Kurian Joseph Committee on Centre State Relations

Jun 05, 2025 08:32 AM IST

The mandate of the committee is to overview the constitutional provisions, legal guidelines, guidelines and insurance policies with respect to Centre – State relations

The determination of the Tamil Nadu authorities to determine a panel on Centre – State relations in April this yr consisting of the retired Supreme Court decide justice Kurien Joseph as chairperson together with the retired IAS officer Ashok Vardhan Shetty and former State Planning Commission chairman M Naganathan as members is a big transfer to revive and reinvigorate the controversy on the Centre – State relations within the nation. This high-level committee constituted by the Government of Tamil Nadu is more likely to submit its interim report by January 2026, and the ultimate report inside two years. The composition of its members, said aims and the background to the institution of this committee are not any much less vital. The forming of Kurian Joseph committee acquires relevance in context of the altering political, financial and ideological realities within the nation given the shift from the period of Congress dominance in Indian politics to the rise of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Hindutva politics and the function of company capital in Indian economic system.

This committee is predicted to counsel reforms to make sure most autonomy for states with out compromising the unity and integrity of the nation apart from overcoming the executive hurdles within the easy functioning of the Centre – State relations (Supreme Court)

The mandate of the committee is to overview the constitutional provisions, legal guidelines, guidelines and insurance policies with respect to Centre – State relations with an purpose of exploring and recommending methods to revive topics moved from the State List to the Concurrent List. This committee is predicted to counsel reforms to make sure most autonomy for states with out compromising the unity and integrity of the nation apart from overcoming the executive hurdles within the easy functioning of the Centre – State relations. The core goal of this panel is to review the state of Centre – State relations with a view to safeguard the rights of the states and enhance the relations between the Centre and states. The underlying political operate of this committee is to defend and thwart the makes an attempt of the centre to overrun and additional undermine the powers of the states reflecting the present pressure and uneasiness prevailing over this topic between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led authorities on the centre and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) authorities in Tamil Nadu.

The formation of this committee and its core aims resemble the circumstances and challenges, although totally different from one other period and extent, surrounding the institution of the Rajamannar Committee in 1969 by the Tamil Nadu authorities led by Karunanidhi. The Rajamannar Committee was the primary state-level initiative to review and overview Centre – State relations. There are different comparable initiatives by the Centre together with the Administrative Reforms Commission (1969), Sarkaria Commission (1983) and the Punchhi Commission in 2007. The formation of this committeeagainst the background of the deep erosion of legislative, government and monetary powers by the states and their resistance, together with the decision of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin for state autonomy can’t be missed. This initiative is seen as a response of the DMK-led authorities in Tamil Nadu to the BJP’s makes an attempt at centralisation of energy on the Centre. There is an enchantment to think about and expedite the method of implementation of the suggestions of the Rajamannar Committee, Sarkaria Commission and the Punchhi Commission.

The main issues of the state are such because the implementation of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions, the National Education Policy-2020 (NEP) and its insistence on three-language formulation, the working of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the partisan function and interventions of the Governor in state politics and the potential influence of the delimitation course of if applied with an unique inhabitants standards alone. There is a way of being penalised for its success in addressing the above points protecting what’s finest for the state and its individuals. The longstanding dispute over the non-payment of GST dues for the state; the latest flare-up over the withholding of funds meant for Tamil Nadu’s schooling programmes and the routine clashes between the Governor and the federal government of Tamil Nadu are vital tips to this impact. The concept of participatory governance and cooperative federalism are certainly changing into distant goals given the extent of abrasion of the rights of the states and the inherent bias in direction of the centre within the precise working of our federalism.

Though it’s not straightforward to miss the problems and challenges within the Centre – State relations in India and the brewing battle(s) on a variety of points over this topic between the DMK and BJP, but it is very important acknowledge that the institution of Kurian Joseph Committee is a part of an extended standing and constant place of the state to find out the insurance policies for the welfare and wellbeing of the individuals. The determination of the Tamil Nadu chief minister to maneuver a decision for extra autonomy and the forming of this high-level Kurian Joseph Committee are reflective of the willpower of the DMK occasion and authorities to revive and restore the controversy on Centre – State relations below the current circumstances of prevailing conflicts and mistrust between the state and the Centre. There is little doubt that this debate is important which, nevertheless, requires a extra cautious and balanced evaluation of the rights and powers of the states towards the fears of parochial regionalism and , as a matter of actuality, the rising drift in direction of majoritarianism, extreme centralisation and the exploitation of frenzy nationalism on the centre. Neither augurs effectively for the unity and integrity of India.

(Prof.Ramu Manivannan is a scholar-social activist in areas of schooling, human rights and sustainable growth by way of an initiative “Multiversity.”)