An Analysis of Revenue Mobilization Effort of Government of Assam in Recent Decades

Abstract

India is a federal state with constitutional demarcation of financial powers and responsibilities between the center and the states.. To perform its function effectively, state governments need sufficient amount of revenues which depend on the fiscal health of the states. Deterioration in the fiscal health disrupts the normal functioning of the economy and creates macroeconomic instability (Olekalns and Cashin, 1998; Lledoh, 2009). The state governments have larger expenditure responsibilities compared to its revenue sources (Lahiri, 2000). The constitution thus directs the central government to transfer resources.As Assam is a backward state heavily dependent on Central Transfers for developmental works, it is necessary that the revenue mobilization effort of the state government should be adequate to gain more benefit from central transfers. Along with that, the state should improve its revenue mobilization efforts to increase its own tax and non-tax revenue collection. The paper is an attempt to analyze the revenue mobilization efforts of the government to mobilize more resources from own revenue sources and central transfers for developmental effectiveness of the state government.

Keywords: revenue effort