Federalism and Centre-State Relations

1. What federalism is: features, forms and routes to federation

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• Federalism: a supreme written constitution splits power between a national government and regional governments. Each is free in its own area, and an independent court settles their quarrels. People carry two identities, for example Gujarati and Indian (Class 11, Federalism). Laws alone are not enough. It works only where there is trust.
• Features of federalism (Class 10, Federalism):
• two or more tiers govern the same citizens;
• each tier's powers are written in the constitution;
• core provisions change only with both levels' consent;
• courts act as umpire;
• each tier has its own sources of revenue;

• the twin aim is unity plus diversity.

• In the world, 25 of 193 countries are federal, and they hold about 40% of the world's people.

• Unitary system: there is one level of government, or the sub-units are below the centre, which can order them and take back their powers. Belgium became federal in 1993. Sri Lanka is still unitary.
• Coming-together federation: independent states pool their sovereignty but keep their identity. Examples are the USA, Switzerland and Australia. The units are equal and strong.
• Holding-together federation: a large country divides its own power. Examples are India, Spain and Belgium. The centre is stronger and the units can be unequal. Nepal (Constitution of 2015) is a recent case.
• West Indies Federation (1958-62) failed because of a weak centre, separate unit economies and rivalry. The islands later formed the Caribbean Community (1973). They "could neither live together nor separately".
• Nigerian federation: Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa-Fulani rivalry led to military rule. Control of the police swung from joint (1960) to no state police at all (1979). Religion and oil money still divide the country after democracy returned in 1999. The lesson: a federal constitution without trust cannot keep a country united.

2. India as a "Union of States": a federal design with a unitary bias

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• Union of States (Art. 1): "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States." The word "federation" never appears. Ambedkar (Constituent Assembly debates, November 1948) explained that the Union did not come from an agreement among states, so no state can leave it.
• Why the centre is strong: Partition, more than 500 princely states, and the need for planned development. After Partition the framers dropped the weak centre of the Cabinet Mission (1946). T.T. Krishnamachari (25 November 1949) said all constitutions drift towards the centre.
• Dual polity: there are two sets of government, each with its own legislature and executive. Unlike the USA, India has one constitution and single citizenship.

Federal features	Unitary features
Division of powers; written, supreme constitution	Longer Union List; residuary powers with the Union
Federal changes need ratification by half the states (Art. 368(2))	Integrated judiciary; all-India services; one Election Commission and one CAG
Art. 131 suits; Rajya Sabha	Emergency powers; Governors appointed by the centre; Arts. 2-4

• Quasi-federalism: K.C. Wheare's term for a federation tilted towards the Union. Jennings called it a federation with a "strong centralising tendency". Granville Austin called it "cooperative federalism".
• Bargaining federalism: W.H. Morris-Jones's view that India works through constant bargaining between the Union and the states.
• What the courts say: State of West Bengal v. Union of India (1962) held that states are not sovereign. S.R. Bommai (1994) made federalism part of the basic structure.

3. Territorial reorganisation: Arts. 2-4, linguistic states and new-state demands

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• Admission of new states (Art. 2): Parliament can admit or set up states from territory outside India. Sikkim became an associate state under the 35th Amendment (1974) and a full state under the 36th Amendment (1975).

• Formation of new states (Art. 3): Parliament can create states and change their areas, boundaries or names by simple majority. The steps are: 1. The bill needs the President's recommendation. 2. The bill is referred to the affected state legislature, within a time limit (5th Amendment, 1955). The state's views do not bind Parliament. 3. Parliament passes it by simple majority. No fresh reference is needed if Parliament amends the bill (Babulal Parate, 1960).

• The 18th Amendment (1966) extended Art. 3 to Union territories.

• First Schedule: the list of states and UTs. Under Art. 4, laws made under Arts. 2-3 change it without counting as Art. 368 amendments. Giving territory to another country does need an amendment (In re Berubari, 1960).
• Land Boundary Agreement: the 100th Amendment (2015) exchanged 111 Indian enclaves for 51 Bangladeshi ones.
• Indestructible union of destructible states: Parliament can redraw or merge states by ordinary law. The USA is the reverse: "indestructible union of indestructible states" (Texas v. White, 1869). Examples: Andhra Pradesh was split in 2014 against its assembly's vote, and J&K was made a UT in 2019, upheld in In re Article 370 (2023).
• Linguistic federalism: states are built mainly around major languages. Key dates: the SRC (1953), the States Reorganisation Act (1956), then Gujarat and Maharashtra (1960), Punjab and Haryana (1966), the North-East (1972, 1987), Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (2000), and Telangana (2014). India now has 28 states and 8 UTs. Class 10, Federalism says linguistic states made India more united.
• Pending demands: Vidarbha, Gorkhaland and Bodoland (Bodoland Territorial Region, 2020), and the case for a second SRC.

