Finance Commission to look into state's demand for modified population variable

CHAIRMAN of the 16th Finance Commission Arvind Panagariya on Thursday said the Odisha government has suggested use of modified population variable in the tax devolution formula instead of taking the entire population of a state.

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Briefing reporters after consultations with the state government led by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Panagariya said population criteria had been taken into consideration by the previous commissions including the 15th Finance Commission giving a weightage of 15 per cent.

"The state government has however demanded more weightage to the vulnerable sections of the population. We will look into it before making our recommendations to the Centre," Panagariya said.