New Delhi, February 5
Today a delegation of Himachal Pradesh Members of Parliament held a detailed press conference in New Delhi to highlight the significantly larger transfers and development investments the Central Government has delivered to Himachal Pradesh during 2014–2026 compared with the 2004–14 period. The delegation was led by Anurag Singh Thakur and included Suresh Kashyap, Rajeev Bharadwaj, Harsh Mahajan and Sikander Kumar. The MPs set out sector-by-sector evidence, from tax devolution and Finance Commission outcomes to infrastructure projects and new central institutions, to demonstrate how Centre-sponsored support has accelerated investment and connectivity across the State.
Thakur began with tax devolution and Central transfers. Under the new Finance Commission formula Himachal’s share of net union taxes rises from 0.830% (15th FC basis) to 0.914% under the 16th FC, a structural uplift that translates into a materially larger tax-devolution flow for 2026–27 (Budget Estimate Rs. 13,949 crore). Over the entire 2014–26 window, the State’s cumulative tax devolution reached roughly Rs. 76,799 crore while grants-in-aid totalled about Rs. 1.41 lakh crore, very large increases in comparison to the 2004–14 decade figures of 12,699 crores in tax devolution and 50,298 crores in grants in aid.
Thakur explained the Centre’s posture toward capital support for hill states has also changed: the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) provided interest-free 50-year loans and delivered about Rs. 8,309 crore to Himachal between 2020–21 and Jan 2026, a new source of long-term financing not present in the earlier period. Finance Commission linked grants for local bodies have also risen sharply for Himachal, with rural local bodies alone getting Rs. 3744 crores under 16th FC almost double from Rs. 1673 crore of 15th FC.
Thakur explained how Central institutions have been established in Himachal since 2014 and the funds and projects that followed. Key projects were AIIMS Bilaspur (cost ~Rs.1,470+ crore), the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (500cr), IIM Sirmaur (531.75 crore), IIIT Una (Rs 64 crore), several new medical colleges in Chamba/Hamirpur/Nahan (700cr) and the Industrial Development Scheme assistance (Rs.1,164 crore approved in Sept 2023). In industrial projects the Una bulk drug park, a Rs.1,000 crore central funding and nalagarh medical devices park, were highlighted as catalytic projects that both create jobs and deepen the State’s manufacturing base.
The MPs stressed a quantum leap in connectivity projects compared with the earlier decade. Under Railways the Centre has allocated Rs. 2,911 crore for rail in 2026–27 alone and sanctioned four major new rail-track projects over years, with 255 km new tracks under construction at an estimated cost of ~Rs.13,168 crore, plus 24 rail flyovers/underbridges completed during 2014–26. New lines named in the briefing include Nangal–Una–Talwara, Bhanupali–Bilaspur–Beri, Chandigarh–Baddi and Kangra gauge restoration; four stations are being developed under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme. Under Highways, over 2,600 km of national highways have been constructed in the State as of June 2025, and major NH sections (e.g., Kiratpur–Nerchowk) were inaugurated by the Prime Minister.
Thakur explained that the 16th FC revised the weights of criteria, for example, population (2011) increases its weight while area’s weight falls from 15% to 10% and a new “contribution to GDP” parameter (10%) is introduced. These adjustments raised Himachal’s share of the divisible pool from 0.830% to 0.914% and, on estimates, lifted annual devolution receipts in 2026–27 by over 2300 crores to 13,947 cr from 11,561.66cr in 2025-26. Thakur used data to show how many States, including several opposition-ruled States, also see increased shares under FC-16, underscoring the impartial, formula-driven nature of the change.
A key part of the press conference addressed the discontinuation of Post-Devolution Revenue Deficit Grants (RDG) under FC-16. Thkaur read FC-16’s assessment, RDGs under FC-14/FC-15 was intended as a temporary, front-loaded transition tool, especially to address COVID shocks with the expectation that recipient States would use the period to improve tax effort and rationalise expenditures and thereby approach near-zero revenue deficits by 2025–26. FC-16 finds that, despite large RDG transfers, many recipient States did not follow the normative corrective path; the Commission therefore judged RDG to have become a perverse, permanent support and discontinued it. Thakur pointed to Himachal’s specific fiscal metrics used by FC-16 to justify this treatment: Himachal’s own-tax revenue (~5.6% of GSDP) trails better-performing peer states, revenue expenditure is relatively high (~21% of GSDP), fiscal deficit widened (~5.3% of GSDP in 2023–24) and outstanding liabilities are elevated (~42–43% of GSDP), all factors the Commission used to assess grant eligibility. He also highlighted how Himachal’s capital expenditure of 10.5% is very less compared to other states.
Thakur requested the Himachal Government to release its share of funds promptly for ongoing rail projects and other Centre-supported schemes, arguing that slow state co-funding delays project completion and reduces the State’s development dividend.
Thakur formally invited the Himachal Chief Minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, to visit New Delhi to meet Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to learn fiscal management lessons and unlock further cooperation, offering Telangana’s recent example, where sitting Congress CM met the Union leadership and later credited those discussions and called PM Narendra Modi as Bade Bhai for helping Telangana. Thakur reaffirmed that Cooperative federalism is the key principle the Modi government follows and requested CM Sukhu to come to Delhi.
