Gandhinagar. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, in the meeting held with the 16th Finance Commission in Gandhinagar on Monday, October 21, clearly expressed his opinion that states like Gujarat, which follow fiscal prudence in a disciplined manner, should get rewards for this by the Commission. This will result in recognition of responsible financial management and disciplined expenditure of such states. Not only this; Other states will also be inspired for this.
It is noteworthy that the 16th Finance Commission is scheduled to submit its report on October 31, 2025, covering the five-year time period starting from April 1, 2026. In this regard, the Commission is visiting the states and discussing them in detail with them before finalizing the report. In this sequence, the Commission has come on a visit to Gujarat.
Commission Chairman Dr. Arvind Panagariya and 4 members met Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai, Chief Secretary Raj Kumar, Principal Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister Dr. Hasmukh Adhia and senior secretaries of the state government in Gandhinagar on Monday during their visit to Gujarat. Had a meeting.
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In this meeting, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel presented the influential role of Gujarat in realizing the vision of ‘Developed India@2047’ given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chief Minister Patel expressed expectation of appropriate resources and cooperation from the Central Government to achieve the ambitious targets.
He suggested before the Commission that for this purpose the Finance Commission should pay more attention to the performance indicators showing the efficiency and outcome of the state. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel also drew the Finance Commission’s attention to another important aspect and said that the Commission needs to take into account the special situation in Gujarat in the financial allocation.
In this context, he said that on one hand urbanization is increasing rapidly in Gujarat, while on the other hand the tribal communities settled in rural areas also have their own different needs. He clearly said that only with proper cooperation and support of the Finance Commission, Gujarat will be able to contribute effectively to the development of the country by paying attention to such needs.
Chief Minister Patel strongly demanded that the benefits given to Gujarat by the Finance Commission should be given keeping these realities in mind and the Commission should meet the realities of the state by keeping pace with the ambitions and needs of the state.
He said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat has made extraordinary development in the last two decades. Gujarat, which contributed more than 6.4 percent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2001, today contributes more than 8.5 percent under the guidance of Narendra Modi. He appreciated the valuable contribution of the Finance Commission in the development of the nation and the states. He described the role of the Finance Commission as the cornerstone in strengthening co-operative federalism.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, in his recommendations before the Finance Commission, was pleased to continue providing support and guidance to Gujarat as well as the states which are progressing well in making them financially strong. Chairman of the 16th Finance Commission, Dr. Arvind Panagariya, while praising the economic progress of Gujarat, said that in the last ten years, when the average real GDP growth rate of the entire country has been around 6 percent, Gujarat’s real GDP growth rate average has been 8.5 percent. Is the percentage.
Dr. Panagariya justified Gujarat’s development strategy as a manufacturing state and added that Gujarat is getting ready to become India’s first South Korea and Taiwan. He also said that the foundation of development laid under the leadership of the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi has today become a building of strong development. He praised Gujarat for maintaining its development journey continuously even during the difficult times of Covid.
In the presentation made by the Gujarat government, he also praised the Surat Economic Region Model and the Discom and described it as a guide for others. State Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai said that the Finance Commission should recognize the states on the basis of performance in areas like National Goals i.e. Renewable Energy, Climate Change, Sustainability. In the meeting, Principal Secretary of the Finance Department, T. Natarajan, gave a detailed presentation on behalf of the Gujarat Government before the 16th Finance Commission. The members of the Commission expressed their views on the presentation of the State Government.
In this meeting, Advisor to the Chief Minister S. S. Rathore and Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries and Secretaries of various departments participated.