16th Finance Commission: Govt Appoints Former Niti Aayog VC Arvind Panagariya As Its Chairman

The central government on Sunday said it has constituted the 16th Finance Commission with Arvind Panagariya as its chairman. The Commission, which will cover a period of five years between 2026 and 2031, will make its report available by October 31, 2025.

“The Government of India, with the approval of the President of India, has constituted the Sixteenth Finance Commission, in pursuance to Article 280(1) of the Constitution,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

Arvind Panagariya has served Niti Aayog Vice-Chairman between January 2015 and August 2017, and is a professor at the Columbia University.

“Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey has been appointed as secretary to the Commission. Detailed terms of reference for Sixteenth Finance Commission have also been spelt out in the notification issued today,” the ministry said.

Members of the 16th Finance Commission would be notified separately, it said.

The 16th Finance Commission shall make recommendations as to the following matters, namely:

1) The distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be, or may be, divided between them under Chapter I, Part XII of the Constitution and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of such proceeds;

2) The principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India and the sums to be paid to the States by way of grants-in-aid of their revenues under article 275 of the Constitution for the purposes other than those specified in the provisos to clause (1) of that article; and

3) The measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats and Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State.

“The Sixteenth Finance Commission may review the present arrangements on financing Disaster Management initiatives, with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (53 of 2005), and make appropriate recommendations thereon,” the ministry said.