Ajay Narayan replaces Shaktikanta Das as 15th Finance Commission member

Former finance secretary Ajay Narayan Jha Friday joined the 15th Finance Commission as a member, pursuant to the resignation of Shaktikanta Das. Jha, a 1982 batch IAS officer of Manipur cadre, superannuated as a finance secretary to the Government of India on February 28.

"Ajay Narayan Jha today joined the Fifteenth Finance Commission as its member. He joins in place of Shaktikanta Das who had resigned as a member of the Commission after being appointed as governor, Reserve Bank of India," an official statement said. Jha had also served as the secretary to the 14th Finance Commission which was headed by former RBI Governor Y V Reddy.

Set up in November 2017, the 15th Finance Commission, headed by former Planning Commission member N K Singh, is mandated to recommend distribution of net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the states, for a period of five years - April 2020 to March 2025, among others.