Former Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya appointed head of 16th Finance Commission

Arvind Panagariya, former Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog and Professor at Columbia University, has been appointed as the Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, according to the official notification by the Union Ministry of Finance. The commission makes recommendations about the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the States.

From January 2015 to August 2017, Panagariya served as the first Vice Chairman of the NITI Aayog, in the rank of Cabinet Minister. During these years, he also served as India’s G20 Sherpa and led the Indian teams that negotiated the G20 communiques during the presidencies of Turkey (2015), China (2016) and Germany (2017).

Professor Panagariya is a former Chief Economist of the Asian Development Bank and was on the faculty of the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland at College Park from 1978 to 2003. During these years, he also worked with the World Bank, IMF, and UNCTAD in various capacities. He holds a PhD degree in economics from Princeton University.

Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey, who is attached to the finance ministry, shall be the Secretary to the Finance Commission, the notification said. 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.

According to the notification, the Commission may review the present arrangements on financing disaster management initiatives with reference to the funds constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (53 of 2005) and make appropriate recommendations thereafter.

The Commission shall make its report available by October 31, 2025, covering a period of five years commencing on April 1, 2026.