Poverty Ratio as a Devolution Criterion-A Note

A Note T K Arun The Ninth Finance Commission's use of the poverty ratio in its devolution formula has been counter-productive in making the inter-state distribution of resources more progressive. What makes the commission's resort to a formula that so blatantly favours a few rich states at the expense of some of the poorest all the more intriguing is that alternative methods of devolution to achieve a more progressive distribution among the states are so readily available.