16th Finance Commission held its first meeting under Chairmanship of Dr Arvind Panagariya in New Delhi today
The 16th Finance Commission (XVI-FC) held its first meeting under
the Chairmanship of Dr Arvind Panagariya (former Vice-Chairman, NITI
Aayog) in Jawahar Vyapar
Bhawan, Janpath, New Delhi today. The Chairman and Members were welcomed by
Secretary, XVI-FC, Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey and other officials of the Finance
Commission.
The Sixteenth Finance
Commission was constituted on 31 December 2023.
The Members are appointed to
the Commission with the approval of the President of India.
The Full time Members are:
1.
Ajay Narayan Jha, former member, 15th Finance Commission and
former Secretary, Expenditure as Full time Member
2.
Annie George Mathew, former Special Secretary, Expenditure as Full
time Member
3.
Dr Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Executive Director, Artha Global
Dr
Soumya Kanti Ghosh, Group Chief Economic Advisor, State Bank of India was
appointed as Part time Member.
The XVI-FC
discussed its Terms of Reference, as per the order made by the President of
India and notified by the Ministry of Finance vide Notification S.O. 5533 (E),
dated 31st December, 2023.
The XVI-FC acknowledged the need for wide ranging
consultations with various stakeholders, including State Governments, Local
Bodies, Ministries of Government of India, and experts.
The XVI-FC recognised that it will be carrying out
detailed analytical work and would require to rope in all the expertise that it
can garner, including that from leading research organisations, leading think
tanks and other organisations working in the area of fiscal federal relations.
The XVI-FC approved
the setting-up of its office at Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan on Janpath in New Delhi.
The XVI-FC will
make its recommendations available by 31st October, 2025, covering an
award period of 5 years commencing 1st April, 2026.
