Development Performance Across Indian States and The Role of the Governments

India has a federal system of governance with both the state or provincial and the Central governments responsible for the development of the nation as a whole. Policies at the Central as well as state levels influence the state level variations in economic conditions in turn. It is in this context, this paper examines whether governments in India within a federal framework have been able to foster development equitably across its states. Overall, the results in this paper indicate that Government in India within a federal framework has mechanisms that foster development equitably across its states, particularly through health and education expenditures aimed at improving human capital development. However, the slowly rising disparities in economic services across states warrant the Central and state governments’ attention.