Panagariya new chief of 16th Finance Commission

New Delhi: The government on Sunday appointed former NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya as the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission. Joint Secretary in the finance ministry Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey will be the secretary to the Commission, the government said in a notification.

“The President is pleased to constitute a Finance Commission with Dr Arvind Panagariya, former Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, and Professor, Columbia University, as the Chairman. Members of the Commission will be notified separately,” it said. The Commission will submit its report for the five-year period (2026-27 to 2030-31) to the President by October 31, 2025. The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, last month approved the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the 16th Finance Commission. Besides suggesting tax devolution between the Centre and states and revenue augmentation measures, the commission would review the present arrangements for financing disaster management initiatives with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.