Who among the following was the Chairman of the First Finance Commission of India?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — B, K. C. Neogy. The First Finance Commission of India was constituted on 22 November 1951 under Article 280 of the Constitution, with Kshitish Chandra Neogy as its Chairman. Neogy — a veteran Congress leader, a member of the Constituent Assembly and a former Union Minister — headed the Commission, which submitted its report in 1952 covering the period 1952–57. Its task was to recommend how the net proceeds of divisible taxes should be shared between the Union and the States and the principles governing grants-in-aid. Hence the Chairman of the First Finance Commission was K. C. Neogy.

Why the other options are wrong — (a) Wrong — K. Santhanam chaired the SECOND Finance Commission (constituted 1956), not the first. He is a genuine Finance Commission chairman, which makes him a tempting distractor, but one Commission too late.  (c) Wrong — Dr. P. V. Rajamannar (here spelt 'Raj Mannar'), an eminent jurist, chaired the FOURTH Finance Commission (constituted 1964), not the first.  (d) Wrong — A. K. Chanda chaired the THIRD Finance Commission (constituted 1960). Like the other names he led a later Commission, not the inaugural one of 1951.

Concept: The Finance Commission is a constitutional body set up under Article 280, normally every five years, to recommend the sharing of Union tax revenues between the Centre and the States (vertical devolution), the inter-se distribution among States (horizontal devolution) and the principles of grants-in-aid to States. The First Finance Commission was constituted in 1951 under the chairmanship of K. C. Neogy and reported for the 1952–57 period.

State PCS 2021 Q76 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2021 Q76 — Polity & Governance PYQ with Answer