The Ministry of Finance on Tuesday said the 16th Finance Commission has constituted an advisory council of five members with Poonam Gupta as its convenor.
The five members of the Sixteenth Finance Commission’s Advisory Council are Dr. D.K. Srivastava, Neelkanth Mishra, Dr. Poonam Gupta, Pranjul Bhandari, and Rahul Bajoria.
The role and functions of the Advisory Council will be to advise the Commission on any of the Terms of Reference (ToR) or related subjects that may be of relevance.
It will also assist in the preparation of papers or research studies and monitor or assess studies commissioned by the Finance Commission, thereby enhancing the Commission’s understanding of the issues in its ToR.
Further, the Council will also help broaden the Commission’s ambit and understanding by seeking the best national and international practices on matters pertaining to fiscal devolution and improving the quality, reach, and enforcement of its recommendations.
In May, the Sixteenth Finance Commission invited suggestions from the public and interested organisations on the panel’s terms of reference and the general approach that it may adopt.
The commission, chaired by Arvind Panagariya, is required to make its recommendations covering a period of five years starting April 1, 2026 with respect to the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Centre and states and the allocation between the states of the respective shares of such proceeds.
It would also recommend principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the states out of the Consolidated Fund of India and the sums to be paid to the states by way of grants-in-aid of their revenues under Article 275 of the Constitution.