Co-operative Federalism
A competitive form of federalism:
- The government’s public policy think tank, NITI Aayog, which was founded as an organisation with the purpose of cooperative federalism, has played a vital role in creating healthy competition in order to rank states and Union Territories on various criteria.
- The Aayog also releases rankings on the performance of aspirational districts each month.
- The nation’s 112 least developed districts are the focus of the Aspirational Districts Programme, which was launched four years ago.
- States are rated based on start-ups since 2018 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The exercise rates states based on how easy it is to launch and run a business.
- According to the Center’s Business Reform Action Plan, states are categorised as “top performers,” “achievers,” or “aspirers” and given rankings.
- GST further solidified this federal setup.
Benefits of Competitive Federalism
- Because states are graded in a variety of social categories using quantitative, objective standards, they are encouraged to do better.
- It encourages a mindset of drawing ideas from each state’s best practises, improves the business
- climate, and puts the nation in a position to become the most sought-after investment site globally.
The federalism of India
- Federalism refers to a vertical separation of powers in a political system. A central authority and various members of the structure share power.
- For instance, in India, political power is equally distributed among the municipal, state, and federal administrations.
- A federal system must include the following four essential elements:
- several levels of government: Federalism, by definition, requires that different levels of government function within their own bounds.
- Subjects Are Divided: In order to divide the subjects across the entities and reduce the probability of conflict, power is also divided.
- It ensures that each power division is understood by the written constitution. Yet again, a strict constitution ensures that this division of powers cannot be easily overturned.
- Independent judicial system: It is a means of mediating disputes between the various levels of government.
- Interdependence between state and federal governments: India chose a form of federalism that intentionally placed the Union government and State governments in a mutually reliant relationship (latter more vis-a-vis the former).
- As a result, the essential tenet of a federal constitution—the independence of the Union and State governments—was transgressed.
- Other constitutional provisions that support larger States include: Article 3 of the Indian Constitution, which allows the Union to alter a State’s limits without the latter’s consent; the Rajya Sabha’s size and composition being comparable to that of the Lok Sabha;
- With a few significant exceptions, the Union has greater jurisdiction than the State in terms of the Seventh Schedule’s concurrent list concerns and emergency powers.
- assisting one another Federalism: Rather than being the product of a process of “coming together,” India’s centralised federal system was created via “keeping together” and “putting together.”
- The Indian federation was referred to as a union by B. R. Ambedkar since it was adaptable and unbreakable, which is why the Constitution doesn’t contain any references to federalism.
- The Indian Constitution, he continued, has the requisite latitude to be both federal and unitary when called for.
Various types of Federalism
- Cooperative Federalism: This phrase refers to the horizontal interaction between the federally established institutions. In a federal country like India, for example, the Center and the States each have a certain level of power. Under cooperative federalism, the two entities work together to accomplish a coordinated socioeconomic development of the nation. For instance, the Center and States are expected to work together to address a calamity that affects the entire country, notwithstanding their differences on a range of issues.
- Competitive federalism is a form of federalism that supports healthy rivalry between the states to keep them motivated in their pursuit of economic progress. To illustrate the success made by various states in various categories, NITI Aayog, for example, has developed a number of indexes. The index leaders are expected to work hard to keep their position, while the index laggards are expected to put up even more effort to catch up.
- The division of financial powers and duties among the various branches of the federal government is known as fiscal federalism. Its responsibilities include collecting taxes and dividing different levies between the Center and the constituent units. Similar to this, in the case of cooperative tax collection, a quantifiable criteria is developed for the fair allocation of funds between the businesses. A constitutional authority is often present to ensure fairness in the split (like the Finance Commission in India).
The Supreme Court of India on Federalism:
- The Supreme Court of India declared that federalism was a part of the fundamental framework of the Indian Constitution in the case of S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994).
- The court further found in the case of Kuldip Nayar v. Union of India that the Indian system of federalism supported a strong centre (2006).
The rationale behind India’s federal structure, which is centralised
- India’s split and the problems that followed In anticipation of the Muslim League’s participation in the discussions in the Constituent Assembly following the Cabinet Mission plan in 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru’s Objectives Resolution that he offered in the Assembly was leaning toward a decentralised federal structure. The States would have some remaining power as a result.
- The Union Powers Committee of the Constituent Assembly unanimously adopted a new position after the Partition in favour of a strong Union with residual powers and smaller States in order to maintain the country’s unity.
- In order to help India overcome its socioeconomic problems, a powerful central government was essential: According to Nehru and Ambedkar, a centralised federal system will reverse current social dominant trends, support the fight against poverty, and ultimately have liberating effects.
- In a decentralised federal government, the purpose of a welfare state is to stop organised (small and dominant) organisations from structurally undermining redistributive laws. An organised federal framework, on the other hand, can prevent such issues and build a society founded on universal rights.
- reduction of regional economic disparity Both the cotton and jute mill industries in Bombay and the Bengal region underwent a “race to the bottom” or other drastic cost-cutting tactics.
- Provincial policies seemed to worsen inequality.
- In order to advance socioeconomic rights and safeguards for the working and entrepreneurial classes, a centralised system was advocated in the Nehru Report (1928), the Bombay Plan (1944), and India’s ILO participation.
