NEW DELHI: The central government on Thursday released Rs 7,183.42 crore as post-devolution revenue deficit grant to 14 states including Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal.
The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, has released the seventh monthly installment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant of Rs 7,183.42 crore as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission, the Union Finance Ministry said in a statement.
The Finance Commission has recommended a total Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant of Rs 86,201 crore to 14 states for the financial year 2022-23. The grant is released by the Department of Expenditure to the recommended states in 12 equated monthly installments.
With the release of seventh installment for the month of October, the total amount of revenue deficit grants released to the states in 2022-23 has gone up to Rs 50,282.92 crore.
The Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grants are provided to the states under Article 275 of the Constitution. The grants are released to the states as per the recommendations of the successive Finance Commissions to meet the gap in revenue accounts of the states post devolution.
The eligibility of states to receive this grant and the quantum of grant for the period from 2020-21 to 2025-26 was decided by the 15th Finance Commission based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the state after taking into account the assessed devolution during this period.
The states which have been recommended for revenue deficit grant 2022-23 are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
As the seventh installment for the financial year 2022-23, West Bengal has received Rs 1,132.25 crore. The cumulative amount stands at Rs 7,925.75 crore. Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab are the major beneficiaries of the PDRD Grant. (ANI)