UKPSC Prelims 2024 Q59: Which of the following is NOT a part of the Governing

Q: What is the answer to UKPSC Prelims 2024 Q59?

C. Correct — C, Governors of States. The Governing Council is NITI Aayog's forum of heads of government. Paragraph 13(b) of the Cabinet Resolution of 1 January 2015 constitutes it as 'the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories', with the Prime Minister as Chairperson. The Cabinet Secretariat notification of 19 February 2021 reconstituting the Council names each member: the Chief Ministers of the 28 States, the Chief Ministers of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry, and the Lieutenant Governors of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Ladakh. Against that list, **Governors of States** is the one option with no entry. The idea to carry away: **a State sits on the Council through its Chief Minister, not its Governor**. The Governor is the constitutional head of the State; the Council brings together the people who run governments, so the State's seat goes to the head of its elected government.

UKPSC Prelims 2024 General Studies Paper-I · Question 59 of 147

Verified against the official question booklet. Answer as per UKPSC's provisional answer key.

Answers from UKPSC's provisional answer key. The Commission publishes a provisional key for UKPSC Prelims 2024 and invites objections before issuing a final key. Every answer shown here is the Commission's own provisional answer (key PDF), not our derivation. If the final key changes an answer, this page is updated to match.

Which of the following is NOT a part of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog?

(a)All Chief Ministers of the States
(b)Chief Ministers of Delhi and Puducherry
(c)Governors of States
(d)Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Answer

Why

Correct — C, Governors of States.

The Governing Council is NITI Aayog's forum of heads of government. Paragraph 13(b) of the Cabinet Resolution of 1 January 2015 constitutes it as 'the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories', with the Prime Minister as Chairperson.

The Cabinet Secretariat notification of 19 February 2021 reconstituting the Council names each member: the Chief Ministers of the 28 States, the Chief Ministers of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry, and the Lieutenant Governors of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Ladakh.

Against that list, Governors of States is the one option with no entry.

The idea to carry away: a State sits on the Council through its Chief Minister, not its Governor.

The Governor is the constitutional head of the State; the Council brings together the people who run governments, so the State's seat goes to the head of its elected government.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
All Chief Ministers of the States — This is the core of the Council, so it cannot be the odd one out. The 2015 Resolution begins the Council's definition with 'the Chief Ministers of all the States', and the 2021 notification lists each of the 28 State Chief Ministers by office, from Andhra Pradesh to West Bengal.
The option is the right answer to a question asking who represents the States on the Governing Council. Their presence is what makes the Council the working instrument of cooperative federalism that the Resolution's objectives describe.
(b)
Chief Ministers of Delhi and Puducherry — Both are members.
Delhi and Puducherry are Union Territories with legislatures and elected governments, so the 2021 notification lists 'Chief Minister of National Capital Territory of Delhi (UT)' and 'Chief Minister of Puducherry (UT)' in the same run as the State Chief Ministers, along with the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir (UT).
The option is the right answer to a question about Union Territories represented through a Chief Minister because they have a legislature. The hazard is assuming that a UT is represented by its Lieutenant Governor regardless of whether it has a legislature.
(d)
Lieutenant Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands — A member.
The 2015 formula gives Union Territories their seat through 'Lt. Governors of Union Territories', and the 2021 notification lists the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands (item 36) and the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh (item 37) as members.
The option is the right answer to a question about a Union Territory without a legislature, represented by its Lieutenant Governor. Note the different status of the Administrators of Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep, who attend as special invitees.

Concept

NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) was created by Cabinet Resolution No. 511/2/1/2015-Cab, deemed in force from 1 January 2015. It is an executive creation: the same Resolution superseded the resolution of 15 March 1950 that had set up the Planning Commission.

Paragraph 13 of the Resolution gives it two tiers.

The political tier is the Prime Minister as Chairperson, a Governing Council of the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories, and Regional Councils formed for a specified tenure to handle issues affecting more than one State.

The full-time organisational framework is the Vice-Chairperson appointed by the Prime Minister, full-time Members, up to two part-time members from universities or research organisations, up to four ex-officio members from the Union Council of Ministers, a Chief Executive Officer in the rank of Secretary, and a Secretariat.

