As global governance structures weaken and international norms fragment, the pressure on national and subnational systems of governance has intensified. In India, this moment coincides with rising development aspirations, sharper Centre–state negotiations, and widening regional disparities. The Indian state today must govern amid fiscal constraints, complex federal dynamics, global economic uncertainty, and growing expectations for delivery.

This panel examines how India positions itself in a fragile international environment and how is governance in India is being reshaped by internal and external stresses: how development priorities are formulated and implemented across states; how centre–state relations are evolving in practice rather than principle; and what India’s experience reveals about governing diversity, scale, and inequality. By placing India in comparative perspective with other federal and emerging economies, the discussion asks whether new models of state capacity, cooperative federalism, and development-led governance can emerge in an era of institutional strain, both globally and domestically.

• How are India’s governance institutions adapting to rising development demands amid fiscal pressures and uneven state capacity?
• What do variations across Indian states tell us about the relationship between governance quality, political incentives, and development outcomes?
• What lessons can India draw from and offer to other federal and developing countries grappling with similar governance challenges?
• How do comparative experiences shape thinking on decentralisation, welfare delivery, infrastructure development, and state-led growth?
• Can India craft a development-oriented governance model that reconciles national priorities with regional diversity?
• What institutional reforms or policy frameworks are needed to better align state capacity, local governance, and long-term development goals?

Moderator

Albert Chiang, Officer on Special Duty, Meghalaya Institute of Governance, Meghalaya

Speakers

Srinivas Chokkakula, President and Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi

Chetan Singai, Professor and Dean, School of Law, Governance and Public Policy, Karnataka

R.K. Arora, Border Security Professional, Borderman, Rajasthan

Anjali Mathai, Editor, Synergia Foundation, Karnataka

Guru Prakash Paswan, Visiting Fellow, India Foundation, New Delhi