Finance Commission sets up panel to review fiscal consolidation road map

The Finance Commission has constituted an 8-member panel to review the fiscal consolidation road map of both state and central governments. The panel will be headed by 15th Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh.

The Terms of Reference of the panel include making recommendations on the definition of deficit and debt for the central government, overall states, the general government, and public sector enterprises by considering all explicit and measurable liabilities of the sovereign and by bringing in consistency between the definition of debt (stock) and deficit (flow), the Finance Commission said in a statement on Thursday. Besides, the panel will also lay down the principles for arriving at the debt of the general government debt and consolidated public sector with appropriate netting to avoid double-counting.

The committee will define contingent liabilities, provide quantifiable measures of such liabilities, wherever possible, and specify conditions under which "contingent" liabilities become "explicit" liabilities of the public sector. Based on the above definition, the committee will review the current status of deficit and debt at different levels.

The committee will recommend a debt and fiscal consolidation road map for 2021-FY25 for the central government, overall states and general government and attempt building up scenarios for public sector enterprises, it said. The other members of the committee will be A N Jha and Anoop Singh, members of 15th Finance Commission; S Krishnan, additional chief secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu; and Anirudh Tiwari, principal secretary, Government of Punjab.

Besides, one representative each from the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Controller General of Accounts, Joint Secretary (Budget) of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance. Two outside experts Sajjid Z Chinoy and Prachi Mishra will also be members of the committee.

Analytical and data support to the committee will be provided by a team from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, it said. The economic division of the Finance Commission Secretariat shall facilitate and support the working of the committee, it added.

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