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4452. Cooperative Federalism in India: Parallel Streams: Political Federalism and Economic Integration in India
- Author:
- Niranjan Rajadhyaksha and Prakhar Misra
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- Economic integration is an important component of the design of political federations, a fact that was evident to the framers of the Indian constitution, but has been given inadequate attention in much of the subsequent literature on Indian federalism. In this paper, we examine the slow progress of economic integration in India, revisit the policy debates on the need for fewer barriers on interstate trade, and end with a set of unfulfilled recommendations to further strengthen cooperative federalism in India.
- Topic:
- Constitution, Economic Integration, and Cooperative Federalism
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
4453. Cooperative Federalism in India: The Goods and Services Tax Council: Dialectics and Design
- Author:
- Haseeb A. Drabu
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- This paper explores the origins of the GST Council, examines its impacts on federalism in India, and considers the road ahead for the institution. It also addresses key arguments that have been put forth about the design and functioning of the Council. The GST Council, despite its shortccomings, has the potential to evolve as the centrepiece of a new federal architecture in India. It has changed the institutional architecture of fiscal federalism in India and can potentially change the dynamics of Centre-state relations. However, India’s evolving political economy threatens to derail the federal compact that underlay its formation.
- Topic:
- Political Economy, Tax Systems, Domestic Policy, and Cooperative Federalism
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
4454. Cooperative Federalism in Indi: Federal Aspects of India's Emerging Internal Migration Governance Frameworks
- Author:
- Mukta Naik
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- The exodus of millions of migrants during the 2020 Covid lockdowns resulted in an uptick in migrant-inclusive policy initiatives. Leaning on concepts developed in migration studies and organizational theory, this paper analyses emergent policy responses with a focus on the role of government. Without a coherent and explicit approach to governing migration from the Centre, State governments have actively worked towards improving governance responses to migrants. The location of initiatives outside of the nodal State labour department, convergence between departments and bilateral arrangements between States demonstrate how horizontal and vertical boundaries within the governance system were bridged innovatively by temporary orders, enterprising bureaucrats, state-society collaborations and by leveraging hitherto under-utilized provisions in existing schemes. The paper highlights migration governance as an example where the rearrangement of federal relationships under crisis conditions has offered new policy imaginations. A nascent transition away from a centralist model of migration governance has emerged, which can be accelerated and sustained by institutionalizing successful initiatives, including boundary-spanning mechanisms.
- Topic:
- Migration, Labor Issues, Governance, and Cooperative Federalism
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
4455. Cooperative Federalism in Indi: The Rise and Resilience of Fiscal Transfers Amidst Party System Change
- Author:
- Suyash Rai and Milan Vaishnav
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- Has political centralization induced fiscal centralization in India? This paper examines this question through an institutional analysis of India’s Finance Commission, a constitutional body tasked with determining fiscal transfers from the Union government to the States, and through an analysis of Union government incentives to make discretionary transfers under various schemes. It finds no simple correspondence between political centralization and fiscal devolution. In recent years, despite the presence of a dominant party and considerable centralization of power, fiscal transfers from the Centre to the States have not undergone the sharp reversal that many expected. We argue that a nuanced understanding of the Finance Commission’s unique position is central to understanding India’s institutional landscape more generally. We also argue that understanding the interplay between political contestations and the pursuit of efficiency in the fiscal relations between the Union government and the sub-national governments can help shed new light on how centre-state relations are evolving.
- Topic:
- Resilience, Cooperative Federalism, and Fiscal Transfers
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
4456. India’s Regulatory Shift: An Examination of Five Agencies of the Post- Liberalisation Era
- Author:
- Arkaja Singh
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- This paper explores the design of Indian regulatory agencies established post-liberalisation from an administrative perspective. Regulatory agencies were set up to replace state inefficiencies, and to discipline profligate state agencies, even as much as they were a response to state-market reorganisations and the challenge of privatization. Regulation provided an opportunity for upper levels of the Indian bureaucratic state to recast their power, with the idea that it would provide a framework for economic rationality, independence and technical specialization to take centre-stage. In actual practice however, the design of each of the regulatory agencies is shaped largely by pre-existing legal frameworks and institutions, and the agencies have remained quite tied in with their counterpart departments and on retired bureaucrats. However, in spite of these limitations, these agencies have some common features imbued by legislative mandate and organisational design which are unique in the context of the Indian state. They have focus and stability, a degree of functional independence, and most importantly, a concentration of power, which enables them to think through and implement complex policy transitions from multi-year and context-specific perspectives. The paper builds on learnings from a series of conversations with regulatory agency chairpersons in order to identify what regulatory governance is, in terms of the powers and mandate of the regulatory agencies and what makes them distinctive from the rest of public administration.
