Finance Commission expected to be constituted by November end: Finance secretary
New Delhi (PTI): The government is expected to constitute the 16th Finance Commission by end of November, finance secretary T V Somanathan said.
Finance Commission is a constitutional body that gives suggestions on Centre-state financial relations.
It suggests, among other things, the ratio in which tax is to be divided between the Centre and states for five years, beginning April 1, 2026.
"The Finance Commission is expected to be constituted by end of November because that's the statutory requirement," he told PTI in an interview.
Terms of Reference (ToR) for the commission is being finalised, he said.
The previous Finance Commission submitted its report on November 9, 2020, for the 5 fiscals -- 2021-22 to 2025-26 -- to the President.
The 15th Commission under N K Singh had kept the tax devolution ratio at 42 per cent -- at the same level suggested by the 14th Commission.
The central government accepted the report of the commission, and accordingly, the states are being given 42 per cent of the divisible tax pool of the Centre during the period 2021-22 to 2025-26.
The 15th finance commission's recommendations include the fiscal deficit, debt path for the Union and states, and additional borrowing room to states based on performance in power sector reforms.
As per the glide path for fiscal consolidation, the government aims to bring down the fiscal deficit to 4.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by the 2025-26 fiscal.
For the current fiscal, the deficit is projected at 5.9 per cent of GDP, lower than 6.4 per cent in the last fiscal ended March 31, 2023.
He also said the government will stick to the fiscal deficit target of 5.9 per cent of the GDP as robust tax, non-tax collections will help meet the spending requirement and make up for any shortfall in disinvestment proceeds.
Although there would be a shortfall with respect to disinvestment, he said, this shortfall would be met by non-tax revenue mobilisation.
"Disinvestment target is unlikely to be met. However, I would say in aggregate the collective amount between disinvestment and non-tax revenue is likely to be very close to the budget," he said.
The total of disinvestment receipts, plus non-tax receipts are likely to be very close to the Budget Estimates, he said.
"We expect to adhere to our fiscal deficit target this year...none of the events so far have caused anything for us to deviate from it," he said.
The government has already got a higher dividend from the Reserve Bank of India and expects higher dividends from public sector banks and other PSUs than estimated in the Budget.
The Reserve Bank of India in May approved a Rs 87,416-crore dividend payout to the central government for 2022-23, nearly triple of what it paid in the preceding year. The government was expecting Rs 48,000 crore from the RBI, public sector banks and financial institutions in the current fiscal.
The dividend payout by the RBI was Rs 30,307 crore for the accounting year 2021-22. With public sector banks posting record profits of over Rs 1 lakh crore in fiscal 2022-23, the government's earnings from them are likely to be higher.
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Karnataka Milk Federation enters Delhi-NCR, offers competitive pricing on Nandini products
New Delhi, Nov 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the Karnataka Milk Federation's (KMF) Nandini brand milk products in the Delhi-NCR market, pricing them marginally lower than competitors to gain a foothold in the region.
The cooperative will retail four cow milk variants, curd, and buttermilk from Friday, with competitive pricing that undercuts established players like Mother Dairy and Amul.
Cow milk will be sold at Rs 56 per litre, full Cream Milk at Rs 67 per litre, Standardised Milk at Rs 61 per litre, Toned Milk at Rs 55 per litre, and curd at Rs 74 per kg.
"We have surplus milk in the state. KMF along with Mandya Milk Union will market surplus milk of 3-4 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR," Siddaramaiah told reporters after launching the products.
The federation currently collects 100 lakh litres of milk daily, with local consumption at 60 lakh litres, leaving a surplus of 40 lakh litres for expansion into new markets.
However, the Chief Minister acknowledged the challenges of transporting milk over 2,500 km, which takes 50-54 hours.
There is a need to find new markets for surplus milk and gradually the KMF should be able to sell 5-6 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR, he added.
KMF Chairman LBP Bheemanaik assured that milk quality would be maintained during transit.
The federation has already partnered with 40 dealers in the Delhi-NCR region to facilitate sales, he added.
With a robust infrastructure of 26.76 lakh milk producers, 15,737 dairy cooperative societies, and 15 district milk unions, KMF has a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore and exports dairy products to over 25 countries.
State Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy were present at the product launch.
ದೇಶದ ಹಾಲು ಉತ್ಪಾದನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಮೊದಲ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಎರಡನೇ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 21, 2024
ದೆಹಲಿ ನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆ.ಎಂ.ಎಫ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂಡ್ಯ ಹಾಲು ಒಕ್ಕೂಟಗಳು ಸೇರಿಕೊಂಡು ವಿವಿಧ ಶ್ರೇಣಿಯ ಹಾಲನ್ನು ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಗೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿವೆ. ದೆಹಲಿಯ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಿಂದ ನಂದಿನಿ ಉತ್ಪನ್ನಗಳಿಗೆ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಸ್ಪಂದನೆ ದೊರೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂಬ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸ ನನಗಿದೆ.… pic.twitter.com/yUmTQknGzD
