Population is the criterion that got the highest weightage for the determination of the shares of states in the formula given by the 14th Finance Commission. While recommending the horizontal distribution, the Commission used broad parameters – population (1971), changes in population since then, income distance, forest cover and area, among others. The Commission recommended the distribution of grants to the states for the local bodies using 2011 population data with weightage of 90 percent and area with weightage of 10 percent.