Odisha to lose Rs 2,148.83 cr central assistance in 2015-16

Odisha is estimated to lose about Rs 8,037.26 crore central assistance during the 2015-16 fiscal, but stand to gain about Rs 5,888.43 crore from the 14th Finance Commission's recommendations.
State Finance minister Pradip Kumar Amat told this to the Assembly while replying to a question.
"Taking the total central assistance to the state into consideration, Odisha will lose an estimated Rs 2,148.83 crore (the difference amount of Rs 8,037.26 and Rs 5,888.43 crore) in 2015-16," Amat said.
Talking on the loss due the Centre's decision of restructuring the centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), Amat said the state would lose Rs 4,260.13 crore in this fiscal.

The minister, however, said as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission, the share of states in central taxes would go up from 32 per cent to 42 per cent.
For Odisha, the incremental revenue gain has been worked out to be Rs 5,888.43 crore, he said.

Apart from losing Rs 4,260.13 crore due to the restructured CSS, the state was set to lose Rs 1,190.91 crore owing to withdrawal of various sector specific and state specific grants as a result of the 14th Finance Commission's recommendations, Amat said.
The eight CSS, which have been totally stopped comprised the National e-Governance Plan, Backward Regions Grant Fund, Modernisation of Police Force, RGPSA (Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan), Central Assistance to the state for developing export infrastructure, setting up model schools, national mission of food processing and tourist infrastructure, the minister pointed out.

The minister said the state would continue some of the schemes as they were essential for the people.
The commission has also not made any recommendation for the state specific grants, which were an important instrument in the overall scheme of transfers taking into account the cost disabilities of relatively poor states that were not adequately captured in the devolution formula, he added.