RAS question
The GST Council is chaired by:
Correct answer: (D) Union Finance Minister.
Article 279A makes the Union Finance Minister the Chairperson of the Goods and Services Tax Council.
Explanation
Article 279A is explicit about the Council's leadership: the Union Finance Minister is the Chairperson of the Goods and Services Tax Council. This is not a generic finance post. Article 279A lays down the Council's composition, naming the Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance and one minister nominated by each State Government as members, while keeping the Union Finance Minister as chair. The voting design also reflects the Centre-State structure: the Union Government's vote has one-third weightage and all State Governments together have two-thirds in a meeting. So the chair is a Union constitutional office-holder, but the Council's voting is built around weighted participation by both levels of government.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Chairman of the Finance Commission is not the chair named in Article 279A; that article assigns GST Council leadership to the Union Finance Minister.
- (B) The RBI Governor is not the Article 279A chairperson of the GST Council; the provision specifically names the Union Finance Minister.
- (C) Article 279A does not assign this role to the Prime Minister; it names the Union Finance Minister as the Council's Chairperson.
Concept
This tests the constitutional design of the GST Council under Article 279A, especially composition and voting weightage. It recurs because one provision links the chairperson, members and Centre-State vote split, making it a compact governance fact for RAS prelims.