Chandigarh, Feb. 2 -- The Sixteenth Finance Commission (SFC), which did not propose any revenue deficit grants for states, has recommended grants worth Rs.19,623 crore for rural and urban local bodies and disaster management in Punjab for the five-year period beginning April 1, 2026, while also increasing the state's share in central taxes.

The grants, recommended by the SFC in the report tabled in the Lok Sabha by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, include Rs.16,320 crore for rural and urban local bodies, with the remaining Rs.3,303 crore earmarked for disaster management in the state.

These grants will be provided to Punjab over the five-year period between 2026 and 2031, with an upward trajectory.

Sitharaman, in he...