The Changing Political Economy of Federalism in India: A Historical Institutionalist Approach (original) (raw)

Federalism in India : Political Economy and Reform

2001

The objective of this paper is to examine the nature of India’s federal system, the reforms that have occurred over the last ten years, and what remains to be done. We begin by briefly describing the key federal institutions in India, focusing particularly on the mechanisms for center-state transfers. These transfers are quite large, and are the major explicit method for dealing with inequalities across constituent units of the federation. We then examine the evidence on how India’s political economy has affected the practical workings of the transfer mechanisms. We next describe recent and potential reforms of the center-state transfer system, in the context of evidence of widening interstate economic disparities. This is followed by a consideration of broader actual and possible reforms in India’s federal institutions, including tax assignments and local government reform. We conclude by relating our discussion to other dimensions of economic reform in India. * This paper has been...

Federalism in India: Political Economy and Reforms

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

The objective of this paper is to examine the nature of India's federal system, the reforms that have occurred over the last ten years, and what remains to be done. We begin by briefly describing the key federal institutions in India, focusing particularly on the mechanisms for center-state transfers. These transfers are quite large, and are the major explicit method for dealing with inequalities across constituent units of the federation. We then examine the evidence on how India's political economy has affected the practical workings of the transfer mechanisms. We next describe recent and potential reforms of the center-state transfer system, in the context of evidence of widening interstate economic disparities. This is followed by a consideration of broader actual and possible reforms in India's federal institutions, including tax assignments and local government reform. We conclude by relating our discussion to other dimensions of economic reform in India.

THE POLITICAL ECONOMY IN INDIA: 1951-1991.

The article defines the perimeter of political economy as an independent field of enquiry emerging out of the discipline of International Relations during the growth of behavioral approaches in the study of global politics. This understanding is applied to trace the development of political economy in India from 1951 to 1991 to assess how the post-colonial economy grew to adopt the neo-liberal measures in 1991. The study analyses the impulses that prompted the policy direction soon after independence in 1947, during the 1960s and 1970s and finally in the 1980s to prepare the economy with modest neo-liberal economic measures. Peter Evans? theory of embedded autonomy has been used to study the nature of state intervention in economic affairs and Michal Kalecki?s concept of intermediate classes in intermediate regimes have been applied to understand how certain classes have always stood to gain more from policy planning, irrespective of the orientation of policies.

Redrawing the Body Politic: Federalism, Regionalism and the Creation of New States in India

Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 2002

The Nuffield Foundation provided funding for a fieldtrip to India in February-April 1999 which allowed me to extend and update previous research, and which is very gratefully acknowledged. My thanks also to Stuart Corbridge and Glyn Williams for their comments and criticisms. The arguments in this paper have been presented at seminars and conferences in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Edinburgh, SOAS and Bristol, and in each place I received very helpful feedback. Thanks also to the anonymous reviewers. The usual disclaimers apply. Word count: 9294 2 Redrawing the Body Politic: Federalism, Regionalism and the Creation of New States in India. In 2000 the federal map of India was redrawn to create three new States, signifying a significant shift in the attitude of many of India's major political parties towards territorial reorganisation. This paper suggests that a new era in the political economy of Indiaassociated with economic liberalisation; the rise of the Hindu Right; the regionalisation of politics; and the emergence of a coalitional system of government in New Delhiprovides a new 'field of opportunities' for regions demanding State recognition. The paper concludes that, in this matter, the major political parties are primarily by expediency and opportunism rather than, as is claimed, by an evaluation of the democratic and developmental potential of smaller States.

Features of Center-State Relations in India

The federal structure in India is a three-tiered constitutionally demarcated system that allocates funds according to specific functions as listed in three separate mandates. The Centre is responsible for matters of national importance such as defence, transportation infrastructure, inter national trade and macroeconomic management. The State, governed by the State list is responsible for matters of regional and State importance such as law and order, public health, sanitation, housing, irrigation, agriculture and local governments. The final tier is the Concurrent list, which includes sectors such as education, contracts, bankruptcy and insolvency, economic and social planning, employment and labour welfare, electricity, stamp duties and any other sectors that require Centre-State consensus. The federal structure of India stems from the realisation by post-independence policymakers of the differences in languages, cultures and traditions of the many States and regions across the country.