41st GST Council Meeting Highlights: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that centre can facilitate borrowings from RBI but the loans will be in the name of states. FM Sitharaman said that two options were placed before states, including the option that centre will facilitate talking with RBI and help to get G-security linked interest rates so that each state does not have to struggle for loans. She added that the states have requested the government to lay down both options in detail, and give them 7 full working days to deliberate on it and get back. Further, a brief GST Council meeting is likely to be held soon.  The finance ministry also said that if a state goes for Option 1, it will borrow less, but its compensation entitlement will be protected. So, the choice is between i) borrowing less & getting cess later, & ii) borrow more & pay for it using cess collected during the transition period. The GST Council today met for the 41st time amid a heated debate on providing compensation cess to the states. While the promise of the centre of compensating revenue loss below 14 per cent growth till 2022 seems to be a daunting task to fulfil, the states and the opposition party have been consistently raising the issue of a revenue shortfall.

Source : PTI