Federalism and Centre-State Relations

Flagship anchor

The Constitution describes India as a "Union of States" (Art 1) and builds a federal structure with a deliberate and pronounced unitary bias, a design that lets the Centre hold the system together in times of stress while leaving the States genuine domains of their own. Centre-State relations run across three Parts: legislative and administrative relations in Part XI (Art 245 to 263) and financial relations in Part XII (Art 264 to 293), with the division of subjects set out in the Seventh Schedule through the Union, State and Concurrent Lists. The Centre is the stronger partner: it holds the residuary power (Art 248), controls the All-India Services (Art 312), appoints the Governors, can legislate on State subjects in defined situations, and can convert the system into a unitary one through the emergency provisions. For CAPF the high-yield material is precise: which subject sits in which List, where residuary powers lie, the five routes by which Parliament may legislate on a State subject, the conflict rule on the Concurrent List (Art 254), the Finance Commission and GST Council, and the security-critical Articles (Art 355 and Art 356) under which the Union protects a State and deploys its forces. The NCERT Class XI text "Indian Constitution at Work", Chapter 7 (Federalism), and Laxmikanth's chapters on the federal system, Centre-State legislative, administrative and financial relations, and inter-state relations are the standard references.

Why India is federal with a unitary bias

Legislative relations (Art 245 to 255) and the Seventh Schedule

Key rules:

• Territorial extent (Art 245): Parliament may make laws for the whole or any part of India; a State legislature for the whole or part of the State; parliamentary laws have extra-territorial operation.
• Residuary powers (Art 248): subjects not enumerated in any List, including the power to tax them, rest with Parliament, the reverse of the United States model where residuary powers lie with the states.
• Conflict on a Concurrent subject (Art 254): where a State law conflicts with a Union law on a Concurrent subject, the Union law prevails and the State law is void to the extent of the repugnancy, unless the State law was reserved for and received the President's assent (and even then Parliament may later override it).
• Five situations in which Parliament may legislate on a State subject: a Rajya Sabha resolution in the national interest by a two-thirds majority (Art 249); during a National Emergency (Art 250); when two or more States request it by resolution (Art 252); to implement an international treaty, agreement or convention (Art 253); and during President's Rule (Art 356).

Administrative relations (Art 256 to 263)

• The executive power of every State must be exercised so as to ensure compliance with the laws made by Parliament (Art 256), and not to impede the exercise of Union executive power (Art 257).
• The Union may give directions to a State, including for the construction and maintenance of means of communication declared to be of national or military importance and for the protection of railways (Art 257); failure to comply can be a ground for President's Rule.
• All-India Services (the IAS, the IPS and the Indian Forest Service) serve both the Union and the States, are recruited and controlled by the Centre, and can be created afresh by Parliament on a two-thirds Rajya Sabha resolution (Art 312). They are the administrative spine that links Union policy to State implementation.
• Inter-State Council (Art 263): the President may set up a Council to inquire into and advise on disputes and to coordinate policy; it was constituted in 1990 on the recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission.
• The deployment of Union armed forces in a State in aid of the civil power flows from the Union's administrative reach and its duty under Art 355, a CAPF-central point.

Financial relations (Art 264 to 293)

• Taxing powers are divided by the Seventh Schedule; the Finance Commission (Art 280) is constituted by the President every five years (or earlier) to recommend the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Union and the States (vertical devolution), the allocation among States (horizontal devolution), the principles governing grants-in-aid (Art 275), and measures to augment the consolidated funds of the States to supplement the resources of local bodies.
• The Goods and Services Tax, introduced by the 101st Amendment (2016), created a concurrent power for the Union and the States to tax the supply of goods and services (Art 246A) and set up the GST Council (Art 279A), a constitutional body chaired by the Union Finance Minister, a landmark in cooperative fiscal federalism.
• Grants-in-aid flow from the Centre to the States as statutory grants (Art 275) and discretionary grants (Art 282).
• The Consolidated Fund, the Contingency Fund and the Public Account exist at both the Union and the State levels (Art 266, 267).
• A State may borrow within India on the security of its Consolidated Fund, but needs the Union's consent if it is already indebted to the Centre (Art 293).

Subjects by List (a ready reference)

This is the single most-tested table; memorise the placement, not the full lists.

Note the four subjects shifted from the State List to the Concurrent List by the 42nd Amendment (1976): education, forests, protection of wild animals and birds, and weights and measures (administration of justice was also moved).

