Key Points
Finance Secretary T V Somanathan on Thursday said the Terms of Reference of the 16th Finance Commission have been kept short to give the panel more freedom to arrive at their recommendations after hearing out stakeholders..
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, earlier this week approved the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 16th Finance Commission, which will make recommendations for the five-year period beginning April 1, 2026...
Talking to reporters, Somanathan said the working group, which was instrumental in framing the ToR, paid attention to the points raised by states and drafted a ToR that is shorter than those of the previous finance commissions...
Besides suggesting tax devolution between the Centre and states and revenue augmentation measures, the commission would review the present arrangements for financing disaster management initiatives with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.. Finance Commission is a constitutional body that gives suggestions on Centre-state financial relations...
The erstwhile 15th Finance Commission under N K Singh had recommended that states be given 41 per cent of the divisible tax pool of the Centre during the five-year period 2021-22 to 2025-26, which is at the same level as was recommended by the 14th Finance Commission...
