Cooperative federalism in India refers to a collaborative, partnership oriented relationship between the Centre and the States, focused on joint development and coordinated problem-solving an approach often described as Team India. This has recently become a topic of discussion after the editorial of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin of Tamil Nadu was published in The Hindu (February 2026), in which he argued that India has become over-centralized (due to its federal system) and consequently reduced the autonomy of states. It is important because it has influenced discussion on fiscal balance, cooperative governance, and constitutional reforms, which are necessary to maintain the unity, diversity and democratic resilience of India.
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Key highlights
- Constitutional Vision and Historical Foundations of Federalism
- What is Federalism?
- New Problems of Federal Relations
- Towards a Balanced Federalism
- Global Lessons on Federalism for India
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Cooperative federalism in India is a system of governance in which the Union (Central) and State governments work together to tackle common challenges and advance national development objectives. The idea of India as a unique combination of national unity and regional diversity has been subjected to growing pressure over the last few years, as federalism in India is being increasingly strained. The constitutional structure giving the Centre a large power over the States was acceptable in the initial years of nation building, but current demands industrialize the differences in the fiscal, administrative, and political relationships. The need to recalibrate is supported by the centralization of power, conflict of taxation, and a Centre-State tension of coordination. A structural reset is therefore essential to ensure States achieve real autonomy, the Union is efficient, and that the leadership of the Union is accountable to the citizens. Balanced federalism is necessary in order to maintain Indian democratic resilience and inclusive development.
Constitutional Vision and Historical Foundations of Federalism
Federalism in the Indian Constitution is a distinctive and carefully crafted framework that seeks to balance the demands of a vast and diverse country with the necessity of a strong central authority to maintain unity and integrity. It is often characterized as a “holding together” model of federalism, where powers are distributed between the Union and the States, with a noticeable tilt in Favor of the Centre. The foundations of federalism in India can be traced back to a complicated history that had a severe effect during the colonial years and the decision-making on the constitutional level. Its architecture is a summation of the two demands of national unity and admiration of regional diversity.
What is Federalism in India?
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Federalism in India is a constitutional arrangement that distributes powers between the central authority and the constituent states, and is commonly described as “quasi-federal” or a “Union of States.” Federalism is a constitutional form of governance as it is a system of sharing of power between the central authority and regional governments, thus ensuring the protection of common sovereignty and local autonomy.
Federalism is a system where power is constitutionally divided between a central government and regional entities. This system balances national incorporation and heterogeneity of the regions by distributing legislative, fiscal, and administrative prerogatives at varied orders of governance. Federalism encourages cooperative governance and prevents democratic pluralism by delegating the needs to subnational jurisdictions and overarching issues like defense and foreign policy to the central institutions.
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Colonialism and the Pre-Independence Background of Federalism
Indian federalism dates its origins back to colonial administrative experiments like the Government of India Act, 1935, making the provinces autonomous but with strong central control over them. According to scholars, this framework shaped the discussion of the Constituent Assembly, introducing a precaution against the disintegration and the consideration of diversity.
Debates and Vision of the Constituent Assembly on Federalism
To avert the secessionist nature, the Constituent Assembly had a vision of India as a Union of States, but not a classical federation. The 1950 constitution granted residuary powers to the centre, unlike the U.S. model, fearing interest over national integration. It is pointed out that more than 700 languages and a considerable cultural diversity demanded a powerful Centre, but opportunities like the State List and Finance Committee tried to strike a balance between autonomy.
Cooperative Federalism and Constitutional Design
Article 356 of the Indian Constitution authorizes the President to impose “President’s Rule” in a state when its constitutional machinery is deemed to have failed. In practice, it has often functioned as a centralising instrument within India’s federal framework. The framers stressed cooperative federalism, in which both the Centre and the States share responsibilities in governance. Accordingly, Article 356 (emergency powers) demonstrates this duality. According to the studies, the model was a guarantee of stability, but it also planted the seeds of tension between autonomous and centralized areas.
New Problems of Federal Relations
In recent years, India’s federal structure has been facing fresh challenges. Greater centralisation of power, financial pressures on states, and rising political tensions have made cooperation between the Centre and the States more difficult, putting the idea of “cooperative federalism” under strain. Federalism in India is facing mounting pressure at the financial, political, and administrative levels. All this has highlighted a rapid need to recalibrate in the face of a necessity to maintain cooperative governance.
