Arvind Pangariya applauds Tripura’s financial practices, highlights 50% vertical share proposal
16th Finance Commission arrived in Tripura for a three day visit.
Agartala, Jan 30: Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, Arvind Pangariya, on Thursday appreciated the financial management of the Tripura Government and stated that despite being a small state, Tripura has adopted efficient financial management practices.
“The debt-service ratio for Tripura is on the decline. The committed expenditure, which is essentially spent on salaries, pensions, etc., is also on the decline, which indicates a sound financial condition,” Pangariya, the ex-vice chairman of NITI Aayog, stated.
A 12-member team of the 16th Finance Commission arrived in Tripura on a three-day state tour on Wednesday. On the second day of the tour, the officials held a high-level consultation meeting with the Government of Tripura in the presence of Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha and Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy.
Chief Secretary JK Sinha, Finance Secretary Apurba Roy, and other senior officials of the major departments were also present at the meeting.
Speaking on the proposals that the Government of Tripura put forth during the meeting, Pangariya said, “Tripura has vouched for a 50 percent vertical share of the divisible pool between states and the Centre. Apart from that, Tripura has created two new criteria, international borders and infrastructure, for fund allocation from the centre.”
It is pertinent to be mentioned here that the vertical share of the divisible pool of funds is divided in a 41:59 ratio between the states and the Centre.
He further stated, “On a personal level, I feel Tripura is progressing well. Compared to 40 to 45 percent of the workforce in agriculture at the national level, only 30 to 32 percent of the workforce in Tripura is in agriculture.
This means an economic transformation is taking place as the workforce is moving out of agriculture towards the industrial sector.” He also informed the media persons that the recent floods of Tripura were also discussed in the meeting.
