Mathur Ritika Passi

federal state with unitary characteristics,
depending on the interpretative bias of the
individual researcher.
Two key constitutional provisions ensure
the dominance of the Union government.
The functional areas on which the Union
and State Legislatures can act are clearly
set out in separate lists, along with a third
list where either can legislate. But a residual
provision ensures that Union legislation
always dominates over state-level legislation
within the combined list. Further, the Union
government enjoys the constitutional right
to dismiss any state government, in the event
there is a breakdown of the constitutional
provisions due to an emergency like war,
domestic turmoil or fiscal meltdown.
Additional centralising drivers in the
constitution make the judiciary vertically
integrated, though state governments have
greater leeway in appointing the lower
judiciary. The senior bureaucracy and
police is similarly selected, appointed and
managed by the Union government through
a specific provision. The supreme audit body
is common for both the Union and the state
governments.
The Scheme for Intergovernmental Fiscal
Transfers
The bulk of the fiscal resources are with
the Union government, although they are
shared with the provincial governments on
the basis of recommendations of a Finance
Commission, appointed every five years.
Currently around 50% of the aggregate
revenue resources of the Union government
are transferred to the state governments.
State governments in turn allocate
resources to local governments, using
the recommendations of their own State
Finance Commissions. This asymmetry in
fiscal powers ensures basic symmetry in
developmental policies, incubated primarily
by the Union government.
Political Plurality
Despite political plurality being embedded
in the constitution, the force of history
helped the Congress Party, which was
the main political party at the time of
independence in 1947, to retain power
at the Centre and in a majority of the
provincial governments for thirty years.
Ensuring coordinated action between
the Union and state governments was
consequently an issue of inner party
management discipline, much as it is in
single-party nations like China.
Post 1990, there have been significant
changes in the political landscape, such as
the fruition of multiparty rule in keeping
with the federal structure of the constitution.
First, India has had long periods of
coalition governments at the Central level,
initially in the late 1970s and again after
1990. This is an outcome of a growing
asymmetry between local and regional
political parties, which are strong at the
provincial level, and others which have the
capacity to form a national government.
India is large and heterogeneous, and
asymmetry in political power across the
country is a signal of political inclusion
and maturity. But it does complicate the
business of implementing developmental
projects, particularly those of a network
character like infrastructure—roads,
interstate river development, railways,
telecommunication and electricity.
Productive federalism has to be consensual
to be effective. But the efficiency costs are
significant due to stretched time lines for
decision-making; higher operational risks
of policy reversal; and the incorporation
of operational processes which are flexible
enough to incorporate local conditions.
This is still very much a learning process
for a polity which values templates and
equality above equity.
Enhanced Political Predictability
The resilience of the political architecture
can be gauged from the fact that political
stability has not been unduly affected
by political plurality. The constitutional
provision for evoking a national emergency
has not been used since 1977, and the use
of the constitutional power to dismiss a
state government has been strictly regulated
since 1994 by a decision of the Supreme
Court. 5 However, selective curtailment of
provincial powers in some border states has
been necessary to deal with extremism and
terrorism.
The Indian constitution has been
amended 100 times in the last 65 years
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