Govt appoints Manoj Panda as 16th Finance Commission member

New Delhi: The Government has appointed economist Manoj Panda as a member of the 16th Finance Commission. The 16th Finance Commission, chaired by Arvind Panagariya, has four members.

Former expenditure secretary Ajay Narayan Jha and retired bureaucrat Annie George Mathew are full-time members of the commission, while SBI Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh is a part-time member.

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In a notification, the Department of Economic Affairs said Manoj Panda, former Director, Institute of Economic Growth, is being appointed as a full-time member of the 16th Finance Commission.

The member would hold office from the date of assuming charge up to the date of submission of Report or till October 31, 2025, whichever is earlier, the notification said. The appointment of Panda came after Artha Global Executive Director Niranjan Rajadhyaksha expressed his inability to join the Commission.

Rajadhyaksha was named a full-time member on January 31, but later in February he expressed his inability to join as a member citing personal reasons. The first meeting of the 16th Finance Commission was held on February 14.

The government constituted the 16th Finance Commission under the chairmanship of Panagariya on December 31, 2023. The panel 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 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 Finance Commission is a constitutional body that gives suggestions on centre-state financial relations.

The erstwhile 15th Finance Commission under NK Singh had recommended that states be given 41 percent 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 14th Finance Commission under YV Reddy.

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