-Hindustan Times The 15th Finance Commission (FC) has to submit its report in October 2019, which will be another important event in the evolution of India’s fiscal federalism framework. The tenure of the Narendra Modi government has seen important changes in India’s fiscal federalism set-up such as the abolition of the Planning Commission (PC) and the roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The 15th Finance Commission (FC) has to submit...
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Why credibility of India's fiscal math is under strain -Nikita Kwatra
-Livemint.com Unless the convoluted arithmetic behind fiscal deficit gets as much attention as headline fiscal deficit number, creative accounting practices will go on Mumbai: The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has been lauded for its ability to rein in the headline fiscal deficit over the past few years, which has arguably helped tame inflation. However, with reverses in key assembly elections earlier this month and Lok Sabha elections to be...
More »Balancing conflicting claims -C Rangarajan & DK Srivastava
-The Hindu The 15th Finance Commission has to take a call on the degree of equalisation that’s feasible In the context of the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission (FFC), certain key aspects relate to (a) the mandate for using the 2011 population; (b) ‘whether revenue deficit grants’ be given at all; (c) the impact of the goods and services tax (GST) on the finances of the Centre and...
More »An open letter to Finance Ministers -TM Thomas Isaac
-The Hindu Political alignments should not come in the way of defending the fiscal rights of States My fellow Finance Ministers in the States, I hope you will agree that the award of the Finance Commission is vital to State finances. Some of us who met initially at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, and later at Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh, are worried about the implications of the terms of reference (ToR) of the Finance Commission...
More »Fund fight: Why population became a sticking point for Centre and states
-The Times of India • What does the Finance Commission do? In India’s federal structure, taxation powers and obligations for various services — like law and order, health, education — are unequally shared between the Centre and the states. Hence, the Constitution mandates the setting up of a Finance Commission (FC) every five years to recommend how revenues from central taxes should be shared between the Centre and the states. A fair...
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