The conclave will focus on offering strategies to help states present the respective development and financial issues they face before the 16th Finance Commission, as it begins consultations with them.
Published Sep 06, 2024 | 12:20 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 26, 2024 | 2:22 PM
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Kerala is set to hold a high-profile conclave of Finance Ministers from various Indian states on Thursday, 12 September in Thiruvananthapuram, to be organised by the state Finance Department.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the event with state Finance Minister KN Balagopal presiding over the session. The conclave comes at a crucial juncture as states prepare to engage with the 16th Finance Commission.
Telangana Deputy CM and Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, and Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu will participate in the conclave.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan, senior officials, finance experts, and finance secretaries from all five states are also expected to attend. Announcing the conclave at a press conference, Minister Balagopal emphasised that the event aims to address the increasing challenges states face regarding central-state financial relations.
The state has taken the initiative to hold this discussion at a time when the 16th Finance Commission has begun consultations with states.
“Kerala sees the Finance Commission as an essential platform to voice the states’ concerns regarding the need to ease central-state financial ties. A unified stand by the states on fiscal matters is more crucial now than ever,” said Balagopal.
He also said that a series of discussions will take place featuring a wide range of subject matter experts.
Notable participants include Dr Arvind Subramanian, former Economic Adviser to the Central Government, Kerala State Planning Board Vice Chairman VK Ramachandran, former Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac, former Union Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekaran, and renowned economists Dr Prabhat Patnaik and Dr Jayati Ghosh.
The experts will focus on the development and financial issues confronting the states, offering strategies for presenting these concerns before the 16th Finance Commission.
Minister Balagopal stressed that Kerala is spearheading such discussions at a time when economic federalism in the country is under severe strain. He highlighted that while states contribute 62.4 percent to the country’s total public expenditure, they receive only 37.3 percent of the national revenue. The Union government, on the other hand, retains 63 percent, compounded by the exclusion of cess and surcharge allocations to states, leading to significant revenue losses, he said.
Balagopal also pointed out that the 15th Finance Commission recommended a 41 percent revenue share for states, but in practice, states received only 29.6 percent due to increased cess and surcharges.
(Edited by Neena with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
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