Population of the year 2011 was first introduced in the tax devolution formula for sharing Union tax revenue with the States by

Correct — C, Fourteenth Finance Commission. Every Commission up to the Thirteenth had used the 1971 census for the population criterion, because a 1976 policy decision froze demographic data at that year so that States which reduced fertility would not lose out in devolution or in seats. The Fourteenth Commission, covering 2015-16 to 2019-20, was the first to bring 2011 data into the formula: it kept the 1971 population at 17.5 per cent weight and added a separate demographic change criterion, based on the 2011 population, at 10 per cent. The Fifteenth Commission then dropped 1971 as a criterion of its own and used the 2011 population directly, at 15 per cent.

• (a)Thirteenth Finance Commission — The Thirteenth Commission, covering 2010-15, used population from the 1971 census along with area, fiscal capacity distance and fiscal discipline. The 2011 census had not even been completed when it reported.
• (b)Fifteenth Finance Commission — The Fifteenth Commission was told by its terms of reference to use the 2011 population, and its use of that data caused the most argument, but it was not the first to use it — the Fourteenth had already done so.
• (d)Twelfth Finance Commission — The Twelfth Commission, covering 2005-10, used 1971 population at a 25 per cent weight alongside income distance, area and fiscal discipline.

Freezing population at the 1971 census was a deliberate policy choice made when the family planning programme was being pushed hard, and it was extended by the Eighty-fourth Amendment for the allocation of Lok Sabha seats. Finance Commissions inherited the same convention, so the population criterion in devolution stayed anchored to 1971 for four decades. The Fourteenth Commission broke that convention gently, keeping the old base and adding the new one; the Fifteenth switched fully, which is why the southern States objected and why the demographic performance criterion was introduced to answer them.

The trap here is that the Fifteenth Commission is the one associated with the 2011 census in public argument, so it is the tempting answer. The word first is what decides the item. A useful sequence to carry is that the Thirteenth used 1971 alone, the Fourteenth used 1971 plus 2011, and the Fifteenth used 2011 alone with a fertility-based correction scaled by 1971 numbers.

• The Fourteenth Finance Commission covered 2015-16 to 2019-20 and was chaired by Y. V. Reddy.
• It used 1971 population at 17.5 per cent and a demographic change criterion based on 2011 population at 10 per cent.
• Commissions up to the Thirteenth used the 1971 census alone for the population criterion.
• The Fifteenth Commission used the 2011 population at 15 per cent and dropped 1971 as a separate criterion.
• The Fourteenth Commission raised the States' share of the divisible pool from 32 to 42 per cent.

• Choosing the Fifteenth Commission because it is the one publicly associated with the 2011 census.
• Forgetting that the Fourteenth used both census years at once.
• Confusing demographic change, a Fourteenth Commission criterion, with demographic performance, a Fifteenth Commission one.

A which-came-first item where the more famous body is the distractor and the correct answer is its predecessor.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The States' share in the divisible pool of Union taxes was raised from 32 per cent to 42 per cent on the recommendation of the

  • (a)Twelfth Finance Commission
  • (b)Thirteenth Finance Commission
  • (c)Fourteenth Finance Commission
  • (d)Fifteenth Finance Commission

  Answer(c) Fourteenth Finance Commission — the Fifteenth then set it at 41 per cent.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Population data for the allocation of Lok Sabha seats among States remained frozen at the census of

  • (a)1951
  • (b)1961
  • (c)1971
  • (d)1981

  Answer(c) 1971 — the freeze was extended by the Eighty-fourth Amendment.