Union Cabinet Approves Creation of Posts to Assist 16th Finance Commission
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved the creation of three posts at the level of joint secretary for assisting the 16th Finance Commission, chaired by Arvind Panagariya. Out of three officer-level posts, two are joint secretaries and the other one is economic adviser. The newly created posts are required to assist the commission in carrying out its functions. All other posts in the panel have already been created as per the delegated powers.
The finance commission is a constitutional body, which gives suggestions on the centre-state financial relations. This prior announcement comes after the Cabinet’s appointment of former vice chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya as the chairman of the commission on December 31, while Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey was named as the secretary to the commission.
As per an official statement issued by the finance ministry, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the creation of three posts at the level of Joint Secretary i.e.two posts of joint Secretary and one post of economic Adviser, for the 16th Finance Commission. “The newly created posts are required to assist the Commission in carrying out its functions. All other posts in the commission have already been created as per the delegated powers,” the statement said.
The 16th finance commission has been tasked with providing recommendations on tax sharing between the centre and the states. However, measures are needed to augment the consolidated fund of states to supplement the resources of the panchayats and municipalities, reviewing the financing of disaster management initiatives etc. The commission would submit its report to the President by October 31, 2025. The report would be for five years commencing April 1, 2026.
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.
The erstwhile 15th Finance Commission under NK Singh had recommended that states be given 41 per cent of the divisible tax pool of the Centre during five-year period 2021-22 to 2025-26, which is at the same level as was recommended by the 14th Finance Commission.
