In horizontal tax devolution, how many of the following criteria, besides population, area, and income distance, did the Fifteenth Finance Commission consider?

Demographic performance

Forest and ecology

Governance reforms

Stable government

Tax and fiscal efforts

Select the correct answer:

Question

Demographic performance: Correct: Demographic performance assesses population factors like growth rate and composition. The 15th Finance Commission used 2011 data and assigned a 12.5% weight, favoring states with lower fertility rates.
Forest and ecology: Correct: Forest and ecology evaluate environmental conservation. A weightage of 10% was given based on the proportion of dense forest in each state.
Governance Reforms: Incorrect: Governance reforms were not considered as a criterion for horizontal tax devolution.
Stable Government: Incorrect: Stable government was not explicitly included as a criterion.
Tax and fiscal efforts: Correct: Tax and fiscal efforts assess a state’s efficiency in tax collection. A 2.5% weight was assigned based on tax revenue relative to state GDP (2016-19).

GKToday Admin · Accepted Answer

Only three

Demographic performance: Correct: Demographic performance assesses population factors like growth rate and composition. The 15th Finance Commission used 2011 data and assigned a 12.5% weight, favoring states with lower fertility rates.
Forest and ecology: Correct: Forest and ecology evaluate environmental conservation. A weightage of 10% was given based on the proportion of dense forest in each state.
Governance Reforms: Incorrect: Governance reforms were not considered as a criterion for horizontal tax devolution.
Stable Government: Incorrect: Stable government was not explicitly included as a criterion.
Tax and fiscal efforts: Correct: Tax and fiscal efforts assess a state’s efficiency in tax collection. A 2.5% weight was assigned based on tax revenue relative to state GDP (2016-19).