Strong State Society Synergy: A Novel Approach to Governance for Ameliorating Poverty in India Amrita Lamba Received: 12 January 2010 / Accepted: 3 March 2010 / Published online: 1 May 2010 Ó Springer-Verlag 2010 Abstract This paper examines the sustainability of a novel institutional archi- tecture, the Strong State Society Synergistic approach, to help ameliorate poverty in India. The motivation for this study stems from the need to unravel the elusive governance puzzle that has long riddled policy-makers in India. Of the profuse vulnerabilities that characterize the Indian society today, the persistence of poverty amid plenty looms as the greatest challenge. It is therefore imperative that insti- tutions that can work for inclusion have to be identified and made effective. Keywords Poverty Á Governance Á Strong State Society Synergy Á India JEL Classification I38 Á I39 Introduction The first section of the paper attempts to trace the trajectory that led to the weaving of the Strong State Society Synergistic approach to palliate penury in India. Section two will show that a study of working of strains of this model (its novelty lending to its limited applicability) in two states of India—functioning of local governance in Karnataka and the Joint Forest Management scheme in Chhattisgarh—have however thrown up puzzling queries not only about the functioning of this model but also on the manner in which we conceive of institutional design itself. The shift from government to governance parallels the ideological shift from state to market in India. Since the legitimacy of the state as a service provider is A. Lamba (&) Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India e-mail: alamba9@hotmail.com 123 Transit Stud Rev (2010) 17:456–463 DOI 10.1007/s11300-010-0157-z