Montek to head Tamil Nadu panel to augment revenue

CHENNAI: The State government has constituted a Revenue Augmentation Committee, headed by the former deputy chairman of the erstwhile Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, to recommend measures to increase Tamil Nadu's revenue and identify new sources of income.

According to a Government Order (GO) issued by the Finance Department, the committee has been tasked with advising the government on measures to augment the State's own tax and non-tax revenues, besides suggesting policy and administrative reforms to improve revenue buoyancy, efficiency and fiscal self-reliance.

The committee comprises KP Krishnan, chair professor of economics at the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER); Arbind Modi, tax policy expert; Najib Shah, retired Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer; MA Siddique, additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department; and M Suresh Babu, director of the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS), as members. Raja Gopal Sunkara, joint secretary to the Finance Department, will serve as the committee's convener.

The committee will also identify new and underutilised sources of revenue and examine avenues to enhance non-tax income, including dividends from Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), land and asset monetisation, and other potential revenue streams.

The panel is expected to recommend strategies to strengthen the State's fiscal position by improving tax administration, widening the revenue base and enhancing resource mobilisation while ensuring sustainable public finances.