Bhubaneswar: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Friday that Odisha will not be accorded special category status, during a press meet held during her visit to the state for Budget discussions.
The Finance Minister further added that no other states would be accorded special category status in the future, as per recommendations from the Finance Commission sent to the Centre.
It is worth noting that Telangana was granted special category status after being separated from Andhra Pradesh. For many years, Odisha has been seeking this status, citing its large, underdeveloped regions and frequent occurrence of natural disasters like cyclones and floods.
It is also worth mentioning that the special category status was first formed by the Fifth Budget Commission in 1969, with the aim of providing selected states with preferred treatment through central assistance and tax breaks. The Center accords this designation to states with steep terrain, strategic international boundaries, economic and infrastructure backwardness.
To date, 11 states have been granted special category status, including Assam, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Uttarakhand.
PNN