The Centre has released Rs 6,195.08 crore to 14 States as the second equated monthly instalment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission.
“This would provide them (with) additional resources during the corona crisis,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted on Monday night.
Kerala bagged the largest share of the fund, with Rs 1,276 crore in its kitty. Himachal Pradesh will get Rs 952 crore, while Punjab will get Rs 638 crore. Other states which will benefit include Andhra Pradesh (Rs 4,91 crore), Assam (Rs 631 crore), Manipur (Rs 235 crore), Meghalaya (Rs 40 crore), Mizoram (Rs 118 crore), Nagaland (Rs 326 crore), Sikkim (Rs 37 crore), Tamil Nadu (Rs 335 crore), Tripura (Rs 269 crore), Uttarakhand (Rs 423 crore) and West Bengal (Rs 417 crore).
An equal first installment of the grant, as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission, was issued by the Centre to states on March 14.
The grant comes at a time when the states are facing scarcity of funds amid the COVID pandemic. The grant will help state governments take preventive and mitigation measures for containment of Covid-19, including setting up quarantine facilities, sample collection and screening and setting up additional testing laboratories.
Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grants is a mechanism provided by the Finance Commission for compensation of any loss incurred by states from the Centre. This Finance Commission Grant forms the second largest chunk of Finance Commission transfers after the assistance to local rural bodies.
