VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh was given a revenue deficit grant of Rs 28,009 crore for the period 2015-20 to 2020-21 as per the Finance Commission’s recommendations, Union Minister of State for Planning Rao Inderjit Singh said, in a written reply to a question posed by YSRC MP V Vijaya Sai Reddy in the Rajya Sabha on Monday.
He clarified that the 14th Finance Commission has not made any distinction between general category Sates and special category Sates in horizontal distribution of shareable taxes among the Sates. Elaborating further, he said the main benefits of special category status are on account of a preferential share of the Normal Central Assistance (NCA), Special Assistance (SPA) and Special Central Assistance (SCA) (untied).
However, with the acceptance of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations, the block grants like NCA, SPA and SCA have been subsumed under the increased share of States in net shareable pool of taxes and duties from 32 to 42%, which has provided more untied resources to States. The same has also been retained by the 15th Finance Commission.
Further, the sharing pattern for Centrally Sponsored Schemes is based on the recommendations of the report of the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalisation submitted to the Centre in October 2015. The funding pattern for majority of Centrally Sponsored Schemes for the eight Northeastern States, two Himalayan States and one UT (Jammu and Kashmir) is in the Center State ratio of 90:10, whereas, for the rest of the States, the ratio is 60:40.
Thus, the funding pattern to the Northeastern and Himalayan States, etc is on account of recommendations of the sub-group of Chief Ministers and not as per their Special Category Status, which has not been granted to any State/UT since the constitution of the 14th Finance Commission, he explained.
Rs 24,460.59 crore tax devolution made to AP
Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary on Monday clarified that there is no shortfall to Andhra Pradesh government in tax devolution due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a written reply to question posed by YSRC MP K Gorantla Madhav in the Lok Sabha, he said the Centre released States’ share/tax devolution of the shareable net proceeds as per the accepted recommendations of the Finance Commission during its award period. Accordingly, tax devolution to the extent of Rs 24,460.59 crore was made in 2020-21 to AP, he said.