The Alumni Association of the Department of Analytical and Applied Economics, Utkal University organised the 3rd Prof Bidyadhar Misra Memorial Lecture on Saturday in virtual mode.
Padma Bibhushan Dr YV Reddy, former Governor of the Reserve Bank and the Chairman of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, was chief speaker, who spoke on the topic “Centre-State Relations: Reviews and Prospects”. The discussion was attended by 270 participants from academia and policy circles.
The lecture started with a welcome address by association secretary Prof Mitali Chinara. The context was set by university Vice-Chancellor Prof Sabita Acharya, who recounted achievements of Prof Misra as a notable economist and policy critique of Odisha. Prof Acharya also highlighted the gravity of crisis the economies of India and Odisha during the ongoing pandemic.
Prof Reddy gave an overview of the political economy of the economic federalism in India and said that given more authorities and options for resource mobilisation, the Centre has a historic role in supporting the State Governments for addressing their economic problems.
He discussed the Constitutional provision regarding the Centre-State relationship. He referred to the role of the Finance Commission in achieving a vertical and horizontal balance. He stated that the abolition of the Planning Commission actually reduced the scope for federal coordination between the Centre and the States.
In response to a query on whether building new institutions would be helpful for dealing with crisis situations like the pandemic, Dr Reddy stressed that it is important to utilise the existing Constitutional provisions rather than instituting fresh institutions. A good coordination between the Centre and the States ensures a smooth pace of development of the States, he mentioned.
The meeting ended with concluding remarks by association president Dr Subhas Kumar. Dr Himanshu Sekhar Rout gave a vote of thanks.