Not states - but cities may be. Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai are T1 cities and that makes a difference, along with leadership and funding. So it is location, leadership, and funding. Institutions that have all three are blessed, the ones with any two try to cover the shortcomings by excelling in the other two, and the ones with any one or none are having a very tough time.
Correct. TNNNLU would do a lot better if it was in Chennai rather than Trichy. But the one exception to this rule with MNLU, which is struggling despite being in Mumbai.
Or does it depend more on leadership and funding? Case in point JGLS?