Government Appoints Members Of The 16th Finance Commission

As per the gazette notification issued on Tuesday, the new members are former expenditure secretary AN Jha who was also a memeber of the previous commission, Annie George Mathew, former special secretary in the Ministry of Finance; economist and former editor Niranjan Rajadhyaksha and State Bank of India's chief economic advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh.

While Jha, Mathew and Rajadhyaksha have been appointed as full-time members, Ghosh will be a part-time member.

Earlier, Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey, a 1998 batch Karnataka cadre IAS, was impaneled by the government as the commission’s member secretary. He had earlier served as a joint secretary in the Department of Revenue.

With the appointment of the chairman and other members, the constitution of the 16th Finance Commission is now complete.

The Finance Commission will submit its report by October next year with recommendations regarding the tax revenue sharing formula between the Centre and the States for the five-year period beginning April 2026.

As per the government’s notification, the Chairman and other members of the Commission “shall hold office from the date on which they respectively assume office up to the date of submission of the report or October 31, 2025, whichever is earlier.”