The Governing Council is where the Resolution's first objective is meant to happen: 'a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors and strategies with the active involvement of States'. The Prime Minister chairs its meetings; the 11th, on 11 June 2026, drew 30 Chief Ministers, 2 Lieutenant Governors and 1 Administrator.

Governors of States have a separate forum, the Conference of Governors, held at Rashtrapati Bhavan under the President. Keeping the two forums apart is the whole of this question.

Two neighbouring bodies are worth placing beside it. The Inter-State Council exists under Article 263 of the Constitution and is also chaired by the Prime Minister.

The National Development Council of the Planning Commission era, set up in August 1952, likewise brought the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers together, to approve the Five-Year Plans.

Key facts

NITI Aayog rests on Cabinet Resolution No. 511/2/1/2015-Cab dated 1 January 2015, which superseded the 15 March 1950 resolution that created the Planning Commission.
Paragraph 13(b) of the Resolution: the Governing Council comprises the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories; the Prime Minister is Chairperson.
The Governing Council was first constituted by notification on 16 February 2015 and reconstituted by Cabinet Secretariat Notification No. 1/51/1/2015-Cab dated 19 February 2021.
The 2021 notification lists the Chief Ministers of the 28 States and of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry, each marked (UT), as members.
The Lieutenant Governors of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and of Ladakh are members; the Administrators of Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep are special invitees.
Ex-officio Members, the Vice-Chairperson and Full-time Members of NITI Aayog sit on the Governing Council, and NITI Aayog's special invitees are special invitees of the Council.
Regional Councils, under paragraph 13(c), are convened by the Prime Minister, comprise the region's Chief Ministers and Lt. Governors, and are chaired by the Chairperson or a nominee.
Ex-officio members of NITI Aayog are at most four members of the Union Council of Ministers, nominated by the Prime Minister.
The 11th Governing Council meeting, held on 11 June 2026, was attended by 30 Chief Ministers, 2 Lieutenant Governors and 1 Administrator.
Governors of States meet in the Conference of Governors under the President; the Governing Council is a forum of heads of government.

Who sits on NITI Aayog's Governing Council (2021 reconstitution)

Prime Minister→Chairperson

Chief Ministers of the 28 States→Members

Chief Ministers of Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Puducherry (UTs with legislature)→Members

Lieutenant Governors of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Ladakh→Members

Ex-officio Members, Vice-Chairperson, Full-time Members of NITI Aayog→Members

Administrators of Chandigarh, DNH & DD, Lakshadweep→Special invitees

Governors of States→No seat; they meet in the Conference of Governors

Composition per Cabinet Secretariat Notification dated 19 February 2021. The 2015 Resolution's formula is 'Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories'; a State's Governor is not on the list.

Study next

Full-time structure of NITI Aayog: Vice-Chairperson, full-time and part-time Members, ex-officio Members, CEORegional Councils of NITI Aayog and the sub-groups of Chief MinistersPlanning Commission (1950) and the National Development Council (1952) compared with NITI AayogInter-State Council under Article 263 and Zonal Councils under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956Union Territories with legislatures: Delhi under Article 239AA, Puducherry, and Jammu & Kashmir under the Reorganisation Act, 2019The Governor's office under Articles 153 to 167 and the Conference of Governors

Common traps

Treating 'Governor' and 'Lieutenant Governor' as one category. A Lieutenant Governor sits for a Union Territory that has no legislature; a State's Governor is its constitutional head, and the State's seat goes to the Chief Minister.
Assuming Delhi and Puducherry, being Union Territories, are represented by their Lieutenant Governors. The 2021 notification seats their Chief Ministers because both have legislatures, as it does for Jammu & Kashmir.
Reading 'Administrator' as 'member'. The Administrators of Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep attend as special invitees, a different status from the Lieutenant Governors of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Ladakh.
Carrying the membership of the National Development Council or the Inter-State Council over to the Governing Council. The three bodies overlap in who attends but have separate legal bases and separate lists.
Mixing the two tiers. The 2021 composition names the Ex-officio Members, the Vice-Chairperson and the Full-time Members of NITI Aayog on the Council; the CEO appears in that notification's distribution list, not in the composition.