- Topic:
- Markets, Governance, Regulation, Bureaucracy, and Liberalization
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
4457. Organisation Through Neglect: Understanding Field Administration in India
- Author:
- Rashmi Sharma
- Publication Date:
- 03-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- This paper analyses the structure and processes of field administration in India and matches these with the outcomes on the ground. It highlights features of the administrative structure, human resources, and organisational culture that result in the sub-optimal delivery of social services and policy implementation. Recognizing the importance of historical antecedents, the paper provides a brief account of how field administration has developed over time. Subsequently, it presents the findings of a case study of a district situated in Madhya Pradesh. This is followed by a delineation of the key areas for reform and some possible strategies, though these need to be formulated after rigorous debate. The paper traces the roots of the present-day field administration to the colonial era, when the existing decentralised and diffused field administration system was changed to achieve the government’s goals to maximise revenue from land and forests and maintain order. The district became the key administrative unit in the field, and the district collector (DC) the overall administrative head. After Independence, government goals shifted dramatically, and socio-economic development became a central concern. However, the basic administrative structure was retained, while several departmentalorganisations were added.
- Topic:
- Governance, Colonialism, Human Resources, and Administration
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
4458. Frontline Functionaries in India: The Absent Policy
- Author:
- Rashmi Sharma
- Publication Date:
- 03-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- In the context of a high level of dissatisfaction with the delivery of government services in India, this paper traces the evolution of policy regarding key actors in this process— frontline functionaries or street-level bureaucrats. Frontline functionaries form a special subset of the bureaucracy as they come in close contact with citizens, and negotiate government policy with specific citizen needs. The paper provides a historical background illustrating the continuity of colonial era ideas with the current policy regarding frontline functionaries, and also examines it against broader developments in policy and the administrative structure. The policy regarding frontline functionaries is scrutinised against their three roles: as government employees, as professionals or skilled workers in specific fields, and as workers serving the community. The paper shows that frontline functionaries, only loosely connected to the government before colonization, subsequently became government employees, as the government sought to increase the efficiency of revenue collection from land and forests, and to maintain order. Because the colonial government minimized administrative costs, it paid frontline functionaries very poorly, placed them near the bottom of an extremely hierarchical bureaucratic structure and provided them with minimal promotion avenues. Frontline functionaries were not considered worthy of serious responsibility, expected to follow orders, had little education and training and were treated harshly by senior officials. Consequently, their performance was unsatisfactory. They were often corrupt and exploited the community.
- Topic:
- Government, Decolonization, and Bureaucracy
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
4459. Regulating Air Quality at an Airshed Level in India
- Author:
- Shibani Ghosh, Bhargav Krishna, and Abinaya Sekar
- Publication Date:
- 08-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- Air pollution is a pan-India problem, and whether viewed in terms of pollution sources or exposure, there is no reason to continue an urban-focus in air pollution mitigation measures. It is imperative for air quality governance in India to transition from a city-centric approach to an airshed approach. As resources to address the pollution crisis are scarce, a coordinated effort across a region, that supports consistent and uniform measures against similar pollution sources, is likely to lead to greater gains in terms of air quality. In this Paper, we unpack some of the key issues relating to airshed-level governance and what is required to make that transition in India. The current regulatory set-up is designed to primarily focus on point sources, and the jurisdictional mandate of regulatory bodies aligns with state or city boundaries. To effectively regulate pollution and reduce pollution exposure, changes need to be introduced to this regulatory architecture, making it adopt an airshed-level approach. To begin with, airsheds have to be demarcated based on several criteria. However, there is sufficient literature available to initiate necessary reform measures, and the transition to an airshed or regional approach is not contingent on perfect airshed demarcation. We propose that airsheds be notified under the Air Act by the State Governments as ‘air pollution control areas’, and the Union Government may constitute, through notification, multi-stakeholder institutions for each airshed under the EP Act. We have outlined the composition of such an institution, its powers, roles, and responsibilities. It will be a focal point for standard setting, policy guidance, planning and knowledge generation for the airshed, while not being involved in enforcement. A key ingredient for successful airshed-level governance is effective accountability mechanisms that ensure compliance by actors across the region. We envisage a role for the Union Government under the EP Act as well as for the National Green Tribunal in this regard.
- Topic:
- Governance, Regulation, Domestic Policy, and Air Pollution
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
4460. A Health-Centred Framework for Establishing Ambient Air Quality Standards
- Author:
- Bhargav Krishna and Abinaya Sekar
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Policy Research, India
- Abstract:
- Air quality standards are primarily health-based standards that define the ambient concentration of air pollution to which the public can be exposed without suffering harm to their health. In India, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is tasked with setting the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981. The NAAQS were first established in 1982 for four pollutants (suspended particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide) and subsequently revised in 1994 and 1998 to include several more. The current iteration of the NAAQS were notified in 2009 and were aligned with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) interim air quality guidelines. The most recent revision of the WHO guidelines for ambient air quality in September 2021 rendered the NAAQS as substantially weaker in comparison. The alignment of the NAAQS with these global guidelines will require integration of the wealth of new health data generated since 2009 on the deleterious effects of air pollution on health both locally and globally. The 2009 NAAQS revisions were notified through the Gazette of India with no contextual information provided on the composition of the committee tasked with the revisions, or on the kind of data or information used by the committee to draw its conclusions on the acceptable levels of exposure to various pollutants. In August 2021, the CPCB convened a committee to review and update the NAAQS. The committee’s wide-ranging remit includes an assessment of the health risks of air pollution, establishing guidelines for monitoring, identifying non-attainment areas, and revising the Air Quality Index (AQI) through which health risks are communicated to the public.
- Topic:
- Regulation, Public Health, and Air Pollution
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India