The finance ministry on Thursday said it has released the fourth monthly installment of post devolution revenue deficit grant of Rs 9,871 crore to 17 states. A total amount of Rs 39,484 crore has been released to eligible states in the current financial year.

"The Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, has released the fourth monthly installment of Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant of Rs 9,871 crore to the states yesterday," an official statement said.

The post devolution revenue deficit grant is provided to the states under Article 275 of the Constitution.

The grants are released as per the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission in monthly installments to meet the gap in revenue accounts of the states post devolution.

The Commission has recommended PDRD grants to 17 states during 2021-22.

The eligibility of states to receive this grant and the quantum of grant was decided by the Commission based on the gap between assessment of revenue and expenditure of the state after taking into account the assessed devolution for the financial year 2021-22.

The Fifteenth Finance Commission has recommended a total Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant of Rs 1,18,452 crore to 17 states in the financial year 2021-22.

Out of this, Rs 39,484 crore (33.33 per cent) has been released so far in four installments.

The states recommended for this grant by the 15th Finance Commission are -- Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.