The composition appears as a 'which is NOT a member' item, as here, or as statements about the 2015 Cabinet Resolution: who chairs the Council, whether Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors sit on it, whether a named Lieutenant Governor such as Ladakh's is a member.

A second angle asks how the Council differs from the Planning Commission era's National Development Council, or from the Inter-State Council under Article 263. Pin the legal basis, an executive resolution rather than the Constitution, alongside the membership list, since a statement item can test either.

Related PYQs

CDS_GK_2025_I_Q852025

Same body, same fact set: it tests that the Prime Minister chairs the Governing Council and that the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh is a member (both correct). It asks who IS on the Council, where the UKPSC item asks who is NOT, and it does not touch the Chief Minister-versus-Governor distinction.

CDS_GK_2023_II_Q212023

Same source document, the Cabinet Resolution of 1 January 2015, but it tests NITI Aayog's overall composition (Prime Minister, Governing Council of Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors, CEO) with 'Rural Development Minister' as the false element. The Governing Council is one line inside a structure question there, not the object of the question.

UKPSC_2016_MAINS_PaperV_Q212016

A descriptive Mains question on the difference between the Planning Commission and NITI Aayog. The Governing Council of Chief Ministers is one of the structural contrasts an answer would draw, but that question asks for the comparison as a whole, not for the Council's membership list.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Who is the Chairperson of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog?
- (a)President of India
- (b)Prime Minister of India
- (c)Vice-Chairperson, NITI Aayog
- (d)Union Minister of Finance
Answerb — Paragraph 13(a) of the 2015 Cabinet Resolution makes the Prime Minister the Chairperson of NITI Aayog, and the 2021 notification opens the Governing Council's list with 'Chairperson: Prime Minister of India'.
The President presides over the Conference of Governors, not this Council. The Vice-Chairperson is a member of the Council but does not chair it. The Finance Minister can sit only as one of the nominated ex-officio members, and chairs the Financial Stability and Development Council instead.
practice — not a real PYQ
With reference to NITI Aayog, consider the following statements: 1. Under the Cabinet Resolution of 1 January 2015, its Governing Council comprises the Chief Ministers of all the States and the Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories. 2. Its Regional Councils are convened by the Prime Minister to address issues affecting more than one State or a region. 3. Its Governing Council is a constitutional body established under Article 263. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a)1 and 2 only
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 3 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3
Answera — Statement 1 quotes paragraph 13(b) of the Resolution. Statement 2 is paragraph 13(c): Regional Councils are formed for issues impacting more than one State or a region, are convened by the Prime Minister, and are chaired by the Chairperson of NITI Aayog or a nominee.
Statement 3 fails because NITI Aayog rests on an executive resolution of the Cabinet; Article 263 provides for the Inter-State Council, a different body. Options (b), (c) and (d) each include statement 3.
practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Cabinet Secretariat notification of 19 February 2021 reconstituting the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, which one of the following attends as a member and not as a special invitee?
- (a)Administrator of Lakshadweep
- (b)Administrator of Chandigarh
- (c)Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh
- (d)Governor of Uttarakhand
Answerc — Item 37 of the notification lists the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh (UT) as a member, alongside the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands at item 36.
Item 39 makes the Administrators of Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep special invitees, so (a) and (b) attend in that capacity. The Governor of Uttarakhand is a State Governor; Uttarakhand's seat is held by its Chief Minister (item 34).
practice — not a real PYQ
Which body, chaired by the Prime Minister and including the Chief Ministers of all the States, gave final approval to the Five-Year Plans framed by the Planning Commission?
- (a)Inter-State Council
- (b)National Development Council
- (c)Governing Council of NITI Aayog
- (d)Finance Commission
Answerb — The National Development Council, set up by a Government of India resolution in August 1952, was the Prime Minister-and-Chief Ministers body that considered and approved the Five-Year Plans.
The Inter-State Council under Article 263 deals with Centre-State coordination, not plan approval. NITI Aayog's Governing Council dates from 2015, after the Twelfth Plan (2012-17), the last Five-Year Plan. The Finance Commission under Article 280 recommends the sharing of taxes; it is not chaired by the Prime Minister.