I would like to express our gratitude to the Fifteenth Finance Commission (XVFC) of India, for commissioning this study. The motivation for developing the proposal came from a discussion with Shri N. K. Singh, Chairman, XVFC, about the changes in institutions and context since the Fourteenth Finance Commission gave its Award. After his further discussions with Dr Isher Ahluwalia, Chairperson, ICRIER, it was decided that ICRIER would provide research support for the Study. Both of them have provided sage counsel and advice at every step, for which I remain deeply grateful.
