The 16th Finance Commission’s chairman, Arvind Panagariya, was previously Niti Aayog’s vice chairman.
Arvind Panagariya, a former vice chairman of Niti Aayog, was named chairman of the 16th Finance Commission by the government on Sunday. Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, has been named secretary to the panel, per a government notification. “The President is pleased to constitute a Finance Commission,” the notification said, appointing Dr. Arvind Panagariya, a professor at Columbia University and former vice chairman of NITI Aayog, as its chairman. Separate notifications will be sent to the Commission members.”
The decree states that the identities of the other Commission members will be made public separately. The secretary of the panel will be Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey, who was previously a joint secretary in the Department of Revenue.
According to the order, the Chairman and the other Commission members will remain in office from the day they take office until the report is submitted, or, if that happens sooner, October 31, 2025. In order to coincide with the budget preparations for 2026–2027, the Commission is expected to present its recommendations by October 2025. The Finance Commission typically consults with state and federal stakeholders for two years before coming to a conclusion.
The panel is preparing to deliver its report to the President by October 31, 2025, spanning a period of five years, from 2026–2027 to 2030–31.
In a recent action, the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the 16th Finance Commission were approved by the Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In addition to making recommendations about tax distribution between the federal government and the states and measures to increase revenue, the commission will examine the present funding sources for disaster management programmes under the Disaster Management Act of 2005.
The fifteenth Finance Commission, led by NK Singh, was formed in November 2017; however, its mandate was later changed, and at the end of 2019, its term was extended to six years. The panel was instructed to deliver two reports: a final report covering the extended period from 2021–22 to 2025–26, and a report covering 2020–21.
According to the Sixteenth Finance Panel’s terms of reference, the panel is tasked with examining the current financial arrangements for disaster management projects in addition to suggesting a tax-sharing formula between the federal government and the states. It also has to suggest ways to increase the states’ pooled funds in order to augment the resources that panchayats and municipalities have access to.
The Finance Commission, a constitutional authority, is essential in providing recommendations about the financial arrangements between the federal and state governments.
Under NK Singh’s direction, the previous Finance Commission, the 15th, proposed that states keep the same percentage of the Center’s divisible tax pool—41 percent—for the five years spanning 2021–2022 to 2025–2026.
Also Read: Happy New Year 2024
Happy New Year: Welcoming 2024 with Hope, Renewal, and Possibilities!
Hello dailypadho.com owner, Your posts are always well-received by the community.