Jalan panel to suggest ways to cut subsidies, hike user charges

New Delhi: The Expenditure Management Commission, headed by Bimal Jalan, has been entrusted with the task of suggesting ways to improve fiscal discipline, target subsidies more efficiently and imposition of user charges on utilities.  The Commission, whose members are former finance secretary Sumit Bose and former RBI deputy governor Subir Gokarn, will submit its interim report before the Budget for 2015-16, and final report before the Budget for 2016-17.  As per the terms of reference that have been announced, the Commission will review the major areas of central government expenditure and suggest ways to create fiscal space required to meet developmental expenditure needs.  It has also been entrusted with designing a framework to improve “operational efficiency of expenditures through focus on utilisation, targets and outcomes”.  That apart, the Commission has been asked to suggest an effective strategy for meeting reasonable proportion of expenditure on services through user charges.