Planning Commission needs replacement: Modi

New Delhi, Dec 7:

The Planning Commission should be replaced by an organisation that thinks creatively, strengthens the federal structure, and is able to energize governance at the state level, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday.

In his concluding remarks at the consultation meeting with chief ministers on the replacement of the Planning Commission, Modi referred to his predecessor Manmohan Singh’s remarks that the body had no futuristic vision in the post-reform period and, hence, must be reinvented to remain more effective and relevant in the present situation.

Expressing satisfaction at the significant suggestions made by the states on the revamp of the Planning Commission, Modi told chief ministers the planning panel would have to reinvent itself to remain more effective and relevant in the present context.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said; “Most states felt the need for an alternative structure where the Centre, states and experts could participate, instead of a central structure.”.

“A few – three, four – states felt if the present Planning Commission could evolve into that structure,” he added.

“The prime minister said that when he was chief minister of Gujarat, his heart was with the chief ministers and he had felt the need for a better platform to articulate the view of states,” Jaitley said.

According to Modi, the process of policy planning has to change from “top to bottom” to “bottom to top”, the finance minister said.

“The prime minister also noted that in countries such as the US, think tanks that function independently of the government have a major role in policy-making,” he added.