Sitharaman calls for stronger States and Centre

The Story in Brief

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India needs every State to become stronger, with “laggard” States receiving handholding and resources to improve. Speaking at the India Policy Forum 2026 in New Delhi, she said States that have fallen behind must be helped to catch up, while being told they cannot remain laggards.

Sitharaman also argued that India needs a strong Centre to manage defence, exports and manufacturing, areas that individual States cannot handle for the country as a whole. She cautioned against States competing for industries through a “beggar your neighbour” approach. The Centre, she said, must set policy and help build capacity in underdeveloped regions, while empowering every State with resources.

The Indian Opinion

The lazy narrative is that stronger States and a stronger Centre must be opposing goals. Sitharaman’s formulation rejects that choice, but it leaves the hard work unstated: fair resource allocation, measurable capacity building and accountability for poor outcomes. Claims of handholding should not become permanent subsidies, while central control should not crowd out State initiative. The test is whether poorer States show better outcomes and whether the Centre publishes clear benchmarks for that progress.

Source: thehindu.com

This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.

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