"For a diverse country like India with so much of regional inequality, the concept of competitive federalism seems to be unrealistic."Critically discuss.

India is coupled with varied economic patterns in different states. On one hand are the well off states and on the other are deficit states. Therefore, we cannot treat all states at par.
There are certain States which have specialised factors like skilled labour, capital and infrastructure and this makes them favourable in comparison to states that do not possess any positive factors. This brings about disparity among states. Therefore, to expect that all States would catch up uniformly in the process of growth and development is a fallacy. Many States still need the help of the Centre and it is not clear how much extra funding they may need before they can imagine competing. Even the proposed GST law may help some of the less productive States to raise the revenue but a few well-off states are against its implementation. This clearly shows lack of co-operation towards competitive federalism. In order to bring about competition, the centre should cooperate with the states by providing necessary autonomy in their policy making and allocating them the required funds to meet their priorities. What is needed is co-operation first and then competition. Co-operation is the foundation to bring about competitiveness. To make competitive federalism a reality, there has to be a balance between cooperative and competitive federalism. (214 words)