The paper analyses the evolution of the state from the perspective of classical liberalism and modern liberalism to neo-liberalism. It focuses on the experiences of the developing countries including India and comparison with BRIC countries of its educational and other social intervention measures by the state through its well developed public institutional mechanisms and also Indian federation’s some provincial governments’ successful intervention experiences to show that there is no alternative to state intervention in certain areas like education and health. It also tries to explore as to how neo-liberalism is trying to whittle-down the welfare state through mechanisms like e-governance, smart city projects and special purpose vehicles and the challenges ahead to it from such technocratically autocratic neo-liberal agenda of development. Keywords: Welfare State, Neo-Liberalism, Public Institutions, Education, Development, E-Governance etc.