NEW DELHI: The Finance Ministry on Thursday released Rs 9,871 crore as Post Devolution Revenue Deficit grant to 17 States for the year 2021-22. The grants were released as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission in monthly installments to meet the gap in revenue accounts of the states post devolution.
“The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, today released the second monthly instalment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 States,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement. With this installment, the total amount released during the first two months of the current financial year has now reached Rs 19,742 crore.
The Centre provides the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant to the States under Article 275 of the Constitution. The states recommended for grant are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
The eligibility of states to receive this grant and the quantum of grant was decided by the Commission based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the state. Assessed devolution for the ongoing financial year was also taken into consideration. The 15th Finance Commission has recommended a total Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant of Rs 1,18,452 crore to the 17 States in the financial year 2021-22. The grant is released in 12 monthly instalments.
Last week, the Centre had also released its first installment of Rs 8,873 crore to the states from the State Disaster Response Fund in advance. “As a special dispensation, the Ministry of Finance, at the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, released in advance of the normal schedule the first instalment of the central share of the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for the year 2021-22 to all the States,” the ministry had said.