Centre appoints Manoj Panda as member of 16th Finance Commission

The government has appointed Manoj Panda, former director at the Institute of Economic Growth as the full time member of the 16th Finance Commission, a notification by the finance ministry said. 

“The above member of the Commission shall hold office from the date of assuming office up to the date of submission of Report or 31st day of October, 2025, whichever is earlier,” the notification said. 

Panda replaces Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, Executive Director, Artha Global in the Commission, who quit as a member citing "unforeseen personal circumstances". 

Panda’s research areas span monitoring and analysis of macro-economic trends and prospects, evaluation of alternative trade and fiscal policy options from the point of view of growth and distribution.

Previously, Panda served as Director of the Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Hyderabad and as a Professor and Associate Professor at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Mumbai.

Panda also worked as an economist and senior economist at the New Delhi based National Council of Applied Economic Research.

He holds a PhD in Economics from the Indian Statistical Institute and was a post-doctoral fellow at Yale University.

The 16th Finance Commission held its first meeting under the Chairmanship of Arvind Panagariya to discuss its terms of reference on February 14. 

The other full-time members of the Commission include Ajay Narayan Jha, member of 15th FC and former secretary of Expenditure and Annie George Mathew, former special secretary of Expenditure. Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic advisor of State Bank of India was appointed as the part-time member of the Commission.

The Finance Commission is a constitutionally-mandated body established once every five years to devise a formula for distributing net tax proceeds between the Centre and the states as well as among states and local bodies. Currently, India shares 41 per cent of federal taxes with states as recommended by the 15th panel.