In this chapter we study the impact of COVID-19 on Indian federalism and how it influenced the health and social response of the Indian state towards workers. Our focus is on three key aspects: first, the impact of COVID-19 on centre–state authority and collaboration throughout the pandemic; second, variations in the health and social response to COVID-19 among different states, which we attribute to factors such as the existing health infrastructure and investments in preventive healthcare, but equally political leadership and state–society linkages in shaping the provision of welfare measures to vulnerable workers; and, finally, the lasting effects of COVID-19 on federal involvement in health and social protection. Overall, our analysis shows that India witnessed a centralisation of authority during much of the pandemic, even though approaches varied between the first and second waves. Centre–state coordination was observed but only after the peak of the second wave and after judicial intervention. Our study also shows a lack of investment in intergovernmental coordination mechanisms during and in the aftermath of the pandemic. It argues that these need to be developed more to prepare federal India for future crises of similar magnitude.
