The new Bahubalis: Where do Indian states stand in the narrative of competitive federalism?

One significant phrase that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has contributed to the Indian political lexicon is competitive federalism. The prime minister, who helmed what came to be known as the "Gujarat Model" of development when he was chief minister of the state, has consistently maintained that states are the real growth engines of the economy and has worked towards encouraging healthy competition among states based on one parameter development.

But more than a decade before the prime minister adopted it as his guiding principle, India Today had heralded the spirit of competitive federalism in the country through its pioneering project the annual State of the States study. Based on objective data sourced from government and other authentic sources, the study was aimed at gauging the performance of Indian states across various parameters such as the economy, agriculture, health, education and infrastructure.

Launched in 2003, this annual exercise has over the years come to be regarded as the gold standard in measuring the socio economic performance of the states. Over the years,