Finance Ministry releases Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states as revenue deficit grant

The Finance Ministry on Thursday said it has released the sixth monthly instalment of revenue deficit grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states.

Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant is provided to the states under Article 275 of the Constitution.

The grants are released as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission in monthly instalments to meet the gap in revenue accounts of the states post-devolution. The commission has recommended this grant to the 17 states during 2021-22.

The Department of Expenditure has released the sixth monthly instalment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) grant of Rs 9,871 crore to the states on Thursday, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

With this instalment, a total amount of Rs 59,226 crore has been released to eligible states in the current financial year, it added.

The eligibility of states to receive this grant and the quantum of the grant was decided by the commission based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the state after taking into account the assessed devolution for the financial year 2021-22, it noted.

The states recommended for PDRD Grant by the Fifteenth Finance Commission are: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

The Fifteenth Finance Commission has recommended a total PDRD Grant of Rs 1,18,452 crore to the 17 states in 2021-22. Out of this, an amount of Rs 59,226 crore (50 per cent) has been released so far.