The government has appointed former expenditure secretary Ajay Narayan Jha and SBI Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh, and two other members to the newly-constituted 16th Finance Commission.
The commission, chaired by former vice chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya, will have 4 members, who will be assisted by Secretary Ritvik Ranjanam Pandey, two joint secretaries and one economic advisor.
Besides Jha, who was also a member in the previous 15th Finance Commission, retired bureaucrat Annie George Mathew and Artha Global Executive Director Niranjan Rajadhyaksha have been appointed as full-time members of the 16th Finance Commission.
Soumya Kanti Ghosh will be a part-time member, the finance ministry said in a notification.
“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 report or October 31, 2025, whichever is earlier,” the notification added.
The government constituted the commission under the chairmanship of Panagariya on December 31, 2023. The panel would submit its report to the President by October 31, 2025. The report would be covering five-year period beginning April 1, 2026.
