Sixteenth Finance Commission Constitutes Five-Member Advisory Council

The Sixteenth Finance Commission has constituted an advisory council with five members to advise the Commission on any of the Terms of Reference (ToR) or related subjects. The Finance Commission, as per the ToR, will also suggest measures to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of panchayats and municipalities.

Advisory Council Members

Poonam Gupta, Director General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, has been appointed as the convenor of the Advisory Council. The other members are:

  • D.K. Srivastava, Chief Policy Advisor at EY
  • Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist at Axis Bank
  • Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC Securities & Capital Markets
  • Rahul Bajoria, MD & Head of EM Asia (ex-China) Economics at Barclays

Role and Functions of the Advisory Council

The advisory council will assist the Commission in

  • Preparing papers or research studies
  • Monitoring or assessing studies commissioned by the Finance Commission
  • Enhancing the Commission’s understanding of issues in its ToR
  • Broadening the Commission’s ambit and understanding by seeking the best national and international practices on fiscal devolution

Terms of Reference (ToR)

The ToR approved by the Cabinet include

  • Distribution of net proceeds of taxes between the Union and states under Chapter I, Part XII of the Constitution
  • Allocation of respective shares of such proceeds between states
  • Principles governing the grants-in-aid of the revenues of states out of the Consolidated Fund of India
  • Sums to be paid to states by way of grants-in-aid of their revenues

Constitutional Mandate

The Finance Commission is a constitutionally mandated body established every five years to devise a formula for distributing net tax proceeds between the Centre and the states as well as among states and local bodies. Currently, India shares 41% of federal taxes with states as recommended by the 15th panel.

Piyush Shukla

Recent Posts

Sunil Bajpai takes over as Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry

On the 10th April, 2026 Sunil Bajpai has assumed the charge of the Principal Chief…

11 hours ago

India’s retail inflation rises to 3.4% in March 2026, says National Statistics Office

India's retail inflation edged up to 3.4% in the Month of the March 2026 which…

12 hours ago

Samrat Choudhary to take oath as Bihar CM after Nitish Kumar’s resignation

Nitish Kumar Chief Minister of Bihar have resigned from the post on the 14th April…

12 hours ago

Mitchell Starc and Deepti Sharma named Wisden’s Leading Cricketers in the World for 2025

For the global recognition in the Cricket Mitchell Starc and Deepti Sharma have been named…

13 hours ago

Susan Coyle appointed first female Army Chief of Australian Defence Force

Australia has appointed the Susan Coyle as the first-ever female Army Chief. This announcement was…

13 hours ago

Sawan Barwal Breaks 48-Year-Old Indian Marathon Record at Rotterdam Marathon 2026

India's Sawan Barwal has broken the country's longest standing marathon national record and ended the…

14 hours ago