The Hindu Business Line : Thirteenth Finance Commission to submit report by Oct 2009

New Delhi, May 2 The Thirteenth Finance Commission met Chairmen and members of previous Finance Commissions at New Delhi on Friday. This meeting was the culmination of the series of regional and national consultative committee meetings held by the Thirteenth Finance Commission since it was constituted in November 2007.

The Finance Commission is expected to submit its final report by October 2009.

The Commission, which is headed by Dr Vijay Kelkar, had earlier held meetings in Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai and Chandigarh and Shillong with economists and economic administrators.

An official release said that the previous Chairmen and members who attended included Mr K.C Pant, Mr N.K.P Salve, Mr G Ramachandran, Mr V.B.Eswaran, Mr Debi Prosad Pal, Mr B.P.R Vithal , Mr Mahesh Prasad, Mr Som Pal , Mr C.H. Hanumantha Rao, Mr J.C Jetly, Mr T.N Srivastava, Mr Arun Sinha and Mr Lal Thanhawla.

Discussions

The discussions covered the terms of reference of the Commission, its mandate, scope as well as suggestions for improving the finances of Centre and States.

All the speakers pointed out that the Constitutional provisions have always been the guiding force in the work of the Finance Commissions and the responsibility for implementing these provisions is the primary mandate.

A number of speakers made suggestions on the approach and the methodology to be followed by the Finance Commission during its deliberations.

Suggestions were made on the modalities to be followed for the review of the finances of the Centre and the States and adoption of measures for maintaining a stable and sustainable fiscal environment consistent with achieving equitable growth.

Speakers emphasised the need for the Commission to maintain a delicate balance between the needs of the Centre and the demands of the States in its work.

The Thirteenth Finance Commission was constituted to give specific recommendations on the sharing of tax receipts between the Centre and States and also for outlining the principles for providing grants- in- aid to the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India.

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