Not fair: Finance Commission's terms of reference stray from propriety

The use of the 2011 Census for sharing resources would mean a decline in the flow of resources to these states

Many southern politicians have drawn considerable attention to the fact that the terms of reference (ToR) for the Fifteenth Finance Commission (FFC), as drawn up by the Centre, have said the basis for the population counts relevant for the division of funds must be the 2011 Census and not, as it was in the past, the 1971 Census. Between 1971 and 2011, except Telangana, the population share of four southern states in the total declined from 22.01 per cent to 18.16 per cent. As such, the use of the 2011 Census for sharing resources would mean a decline in the