Inter-state relations

Commissions and reports on Centre-State relations

Static facts to memorise

Security and human-rights angle (CAPF-distinctive)

• Public order and the police are State subjects (State List Entries 1 and 2), so day-to-day internal security inside a State is a State responsibility. Defence, the armed forces and the deployment of any armed force in aid of the civil power are Union subjects, which is precisely why sending the Central Armed Police Forces into a State raises Centre-State questions.
• Art 355 casts a duty on the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance, and to ensure that the government of every State is carried on in accordance with the Constitution. This is the constitutional basis on which the Centre deploys the CAPFs in a State, even at times without a formal State request in extreme situations.
• Art 356 (President's Rule) can follow a breakdown of constitutional machinery that includes a collapse of law and order; for its duration the State is run on a unitary basis, with the Governor administering on the President's behalf and Parliament exercising the State legislature's powers. S R Bommai (1994) made the proclamation subject to judicial review.
• The All-India Services, especially the IPS (Art 312), are the bridge between Union security policy and State policing.
• The Union's power to declare communications and railways of military importance and to give directions for their protection (Art 257) has a direct internal-security dimension.

How CAPF asks it

Federalism questions are matching-heavy and definitional: subject-to-List matching, single-correct on residuary powers, "how many statements are correct" on the routes for legislating on a State subject, and assertion-reason on the Concurrent List conflict rule.

Authored practice

Common confusion

• Residuary powers: in India with Parliament (Art 248), not the States; this is the opposite of the United States.
• Art 355 versus Art 356: Art 355 is the Union's duty to protect a State (basis of force deployment); Art 356 is President's Rule (assumption of the State's functions).
• Concurrent List conflict: the Union law prevails (Art 254), with the narrow exception of a State law that received the President's assent.
• Union of States (Art 1) versus a federation by agreement: the Indian Union is not the result of a pact among States; States cannot secede and their boundaries can be altered by Parliament (Art 3).
• All-India Services versus Central Services: the IAS, IPS and IFoS serve both the Centre and the States (Art 312); Central Services serve only the Union.
• Finance Commission (Art 280) versus GST Council (Art 279A): the former recommends tax devolution every five years; the latter sets GST rates and rules.

Memory hook

• "245 to 263 then 264 to 293": legislative and administrative relations, then financial relations.
• "248 = Parliament" for residuary powers (India centralises the residue).
• "254 = Union wins" the Concurrent conflict.
• "249-250-252-253-356" are the five routes for Parliament to enter the State List.
• "355 protect, 356 President's Rule": the duty comes before the takeover.
• "280 Finance, 279A GST" for the two fiscal bodies.

Night before

• India is a "Union of States" (Art 1); federal with a strong unitary bias; federalism is part of the basic structure (S R Bommai, 1994).
• Seventh Schedule: Union List (Parliament), State List (States), Concurrent List (both, Union prevails under Art 254).
• Residuary powers rest with Parliament (Art 248), unlike the United States.
• Defence and the armed forces are Union subjects; public order and police are State subjects.
• Parliament can legislate on a State subject under Art 249, 250, 252, 253 and 356.
• Art 355 is the Union's duty to protect States; Art 356 is President's Rule.
• All-India Services (IAS, IPS, IFoS) under Art 312, controlled by the Centre.
• Finance Commission (Art 280) every 5 years; GST Council under Art 279A (101st Amendment, 2016).
• Inter-State Council (Art 263) set up in 1990 on the Sarkaria Commission's advice.

Glossary

• Quasi-federal: federal in structure but with a strong centralising bias.
• Union of States: the description of India in Art 1; an indestructible Union of destructible States.
• Seventh Schedule: the schedule listing the Union, State and Concurrent subjects.
• Residuary powers: legislative power over subjects in no List, vested in Parliament (Art 248).
• Repugnancy: the inconsistency between a State and a Union law on a Concurrent subject (Art 254).
• All-India Services: services common to the Union and the States (IAS, IPS, IFoS), Art 312.
• Finance Commission: the body recommending Centre-State revenue sharing (Art 280).
• Devolution: the transfer of a share of central tax revenue to the States.
• Grants-in-aid: statutory (Art 275) and discretionary (Art 282) transfers to the States.
• GST Council: the constitutional body governing the Goods and Services Tax (Art 279A).
• Cooperative federalism: cooperation between the Union and the States in shared domains.
• Inter-State Council: a coordination body for Centre-State and inter-state matters (Art 263).
• Zonal Councils: statutory regional bodies for State coordination (States Reorganisation Act, 1956).
• President's Rule: Union assumption of a State's functions on a failure of constitutional machinery (Art 356).
• Aid of the civil power: the deployment of armed forces to assist civil authorities in maintaining order.

Related notes

• parliament
• state government
• union executive
• citizenship and emergency provisions
• constitutional and statutory bodies
• local government
• human rights and internal security
• amendments and basic structure
• syllabus index