States' Budget demand: 60% GST share, extended compensation period

State finance ministers demanded greater fiscal autonomy through an increase in states' share in goods and services tax (GST) to 60 per cent, from 50 per cent at present

State finance ministers in their customary pre-Budget consultation with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday demanded greater fiscal autonomy through an increase in states’ share in goods and services tax (GST) to 60 per cent, from 50 per cent at present, and an extension of the GST compensation period by another five years.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who also holds the finance portfolio, asked Sitharaman to return the money to the tune of Rs 17, 240 crore lodged in the New Pension Scheme, so that the amount could be put in a separate fund that would serve as