Finance panel to discuss centre, states' Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management

New Delhi: The NK Singh-led 15th Finance Commission (FFC) has called a meeting with state finance ministers on March 13 to discuss how states’ Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) can be aligned with the Centre’s.
An official statement said the meeting will focus on issues of the final report for 2021-26.

The Commission has to submit the report to the government by October 30.

The states have been asking for an escape clause similar to what was provided to the Centre in the amended FRBM Act.

Singh had mentioned earlier that states could avail this clause if they took debt as the principal anchor of fiscal policy in their state FRBMs, as is in the current central FRBM Act.

The agenda will also include the state governments’ projections of their respective state domestic products and tax buoyancy for the period of the report.

Based on this, the FFC would decide on the amount of fund allocation for the state revenue deficit grants.