Fiscal Federalism in India

This volume traces the evolution of federal fiscal reforms in the Indian Constitution, from its origins with the 1935 Act to the present, as seen primarily through the reports of the Finance Commissions. It critically evaluates the various methodologies followed by successive Commissions in allocating resources between the Union and states and distributing such resources among states. The authors assess the Alternative Scheme of Devolution and issues arising out of the arbitrary separation of plan and non-plan revenue expenditure. They also provide a brief discussion on the recent report of the Eleventh Finance Commission. The volume provides an excellent analysis of Centre-State fiscal relations over the last fifty years for students, researchers, financial analysts and policy-makers.