- India's welfare architecture is highly fragmented across various central and state schemes, leading to inefficiencies, leakage, and exclusion errors. - A unified welfare state framework can streamline delivery mechanisms, ensure portability of benefits, and rationalise resource allocation. - Integrating digital infrastructure like JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity can serve as a backbone for a coherent, universalized social protection floor. - Moving towards a unified framework requires addressing fiscal federalism concerns and matching cooperative federalism with administrative convergence. **Introduction** The article discusses the structural challenges plaguing India's social welfare architecture, highlighting fragmentation, leakages, and targeting issues. It argues for a transition toward a unified welfare state that can ensure comprehensive social security, administrative efficiency, and better targeting for vulnerable populations. **Core Issue and Detailed Points** - India's welfare architecture is highly fragmented across various central and state schemes, leading to inefficiencies, leakage, and exclusion errors. - A unified welfare state framework can streamline delivery mechanisms, ensure portability of benefits, and rationalise resource allocation. - Integrating digital infrastructure like JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity can serve as a backbone for a coherent, universalized social protection floor. - Moving towards a unified framework requires addressing fiscal federalism concerns and matching cooperative federalism with administrative convergence.