How far do you think cooperation, competition and confrontation have shaped the nature of federation in India? Cite some recent examples to validate your answer. (UPSC IAS Mains 2020 General Studies Paper – 2)
A federation is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government. Granville Austin describes the Indian federation as an example of cooperative federalism that produces a strong Central government but does not result in weak provincial governments. Such distinctive nature of federalism gives rise to cooperation, competition and sometimes confrontation among the federal units.
Collaboration
- It was seen during the GST reforms when each state agreed to leave some part of their share in the tax pool for the long-term goods.
- Collaboration was also evident during the COIVD-19 pandemic when states and the Centre acted as one in the fight against the virus.
Competition
- With the Liberalisation Reforms of 1991, there has been a competition among the states to attract foreign investment and industries.
- Planning Commission was replaced by NITI Aayog to promote competition among states and promote the spirit of cooperative federalism. The NITI Aayog publishes rankings of different states in accordance with Ease of Doing Business and this has led to several states and districts doing reforms at the ground level.
- The Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) started by the NITI Aayog aims to identify 115 laggard districts in terms of socio-economic outcomes and institute a programme with convergence, collaboration and competition as the core tenets.
Confrontation
- From 1967 to 1990, India had witnessed confrontational federalism due to the emergence of regional parties. The confrontation between States and the Union was due to the role of the governor and the use of Article 356.
- Politically, the rise of coalition politics increased the role of states at national level. This can be seen in the role of West Bengal in River Sharing Agreement with Bangladesh and of Tamil Nadu during India’s role in conflict with LTTE in Sri Lanka.
This collaboration, competition and confrontation has shaped the Indian federation. It is visible in following ways:
- The diverse regional aspirations have managed to constantly assert themselves, resulting in the decentralisation of governance in India and the institutionalisation of the Local Self -government under the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts.
- The passing of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is another such example. By implementing GST the Centre and States have become equal fiscal partners in sharing a common indirect tax base.
- The Union government accepted the 14th Finance Commission recommendation to give the States 42% share of the funds from the central pool.
Cooperative and competitive federalism are complementary ideas that will drive India’s growth story in the coming decades. However, it is necessary to avoid confrontations among the units of federalism. Inter-state Council can play an enabling role in bringing the Centre and the States together on contentious policy issues.
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