Who was the Chairman of the Twelfth Finance Commission?
- (a)A.M. Khusro
- (b)Dr. C. Rangarajan
- (c)Dr. Vijay Kelkar
- (d)Y. V. Reddy
Correct — B, Dr. C. Rangarajan. Dr. C. Rangarajan, an economist and former RBI Governor, chaired the Twelfth Finance Commission (constituted in 2002), which submitted its report in 2004 covering the award period 2005–2010.
- (a)A.M. Khusro — A.M. Khusro chaired the Eleventh Finance Commission (award period 2000–05), the one immediately before the Twelfth.
- (c)Dr. Vijay Kelkar — Dr. Vijay Kelkar chaired the Thirteenth Finance Commission (award period 2010–15), the one immediately after the Twelfth.
- (d)Y. V. Reddy — Dr. Y.V. Reddy chaired the Fourteenth Finance Commission (award period 2015–20), two commissions after the Twelfth.
The Finance Commission (Article 280 of the Constitution) is reconstituted every five years to recommend how tax revenue is shared between the Union and the States. Each Commission is best remembered by its chairman and its 'award period': 11th = A.M. Khusro (2000–05), 12th = Dr. C. Rangarajan (2005–10), 13th = Dr. Vijay Kelkar (2010–15), 14th = Dr. Y.V. Reddy (2015–20).
MPPSC and UPSC both test this chain, either as a direct 'who chaired the Nth Finance Commission' question or, more often, as a match-the-following linking commission number to chairman. Memorise the sequence in order rather than isolated facts, since the exam frequently shuffles the pairs.
- 12th Finance Commission: chaired by Dr. C. Rangarajan; report covered the 2005–2010 award period.
- 11th Finance Commission: A.M. Khusro (2000–05).
- 13th Finance Commission: Dr. Vijay Kelkar (2010–15).
- 14th Finance Commission: Dr. Y.V. Reddy (2015–20).
- The Finance Commission is constituted under Article 280 of the Constitution.
- Mixing up chairmen across consecutive Finance Commissions (11th–15th)
- Confusing Finance Commission chairmen with Planning Commission or NITI Aayog office-holders
Frequently a match-the-following pairing Finance Commission number with chairman, or a direct 'who chaired the Nth Finance Commission' factual question.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who chaired the Eleventh Finance Commission?
- (a)A.M. Khusro
- (b)C. Rangarajan
- (c)Vijay Kelkar
- (d)Y.V. Reddy
Answer(a) A.M. Khusro — award period 2000–05.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The Finance Commission of India is constituted under which Article of the Constitution?
- (a)Article 270
- (b)Article 275
- (c)Article 280
- (d)Article 282
Answer(c) Article 280.