Finance Commission advisory council meets, discusses outlook for nominal GDP growth

The 6th meeting of Advisory Council to the 15th Finance Commission was held here on Thursday to seek views of participants on the formula for horizontal devolution of central taxes and discuss the outlook for nominal GDP growth from 2021-22 to 2025-26, tax buoyancy, and other macro-economic parameters.

The meeting was chaired by Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh.

A Finance Commission release said the methodological innovations made in the report were favourably commented upon at the meeting during a discussion about the framework for vertical and horizontal devolution of taxes.

"The options for nominal GDP growth and resource mobilization, as well as the downsides and upsides to different possibilities, were discussed in detail, particularly in the light of emerging global trends and patterns discernible in high-frequency, domestic indicators," the release said.

"The centrality of strengthening the administration and technology platform of GST in ensuring the fiscal balance of the Centre and the States was also emphasised," it added.

The release said that the agenda of the meeting was to seek views of participants "on the report of the 15th Finance Commission for 2020-21, the formula for horizontal devolution of central taxes and other recommendations contained in the report".

It was also to seek views on the outlook for nominal GDP growth from 2021-22 to 2025-26, tax buoyancy and other macro-economic parameters relevant for the commission for the aforesaid period.

Apart from the Chairman, members and the officers of the commission, the meeting was attended by members of the Advisory Council including Indira Rajaraman, Arvind Virmani, M Govinda Rao, Prachi Mishra, Sudipto Mundle, and Krishnamurthy Subramanian.

The release said that the meeting was also attended by eminent bureaucrats and scholars such as Bibek Debroy, Ratan P Watal, Amitabh Kant, Atanu Chakraborty, TV Somanathan, Anantha Nageswaran, Shankar Acharya, Abhijit Sen, Ajit Mishra, Manoj Panda, Swaminathan A Aiyar, and TN Ninan.