Dr Niranjan Rajadhyaksha, who was appointed as one of the four full-time members of the Sixteenth Finance Commission, has decided to quit the position. Dr Rajadhyaksha has withdrawn due to “unforeseen personal circumstances,” revealed the Finance Ministry in a release on Monday, February 19.
“Action will be taken to appoint a Member of the Sixteenth Commission in lieu of Dr Rajadhyaksha,” the Finance Ministry, in a release.
Dr Rajadhyaksha, who is the executive director of Artha Global, was appointed as a member of the Sixteenth Finance Commission on January 31.
Along with Dr Rajadhyaksha, a former member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and former expenditure secretary A.N. Jha, and former special secretary of the Department of Expenditure Annie George Mathew were appointed as full-time members of the Sixteenth Commission, as per a gazette notification dated January 30. SBI’s Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh was appointed as a part-time member of the commission.
On December 31, 2023, President Droupadi Murmu had appointed Arvind Panagariya, the former vice chairman of NITI Aayog and a professor at Columbia University, as the chairman.
The members of the commission have been asked to submit their recommendations by October 31, 2025. They will serve the term until the above date or until the date of submission of the report, whichever is earlier.
