NITI Aayog is the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India, and the nodal agency tasked with catalyzing economic development, fostering cooperative federalism, and moving away from bargaining federalism through the involvement of State Governments of India in the economic policy-making process using a bottom-up approach. It was formed on January 1, 2015, to replace the Planning Commission instituted in 1950 in order to better serve the needs and aspirations of the people of India.

NITI Aayog aims to create a knowledge, innovation, and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners, and researchers. It is developing itself as a state-of-the-art resource center with the necessary knowledge and skills that will enable it to act with speed, promote research and innovation, provide strategic policy vision for the government, and deal with contingent issues.

The different verticals, cells, attached, and autonomous bodies of NITI provide the requisite coordination and support framework needed to carry out its mandate. The list of verticals and cells includes Administration, Agriculture and Allied Sectors, Aspirational Districts Programme Cell, Communication and Social Media Cell, Data Management and Analysis, Frontier Technologies, Economics and Finance Cell, Education Governance and Research.

NITI Aayogs objectives include evolving a shared vision of national development priorities, sectors, and strategies with the active involvement of the states in the light of national objectives, fostering collaborative federalism through structured support initiatives, and monitoring and evaluating the implementation of programs and initiatives.