Key Points
From an electoral lens, Indian federalism would seem in fine fettle, with state governments routinely voted in and out amid much political fanfare..
Fiscally speaking, however, our federal system faces slowly emerging tensions..
Covid got in the way of the 2021 headcount, but this one delayed further or even the next due in 2031 could triggerand form the basis ofa re-allocation of Lok Sabha seats among states..
While the underlying rationale is sound, as we must reduce if we cant eliminate todays inequity in representation, wherein each Member from a populous state represents many more voters than an MP from elsewhere, our southern and western states that stand to lose share of voice at the national level would be far from amused..
As pointed out by former Reserve Bank of India governor, D. Subbarao in a recent newspaper op-ed, For every rupee they contribute to the Centres taxes, richer states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra get back less than a rupee while poorer states like Bihar and Jharkhand get more than a rupee.".
