Chennai: Tamil Nadu has made outstanding contribution in bringing down poverty levels and has performed well in terms of fiscal management and the state’s debt ratio was well within the permissible limits, Fifteenth Finance Commission chairman N. K. Singh said on Thursday. He also made it clear that the commission had no ‘say in formulating the Terms of Reference (ToR),’ an issue strongly objected by the Tamil Nadu government.
Lauding the state government for its performance, Fifteenth Finance Commission chairman N. K. Singh said the “state has made an outstanding contribution to the momentum of India’s economic development by bringing down poverty significantly below the all India average and the per capita income significantly better than national average.” The state government has also had an excellent record in terms of fiscal management and macro economic stability and fiscal and debt ratios well within the acceptable limits, he added.
On the memorandum he had received from Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, Singh told reporters here on Thursday that he must compliment the TN government for the “forceful articulation expressing its concerns (in the memorandum) and opportunities it is willing to see.” “They were concerned with the Term of Reference (ToR) of the 15th Finance Commission. But we have no say in its formulation and it is completely neutral.”
About other issues pertaining to Tamil Nadu, Singh said the rise in aging population in the state would create “new pressures” on the government’s finances. The urban population in Tamil Nadu has crossed 50 per cent based on the latest census data. “There is no doubt that in the decades ahead, India’s growth engine will come from urban centres of growth and will not only provide Tamil Nadu, but also the country a great opportunity to achieve high rates of economic growth,” he said.
