-The Telegraph The Narendra Modi government's decision to abolish the National Development Council is a further blow against the federal structure of our republic. True, the NDC did not have a constitutional status, and differed in this respect from the Inter-State Council, whose activation was often demanded by the Left, precisely because it was a constitutional body, for deciding inter alia on the composition and terms of reference of finance commissions....

-Business Standard Chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian discusses the Budget, goods and services tax, Centre-state relationship and larger issues facing the economy with Dilasha Seth, Arup Roychoudhury and Indivjal Dhasmana. Edited excerpts: * In the mid-year economic analysis, you talked of revisiting the fiscal numbers for 2016-17. Is it a view of the chief economic advisor (CEA) or that of the government? I see my role as a member of the government. I...

-The Hindu Despite its uneven history in India, decentralisation is vital to strengthen participatory democracy, facilitate responsive governance and enable public service delivery. Much has been written on decentralisation in India though, on the ground, there is very little to show despite the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments. The rationale for decentralisation comes from the need to strengthen participatory democracy, facilitate responsive governance, ensure greater accountability and enable public service delivery according to...

-The Indian Express   Reduce Centrally sponsored schemes, specify their objectives and timelines.    A Niti Aayog taskforce chaired by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has apparently recommended that 25 per cent of the funds under Centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) be made available to states as untied monies. If this recommendation is accepted, states would receive a total of Rs 42,000 crore during 2015-16 itself. This recommendation should be viewed in...

-The Hindu Business Line   Will the growth-versus-distribution debate finally be settled in favour of the former? There are few areas of settled concord in economic theory. That the dynamic of power is often determinant in the limited enclaves of consent has been evident in recent times in the growth-versus-distribution debate. Residual doubts about the tilt of current policy were laid to rest with the Economic Survey for 2014-15. In this assessment of the...