E-Paper
Kurian panel submits first half report on key issues to CM Stalin
A panel led by retired judge Kurian Joseph submitted a report to Tamil Nadu's CM on federal-state relations, covering key issues like GST and language.
The three-member panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph submitted the first part of its report on Monday to chief minister M K Stalin discussing controversial issues ranging from language, governor, delimitation to the goods and services tax (GST). It will be tabled in the state assembly on Tuesday.
The report comprises 10 chapters in the first part, a senior official said.
“The objective is not to weaken the Union, but to right-size it — enabling it to focus on genuinely national responsibilities while restoring to the States the autonomy essential for effective governance and aligning authority with responsibility,” the government said.
The high-level committee was formed by the DMK government in April 2025 to review the relationship between the Union and the states. Efforts are also underway to translate Part I into major Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati, Odia, Punjabi and Assamese, to facilitate wider national engagement. “The Government of Tamil Nadu hopes that this Report will stimulate informed dialogue and contribute to a more balanced and cooperative federal order,” the state said.
The ten chapters are titled: The Case for Decentralisation and State Autonomy, Amendment of the Constitution, Territorial Integrity of States, Language, the Governor, Delimitation, Elections, Education, Health and GST. “Two more parts, comprising ten chapters each, are under preparation,” an official said.
It said that the distinctive feature of this report is that the Tamil version of it will be available with open access, claiming it to be a first in the country.
Any individual or institution can then access it to print, reproduce, or distribute the Tamil text, in whole or in part, from the official PDF, provided that the source is duly acknowledged and no alterations are made.
Open access to other Indian languages has also been proposed.The state added that it conceived this as a non-partisan exercise.
