This volume is a festschrift in honour of B.P.R. Vithal, the founder of CESS (Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad). His contribution to the subject of Indian fiscal federalism
is well-known to the administrators and academicians of this field. He raised the issues—plan-non-plan dichotomy, imbalances in the ToR of Finance Commissions, changing contours of central
assistance for state plans, growing centralization and ever increasing Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) to name a few—much before they became focal. It is earnestly hoped that this
collection will be a useful addition to the ongoing debate on Centre-state relations in the Indian fiscal context.
