Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday hinted at the possibility of the Centre considering restoring state status to Jammu and Kashmir.
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She dropped the hint while talking about the distribution of funds to the states by the Centre as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.
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Delivering a lecture on Centre-State relations here, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi without any hesitation had accepted the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission in 2014-15 that 42 per cent of all taxes-- an increase from 32 per cent till then-- should be given to the states.?
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"That Finance Commission said now you raise it to 42 per cent...which means that Centre will have a lesser amount in its hand. Prime Minister Modi, without a second thought about it, fully accepted the Finance Commission and that is why today states get 42 per cent of the amount--now reduced by 41 per cent because Jammu and Kashmir are no longer states.
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"It will soon become maybe sometimes...," Sitharaman said in her lecture on "Cooperative Federalism: The Path Towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat" organised here by Bharatiya Vichara Kendram in memory of Sangh idealogue P Parameshwaran.
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In August 2019, the central government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which accorded special status to Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union territories.