Who among the following constitute the National Development Council? 1. The Prime Minister 2. The Chairman, Finance Commission 3. Ministers of the Union Cabinet 4. Chief Ministers of the States Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

The correct answer is B (1, 3 and 4 only). The National Development Council is chaired by the Prime Minister and includes all Union Cabinet ministers and the Chief Ministers of all States. The Planning Commission's members were also part of it, but that body was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015, so its members now feature in the NDC's composition instead. Administrators of Union Territories are also invited to attend.

Statement-wise:

• 1 is correct. The Prime Minister is the Chairman of the NDC.
• 2 is wrong. The Chairman of the Finance Commission (a constitutional body under Article 280) is not a member of the NDC.
• 3 is correct. All Union Cabinet ministers are members.
• 4 is correct. Chief Ministers of all States are members.

The NDC was set up in 1952 by a Cabinet resolution to strengthen cooperative federalism in planning. It approves the National Plan and reviews its working. This links to the Mains theme of centre-state relations and the shift from the Planning Commission to NITI Aayog.

Trap: Aspirants often include the Finance Commission chairman because the Finance Commission is linked to fiscal federalism. Keep the NDC (executive, planning) separate from the Finance Commission (constitutional, fiscal distribution).