The economist Arvind Panagariya was the first Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, serving from the body's creation on 1 January 2015 until August 2017, after which he returned to Columbia University. NITI Aayog's Chairperson is the Prime Minister ex officio, so the Vice-Chairman is its effective full-time head.
- (a)Rajiv Kumar — He became Vice-Chairman later, succeeding Panagariya in 2017 - he was not the first.
- (b)Amitabh Kant — He was NITI Aayog's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), a different post, not the Vice-Chairman.
- (d)Rao Inderjit Singh — He served as a Minister of State associated with planning/statistics, not as Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog.
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015 as the government's premier policy think-tank. Its Chairperson is the Prime Minister ex officio; day-to-day leadership rests with a Vice-Chairman appointed by the PM, supported by full-time members and a CEO.
The options mix up the offices: the first Vice-Chairman (Panagariya), a later Vice-Chairman (Rajiv Kumar), the CEO (Amitabh Kant) and a Minister of State (Rao Inderjit Singh). Fix the sequence - Panagariya was first (2015-17), Rajiv Kumar came next (from 2017).
- NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission on 1 January 2015.
- Arvind Panagariya - first Vice-Chairman (January 2015 - August 2017).
- Rajiv Kumar succeeded him as Vice-Chairman in 2017; Amitabh Kant served as the CEO.
- The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairperson of NITI Aayog.
- Confusing the Vice-Chairman (Panagariya) with the CEO (Amitabh Kant)
- Assuming NITI Aayog is a constitutional or statutory body - it is neither
Usually a direct 'who was the first/current Vice-Chairman or CEO' or 'what did NITI Aayog replace' - keep the office-holders and the 1 January 2015 date fixed.
The Government of India has established NITI Aayog to replace the
- (a) Human Rights Commission
- (b) Finance Commission
- (c) Law Commission
- (d) Planning Commission
Answer(d) Planning Commission
Same institution - NITI Aayog (whose first Vice-Chairman was Panagariya) was created on 1 January 2015 to replace the Planning Commission.
Who appoints the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog?
- (a) The President of India
- (b) The Prime Minister of India
- (c) The Vice-President of India
- (d) Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Answer(b) The Prime Minister of India
Same office - the NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman (the post Panagariya first held) is appointed by the Prime Minister.
In place of the ‘Planning Commission’, when was the new institution ‘NITI Aayog’ constituted?
- (a) 31 March 2014
- (b) 15 March 1950
- (c) 1 January 2015
- (d) 11 January 2016
Answer(c) 1 January 2015
Same institution's founding - NITI Aayog began on 1 January 2015, the point from which Panagariya served as its first Vice-Chairman.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who is the ex-officio Chairperson of NITI Aayog?
- (a)The President of India
- (b)The Prime Minister of India
- (c)The Finance Minister
- (d)The Vice-Chairman
Answer(b) The Prime Minister of India is the ex-officio Chairperson.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following is TRUE about NITI Aayog?
- (a)It is a constitutional body
- (b)It has the power to allocate funds to States
- (c)It is a policy think-tank without statutory or constitutional status
- (d)It replaced the Finance Commission
Answer(c) It is a policy think-tank set up by executive resolution - neither constitutional nor statutory, and it does not allocate funds.