New Delhi, Dec 5 (KNN) With the fifteenth finance commission getting the President’s nod last month, the first meeting of the commission recently took place with the newly appointed Chairman N.K Singh heading the panel.

The deliberations of the meeting included the need for a wide-ranging consultation based framework with different stakeholders on board.

Ministry of Finance in a press statement informed of the meeting.

The release said that the commission has called upon to hold wide-ranging consultations with all stakeholders including various Ministries of the Union Government, all State Governments, Local Bodies, Panchayats and Political parties of each State Government.

Other members of the commission including Shaktikanta Das and Dr. Anoop Singh, as well as the part time Members Dr. Ashok Lahiri and Dr. Ramesh Chand were present during the meeting.

The Commission held preliminary discussions on the Terms of Reference for the Fifteenth Finance Commission as per the Order made by the President of India and notified by the Ministry of Finance on 27th November, 2017.

It was outlined that the consultation mechanism needs to be initiated as earliest as possible.

Also the Commission recognised that there was also need to undertake analytical papers, analysis from leading research organisations within the country and elsewhere to suitably address the Terms of Reference.

Earlier, in November the Fifteenth Finance Commission in pursuance of clause (1) of article 280 of the Constitution got approval from President Kovind, bringing the commission into action. (With PIB Inputs)