(i) National Institution for Transforming India was formed on January 1, 2015 through a Union Cabinet resolution replacing the Planning Commission.
(ii) Prime Minister is the Chairperson and Union Ministers Ex-officio members.
(iii) Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog is the functional head.

Basic and collective needs of the people - health, education, sanitation, water, food, housing facilities.

Economic Planning in the widest sense is the deliberate direction by persons-in charge of large resources of economic activity towards chosen ends. - Dalton

1. Co-operative and competitive federalism to enable the States to have active participation.
2. Shared national agenda for development priorities and strategies.
3. Decentralized planning to restructure the planning process into a bottom up model.
4. Vision and scenario planning to design medium and long-term plans.
5. Network of expertise
6. Harmonization of actions across different layers of government.
7. Conflict resolution for mutual consensus to intersectoral, inter departmental, inter state and centre state issues.
8. Coordinating interface with the world to harness global expertise and resources.
9. Internal consultancy to central and State governments on policy and programmes.
10. Capacity building and technology up-gradation and providing managerial and technical know how.
11. Monitoring and evaluation of policies and progammes.

Functional Planning:
(i) It refers to that planning which seeks to remove economic difficulties by directing all the planning activities within the existing economic and social structure.
Structural Planning:
(i) It refers to a good deal of changes in the socioeconomic framework of the country.
(ii) Under developed countries follow this type of planning.

To accelerate and strengthen market mechanism:
1. The market mechanism works imperfectly because of ignorance and unfamiliarity with it.
2. There is non monetized sector, unorganized factor, product, money and capital markets.
3. Therefore a planned economy is a better substitute for free economy.
To remove unemployment:
1. Capital is scarce, labour abundant so there is unemployment and disguised unemployment in UDCs.
2. So planning is needed.
To achieve bàlanced development:
1. For rapid economic development UDC needs planning to develop agriculture, industrial, establish socio and economic overheads and expand domestic and foreign trade.
Development of agriculture and industries:
1. Reorganization of agriculture releases surplus labour force which is absorbed by the industrial sector.
2. Development of agriculture is essential to supply raw materials for industries.
Development of infrastructure:
1. Canals, roads, railways, power stations are needed for agriculture and industries.
2. These economic and social overheads need huge capital investment and have long gestation period and low rate of return.
3. Only the state can provide this through planning.
Development of money and capital market:
1. Planning alone can provide sound money market and capital market.
To remove poverty and inequalities:
1. Planning raises national and per capita income, reduces inequalities and poverty and increases employment opportunities.

Introduction:
(i) Planning may retard private initiatives, hamper freedom of choice, involve huge cost of administration and stop automatic adjustment of price mechanism.
(i) Loss of freedom
1. Regulations and restrictions are the backbone of a planned economy.
2. Economic freedom consists of freedom of consumption, freedom of choice of occupation, freedom to produce and the freedom to fix prices for the products.
3. Under planning, crucial decisions are made by the Central Planning Authority.
4. The consumers, producers and the workers enjoy no freedom of choice.
5. Hayek in his book 'Road to Serfdom' explains that centralized planning leads to loss of personal freedom and ends in economic stagnation.
(ii) Elimination of Initiative
1. Planning follows routine proocedure and may cause stagnation in growth.
2. Absence of private ownership and profit discourages entrepreneurs from risk taking.
3. Attractive profit is the incentive for searching new ideas, new methods.
4. All enjoy equal reward under planned economy irrespective of their effort, efficiency.
5. So, nobody is interested in undertaking new and risky ventures.
6. The bureaucracy and red tapism cause procedural delay and time loss.
7. So, even socialist countries like Russia and China offer incentives to private firms.
(iii) High cost of Management
1. Plan formulation and implementation involve an army of staff for data collection and administration.
2. Lewis remarks, "The better we try to plan, the more planners we need".
3. Inadequate data, faulty estimations and improper implementation of plans result in wastage of resources and cause either surplus or shortages.
(iv) Difficulty in advance
calculations
1. Advance calculations in a precise manner is impossible with regard to consumption and production.
2. It is also difficult to put the calculations into practice under planning.
Conclusion
1. The arguments against planning are mostly concerned with centralized and totalitarian planning.

Natural Resource:
(i) The existence of natural resources in abundance is essential for development.
(ii) But Japan, though it lacks natural resources imports them and achieves faster rate of economic development with the help of technology.
Capital Formation:
(i) Capital formation refers to the net addition to the existing stock of capital goods which are either tangible (plants, machinery) or intangible (health, education).
(ii) Capital formation helps increase productivity of labour, production and income.
(iii) Advanced techniques of production can be used and leads to better utilization of natural resources, industrialization and expansion of markets which are essential for economic progress.
Size of the Market:
(i) Large size of the market would stimulate production, increase employment and raise the National per capita income.
Structural Change:
(ii) Structural change refers to change in the occupational structure of the economy.
(iii) Any economy is divided into primary secondary and tertiary sector.
(iv) Any economy which is predominantly agricultural remains backward.
Financial System:
(i) Financial system implies the existence of an efficient and organized banking system in the country.
(ii) There should be an organized money market to facilitate easy availability of capital.
Marketable Surplus:
(i) It refers to the total amount of farm output cultivated by farmers over and above their family consumption needs.
(ii) This surplus brings income, raises purchasing power, employment and output in other sectors.
Foreign Trade:
(i) A country with favorable balance of trade is always developed.
Economic System:
(i) A country with free market system enjoys better growth rate compared to controlled economies.