Kelkar Committees

Background and evolution

Vijay Kelkar, an economist who served as Finance Secretary and later chaired the Thirteenth Finance Commission, led several influential committees from the early 2000s. India had begun economic liberalisation in 1991, but its tax system remained complex, its fiscal deficits high and its infrastructure financing weak. Kelkar's committees addressed these problems with practical blueprints.

Because "Kelkar Committee" can refer to several bodies, examiners often specify the subject. Aspirants should link each report to its theme: taxes (2002), GST and fiscal rules (2004), fiscal consolidation (2012) and PPPs (2015).

Key features and provisions

• Direct taxes (2002): raise the personal income tax exemption limit, remove most exemptions and deductions, simplify rates, and set up a Tax Information Network for electronic filing and data matching.
• Indirect taxes (2002): move towards a value-added tax on services and goods, reduce customs duties, and modernise administration.
• FRBM task force (2004): proposed a comprehensive national Goods and Services Tax to replace multiple central and state levies, years before GST was adopted.
• Fiscal consolidation (2012): warned that India risked a fiscal crisis and recommended cutting subsidies, raising tax revenue and disinvestment to bring the deficit down.
• PPPs (2015): recommended an independent regulator for PPP sectors, an Infrastructure PPP Project Review Committee, renegotiation frameworks for stalled projects, avoiding PPPs for very small projects, and amending anti-corruption law to separate genuine errors from corruption.