New Delhi : The newly-constituted 15th Finance Commission held its first meeting on Monday and decided to involve think-tanks in drawing up its report that will primarily deal with the devolution of revenue between the Centre and the states.
The Commission, headed by former Planning Commission member N K Singh, also discussed the terms of reference of the panel and other procedural issues, a Finance Ministry statement said.
The meeting was attended by former Economic Affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das and other members of the Commission, Anoop Singh, Ashok Lahiri and Ramesh Chand.
“We covered a number of issues which need to be addressed. We went over the terms of reference (ToR) which have been given to us by the President and the best ways of addressing those wide-ranging ToR, procedures for consultation, the broad structure of ensuring that all stakeholders are fully consulted, particularly in respect of state governments,” Singh said after the meeting. It will be the endeavour of the Commission to reach out to many research organisations in different parts of the country to suitably address the ToR, he added.
“If we look at the terms of reference, these are two frontal issues in the ToR. If you look at Article 280 of the Constitution, Article 281 and Article 282 are precisely on those kinds of issues… the Commission would need to study, analyse, examine and consult before it comes to any conclusion,” he said.
Article 280C relates to other issues that cover a wide gamut of subjects that have been very carefully considered before they are referred to the Commission, he said.
On devolution, Singh said, “We did not discuss that, its far too premature to comment on an issue of that kind. That will require very careful deliberations and consideration.”
The maiden meeting also approved the setting up of the panel’s office at Jawahar Vyapar Bhawan, on Janpath, in New Delhi.
