Topic Federalism

India spent decades trying to solve a problem that seemed almost impossible to reverse: rapid population growth. For some States, that effort succeeded earlier than elsewhere. Fertility fell, families became smaller, survival improved, education expanded and the share of children…

A welfare programme can be national in design without being uniform in its effects. That distinction is becoming visible in the debate over a proposed change to the National Food Security Act (NFSA). The Union government has proposed replacing the…

India’s welfare system is developing an important fiscal contradiction. The Union government continues to determine many of the country’s major welfare priorities, establish programme frameworks and set national standards. Yet a growing proportion of the expenditure required to deliver welfare…

The increase from 100 to 125 days is the easiest part of the story surrounding India’s replacement of MGNREGA. The harder question is what happens between a household asking for employment and that employment actually being provided. The Viksit Bharat—Guarantee…

A language can unite a State and divide it at the same time. That is the paradox at the heart of India’s language question. A State may legitimately want its regional language to play the central role in administration, education…

A university can be created by a State legislature, funded largely by the State government, and still have its most important appointment shaped by institutions linked to the Union. That is the puzzle at the heart of India’s Vice-Chancellor controversy.…

Education Federalism Through Funding, Exams and Standards A national education system promises something attractive: the same standards, the same opportunities and, ideally, the same quality of education regardless of where a student lives. But education has an awkward federal reality.…

A legislature is usually understood through the people who elect it. But that is only half the story in some parts of India. In a Union Territory with an elected Assembly, representation can reach the House through two different institutional…

An election is formally conducted under the authority of the Election Commission of India. But the people who make an election work on the ground usually belong to another administrative system. Electoral rolls have to be prepared and revised. Applications…

An election is decided at the polling station, but participation in that election is determined earlier. Before a ballot can be cast, the electoral system must establish who is entitled to cast it. A person’s name must appear on the…