Revision summary
Cooperation runs through the GST Council, All-India Services and disaster law. Competition appears in investment races and NITI-style indices after higher tax devolution. Confrontation shows in CBI consent withdrawals, GST compensation fights and 2020 farm-law resistance. Delhi’s LG–government dispute is executive confrontation inside a Union Territory with a legislature. Indian federalism is all three at once; no single word captures 2014–20 practice.
Model answer
Introduction
Indian federalism is not a frozen list of Articles 245–263. It is a daily mix of cooperation in shared subjects, competition for investment and rankings, and confrontation when party and fiscal interests collide. All three have shaped the Union of States, especially after coalition decline and GST.
Body
Cooperation
- The GST Council under Article 279A is cooperative federalism in a fiscal form: Union and States vote on rates and the compensation bargain.
- All-India Services, the Inter-State Council, and disaster response under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, force joint working even when governments differ.
- NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission’s one-way plan with a think-tank and index culture; the cooperative claim is consultation, though States still contest the Union’s agenda-setting.
- COVID-19 in 2020 showed both: States ran hospitals and lockdowns; the Union used the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, and the DM Act as national frames.
Competition
- Competitive federalism is visible in ease-of-doing-business tables, health and education indices, and States bidding for electronics and automobile plants.
- The Fourteenth Finance Commission’s 42 per cent devolution widened untied space in which States could compete on their own priorities.
- Competition is healthy when it raises service delivery; it is hollow when rankings hide the Union’s hold on cesses and CSS design.
Confrontation
- GST compensation delay, CBI general-consent withdrawals by Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, and the 2020 farm-law protests (States such as Punjab legislating against the Union package) are confrontation inside the same Constitution.
- Article 356 is rarer than in the 1970s–80s, but Lieutenant Governor versus elected government in Delhi, and Governor–government friction in several States, keep a confrontational executive federalism alive.
- The Supreme Court’s NCT Delhi line on collaborative federalism is itself a judicial attempt to civilise confrontation.
How far they have shaped the federation
- Cooperation built the working machinery; competition changed the language of reform; confrontation decides the political limits of the Centre. India’s federation is cooperative in design, competitive in growth politics, and confrontational whenever a strong Union meets Opposition States.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD CO[Cooperation GST disaster AIS] --> F[Indian federation] CP[Competition indices investment] --> F CN[Confrontation CBI farm GST dues] --> F
Conclusion
- Cooperation, competition and confrontation have jointly shaped Indian federalism: GST and disaster law as joint work, indices and investment as State rivalry, and consent, compensation and farm laws as conflict. The nature of the federation is therefore a moving bargain, not a single adjective.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
The judicial systems in India and UK seem to be converging as well as diverging in the recent times. Highlight the key points of convergence and divergence between the two nations in terms of their judicial practices.
Next question in the 2020 paper (Q4). View answer →
-
Is Indian federalism only cooperative?
The Constitution leans Union-strong and invites cooperation. Practice also includes competition and open confrontation.
-
Did GST end Centre–State conflict?
It created a joint table. Compensation and cess disputes show the table does not abolish conflict.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2020 · Q1 · GS II · 10 marks
"There is a need for simplification of procedure for disqualification of persons found guilty of corrupt practices under the Representation of peoples Act" Comment. -
2020 · Q4 · GS II · 10 marks
The judicial systems in India and UK seem to be converging as well as diverging in the recent times. Highlight the key points of convergence and divergence between the two nations in terms of their judicial practices. -
2020 · Q13 · GS II · 15 marks
The strength sustenance of local institutions in India has shifted from their formative phase of 'Functions, Functionaries and Funs' to the contemporary stage of 'Functionality'. Highlight the critical challenges faced by local institutions in terms of their functionality in recent times. -
2020 · Q14 · GS II · 15 marks
Rajya Sabha has been transformed from a 'useless stepney tyre' to the most useful supporting organ in past few decades. Highlight the factors as well as the areas in which this transformation could be visible. -
2019 · Q2 · GS II · 10 marks
"The Central Administration Tribunal which was established for redressal of grievances and complaints by or against central government employees, nowadays is exercising its powers as an independent judicial authority." Explain. -
2019 · Q3 · GS II · 10 marks
What are the methods used by the Farmers organizations to influence the policy- makers in India and how effective are these methods? -
2019 · Q6 · GS II · 10 marks
Despite Consistent experience of High growth, India still goes with the lowest indicators of human development. Examine the issues that make balanced and inclusive development elusive. -
2019 · Q8 · GS II · 10 marks
Implementation of information and Communication Technology (ICT) based Projects / Programmes usually suffers in terms of certain vital factors. Identify these factors, and suggest measures for their effective implementation.
More from this paper
Q1 · UPSC Mains 2020 · GS II · 10 marks
"There is a need for simplification of procedure for disqualification of persons found guilty of corrupt practices under the Representation of peoples Act" Comment.
Governance and Policy
Corrupt practices are listed in Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Election petitions in the High Court and Section 8A disqualification by the President after the Election Commission’s opinion are separate, slow tracks. A member can sit through much of a term while the petition and the 8A file move. Lily Thomas made conviction-based disqualification immediate; the corrupt-practice route was not similarly tightened. Time-bound petitions and a single visible disqualification consequence would match the Act’s purpose.
Q2 · UPSC Mains 2020 · GS II · 10 marks
"Recent amendments to the Right to information Act will have profound impact on the autonomy and independence of the Information Commission". Discuss.
Indian Constitution
The 2005 Act gave CIC and ICs a five-year term and CEC-equivalent salary as a tenure-and-status guarantee. The RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019, left term and pay to Central Government rules and dropped the no-disadvantage clause. State Commissioners’ conditions also sit with the Centre, which federalises control over a State appellate. Appointment collegium was not the main target; security of tenure after appointment was. Autonomy suffers when the executive that is a frequent respondent also writes the Commissioner’s service rules.
Q4 · UPSC Mains 2020 · GS II · 10 marks
The judicial systems in India and UK seem to be converging as well as diverging in the recent times. Highlight the key points of convergence and divergence between the two nations in terms of their judicial practices.
Governance and Policy
Both systems are common-law, precedent-based, and now fronted by a public Supreme Court. The UK’s 2009 Supreme Court and Human Rights Act moved it toward India’s rights-review look. India can strike down statutes and even test amendments against basic structure; the UK cannot. Appointments diverge: JAC in Britain, collegium in India after NJAC fell in 2015. PIL and a written Constitution keep Indian judicial practice more managerial of the executive.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.