The Union cabinet on Wednesday decided to widen the terms of reference of the finance commission headed by former bureaucrat N.K. Singh to find a mechanism to “ensure an assured allocation of resources towards defence and internal security imperatives”. The 14th finance commission, which was headed by former Reserve Bank of India governor Y.V. One reason for this is that the payout for defence pensions is greater than the capital budget at Rs 1.12 lakh crore and today accounts for 26 per cent of the overall defence budget. Singh committee, which was set up in November 2017, requires the commission to consider whether a separate funding mechanism is required for the funding of defence and internal security “and if so how such a mechanism could be operationalized”.

Source: The Telegraph July 17, 2019 21:28 UTC