Indian Federalism after Covid

The discussions in this webinar will revolve around the following issues:

a. Fiscal federalism: Under this, we will be looking at the revenue shortages affecting states’ capacity to deal with Covid and the responsibilities owed by the centre in this regard. The key issue is that even though public health is the exclusive domain of states they are grossly underfunded to deal with the same.

b. Centre-state coordination: Here, we will be looking at the responsibilities owed by the states to the centre. The questions include: Can States have their own sui generis apparatus in lifting lockdowns based on their own understanding of the needs of their state, while ignoring the Union's call to kickstart the economy? Should they be allowed to refuse flight services in their states from operating, when central govt. forces them to start their airports?

c. Co-operative federalism: Cooperation is required between states while enforcing the lockdown, or when developed states allow people coming from neighbouring states to access their superior healthcare infrastructure, while also sealing their borders. How does this workout within India's federal setup?

Dr Amal Sethi will be in conversation with Mr Alok Prasanna Kumar for this webinar.

About the Speakers

• Dr Sethi is a Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania where he researches on comparative constitutional law and theory with an emphasis on courts, constitutions and democracy. Over the years, he has worked, taught, and written on topics across a gamut of social, political, and legal issues. He has been involved in several capacities with different governmental and inter-governmental agencies ranging from USAID and the US Department of Commerce to UNESCO, UNDP, UN Women, UNHCHR, and The SDG Fund. He has advised sovereign governments on constitution-making and at international tribunals such as the International Court of Justice. Currently, Amal also serves on the board of the non-profit Dagar-Pathway which works towards prisoner rehabilitation. He obtained his Doctors and Masters in Laws from the University of Pennsylvania.

• Mr Kumar is Co-Founder and Lead at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. His areas of research include judicial reforms, Constitutional law, urban development, and law and technology. He graduated with a B.A. LL.B. (Hons) from the NALSAR University in 2008 and obtained the BCL from the University of Oxford in 2009. He writes a monthly column for the Economic and Political Weekly and has published in the Indian Journal of Constitutional Law and National Law School of India Review apart from media outlets such as The Hindu, Indian Express, Scroll, Quint and Caravan. He has practiced in the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court from the chambers of Mr Mohan Parasaran, and currently also co-hosts the Ganatantra podcast on IVM Podcasts.

Structure and Time

• 8th August: Three written blog posts on the three topics, authored by graduates of India's foremost lawschools, will be released as part of our blog symposium on www.lawschoolpolicyreview.com.
• 9th August: The webinar will be held from 14:30-16:30 PM. The speakers will be speaking for 1 hour, followed by an hour of QnA session.