Fiscal Federalism and Revenue Constraints
States are becoming increasingly problematic as far as limited fiscal autonomy is concerned. The GST regime, although it has encouraged uniformity, has inhibited independent sources of revenue. Reports outline the conflict around the delayed GST compensation and a falling number of states in central taxes, thus increasing fiscal pressure across states like Kerala and West Bengal.
Political Federalism and Autonomy Concerns
The controversies over the National Education Policy (NEP) and the replacement of MGNAREGA with new schemes have recently stirred brief opposition among the non-BJP states. The leaders argue that one-dimensional central decision-making undermines state sovereignty and an effective form of federalism. The power of the governor, which is discretionary and the use of Article 356 are controversial issues, in most cases seen as a bipartisan intervention.
Administrative Federalism and Overlapping Policy
Key schemes constantly conflict with those of the state, with resultant inefficiencies. Studies published in the Indian Journal of Legal Review (2025) have noted that too many centralized instructions in health, education, and welfare subvert state creativity. The consequence of this administrative imbalance is the weakening of the localized governance and the decreasing sensitivity to local needs.
Towards a Balanced Federalism
Balanced Federalism encourages more thoughtful and transparent balancing between the competing values of good governance. Federalism in India requires a realignment to create a balance between state autonomy and national effectiveness. The key elements of the structural reset are fiscal empowerment, cooperative governance, and institutional accountability.
Empowering States Autonomy
States should have more fiscal autonomy to come up with policies that meet local demands. This was highlighted in the 16th Finance Commission in terms of increasing state proportions of the tax revenues and rationality of centrally sponsored programs in order to decrease dependency.
Building an Efficient Union
The Union should exercise sovereignty in those areas that require national harmonisation, like defence, climate change, and the health of the people, but should not encroach on the state subjects. According to research published in The Hindu, cooperative federalism holds that the Union and States must not act as rivals in terms of constitutional government; they must be partners.
Providing Accountable Governance
System checks and transparency are inseparable. The accountability can be provided by mechanisms like empowered Inter-State Councils and a stronger Finance Commission. In the Union Budget 2026-27, the focus was also on digital platforms in monitoring the fiscal system, and hence, more efficient and less controversial.
Global Lessons on Federalism for India
Federalism in India frequently characterized as quasi-federal or a Union of States with a strong unitary tilt continues to grapple with the task of reconciling national unity with vast regional diversity. Insights from other holding together federations such as Canada, Belgium, and Germany provide useful lessons for deepening cooperative and fiscal federalism in the Indian context. The federal system of India has much to be learned from global experiences in terms of inclusivity, decentralization, and collaboration in its governance. Comparative studies reveal the tactical ways of enhancing the level of regional autonomy without compromising national unity.
Comparative Federal Models
The examples of the United States and Canada represent the mechanisms by means of which fiscal devolution and judicial safeguards enhance the freedom of states. Equalization transfers are also used within Canada to help weak economies in the nation in offering public services, a fiscal equalization framework that would be helpful in informing Indian policy to reduce fiscal imbalances.
Lessons from Multilateral Forums
The high presence of India in BRICS and the G20 has caused people-oriented inclusive governance to be a vital issue. The BRICS Agenda 2025-26 predicts resilience, innovativeness, and cooperative interaction, thus justifying the need to entrench the idea of inclusiveness into the federal relations in India.
Inclusive Pathway for India
Adopting digital public infrastructure to strengthen fiscal transparency, empowering the Inter-State Council, and incorporating indigenous knowledge systems into governance are all possible ways of building inclusivity. Empirical studies argue that Indian Knowledge Systems, which provoked doctrines like Sahakaryata (collaborative action) and Yogakshema (collective welfare), have the potential to redistribute the process of collaboration at the federal level.
Conclusion
Federalism in India is on the verge of a crossroads, which requires essential realignment to maintain its democratic well-being. Old systems, financial imbalance and a political rift have revealed the weaknesses of the quasi federal structure. A balanced system, which provides the States with substantive autonomy, maintains an effective version of the Union, and incorporates effective accountability strategies, is a promising direction. India ought to integrate global standards with its local cultures by embracing a federalism approach of collaboration to harmonize both togetherness and diversity by ensuring that the diverse cultures can be bound together as a single nation without compromising on its path to becoming a strong nation.