Balancing Stability, Equity and Efficiency

The prevailing fiscal environment is demanding and much was expected of the Twelfth Finance Commission's award in not only ensuring a fair share of resources between the centre and states and among the states inter se, but also in altering the incentive structure to promote fiscal discipline. Like its predecessors, the TFC did not make any drastic changes in total statutory transfers and worked around tax devolution and grants so that the centre's outgo was not substantially increased and equalisation was broadly similar to the past. Although the forecast of revenues and non-plan revenue expenditure has been seasoned with some norms, the incentive structure of the main recommendations remains unaltered. It is not certain whether they would be strong enough to induce the states to reduce revenue deficits.