4. Distribution of legislative powers: the Seventh Schedule and its interpretation

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• Seventh Schedule (Art. 246) has three lists. The Union List wins where lists overlap. Art. 245(2) says Parliament's laws are not invalid just because they act outside India. The lists began with 97, 66 and 47 entries (now about 98, 59 and 52; verify current).
• Union List: defence, foreign affairs, banking, currency, railways, posts, airways and foreign trade. On energy, NCERT is imprecise: atomic energy is on the Union List, but electricity is concurrent.
• State List: police, public order, agriculture, land, local government, public health, liquor and livestock.
• Concurrent List: education, forests, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession, and criminal law. The idea comes from Australia.
• Residuary powers (Art. 248; Union List entry 97): subjects in no list go to Parliament, as in Canada (in the USA they go to the states). Examples are cyber laws and computer software.
• Transfer of subjects to the Concurrent List: the 42nd Amendment (1976) moved five subjects from the State List: education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice. It also added population control and family planning.
• How courts settle disputes over the lists:
• Pith and substance: the court looks at a law's true nature. Side effects on another list do not make it invalid (Prafulla Kumar Mukherjee, 1947; F.N. Balsara, 1951).
• Colourable legislation: a legislature cannot do indirectly what it cannot do directly (K.C. Gajapati Narayan Deo, 1953).

• Territorial nexus: a state law can reach outside the state only if there is a real link to the state (R.M.D. Chamarbaugwala, 1957).

• Recent rulings in favour of states: Mineral Area Development Authority v. SAIL (2024) held royalty is not a tax, so states can tax minerals. Lalta Prasad Vaish (2024) brought industrial alcohol under State List entry 8.

5. Parliament's reach into the State List and the rule of repugnancy

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Article	Trigger	Key condition
249	Legislation on the State List in the national interest	Rajya Sabha resolution by two-thirds of members present and voting. It lasts 1 year and can be renewed. The law lapses 6 months after the resolution ends.
250	Power to legislate during a national emergency	The law lapses 6 months after the emergency ends.
252	Legislation by consent of states	Two or more state legislatures ask for it, and other states may adopt the law later. Only Parliament can amend it. Examples: Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972, Water Act 1974.
253	Legislation to implement international agreements	Covers any subject. Examples: Air Act 1981, Environment (Protection) Act 1986.

• Doctrine of repugnancy (Art. 254): when a state law clashes with a Union law on a Concurrent subject, the Union law wins. The exception is a state law reserved for the President that gets presidential assent (Art. 254(2)). Parliament can still override it later. The leading case is M. Karunanidhi (1979). The jallikattu laws of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka were saved this way and upheld in 2023.
• Other central checks: the Governor reserving state bills (Arts. 200-201), the President's prior sanction for state trade curbs (Art. 304(b)), and Parliament making laws for a state under President's rule (Art. 357).
• Disputes over the Concurrent List: the farm laws (2020, repealed in 2021), the new criminal laws (2023), and the NEET exemption bill (verify current). Sarkaria and Punchhi both said the Union should consult states first.

6. Administrative relations and the economic union

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• Union directions to states:
• Art. 256: states must comply with Union laws.
• Art. 257(1): state executive power must not get in the way of the Union's. The Union can give directions, for example on communications of military importance and on protecting railways.

• Art. 365: if a state ignores Union directions, the President may treat it as a breakdown of constitutional machinery.

• Passing functions both ways: under Art. 258 the Union can give its functions to states. Under Art. 258A (7th Amendment, 1956) states can give theirs to the Union.

• Full faith and credit clause (Art. 261): public acts, records and court rulings of the Union and every state are recognised across India.
• Central control: only the centre can discipline IAS and IPS officers serving in the states. Arts. 33-34 and AFSPA add further central power.
• Current flashpoints:
• states withdrawing general consent for the CBI (State of West Bengal v. Union of India, 2024, held its Art. 131 suit maintainable);
• BSF jurisdiction extended to 50 km (2021);

• the proposed changes to the IAS (Cadre) Rules (2022).

• Freedom of trade and commerce (Arts. 301-307):

• Art. 301: trade is free throughout India.
• Art. 302: Parliament may impose public-interest limits.
• Art. 303: Parliament may not discriminate between states except in scarcity.
• Art. 304: states may levy non-discriminatory taxes and impose reasonable restrictions with prior presidential sanction.
• Jindal Stainless (2016, nine judges) upheld non-discriminatory entry taxes.

7. Financial relations in outline

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• Vertical fiscal imbalance: the Union holds the best revenue sources, while states carry heavy spending duties. Class 11, Federalism says states have "very meagre revenue sources" and depend on grants.
• NCERT is outdated here. NCERT says the Planning Commission controls state resources. Now NITI Aayog has replaced it (1 January 2015), and the plan/non-plan split ended in 2017-18.
• The outline structure:
• separate tax lists (Union List entries 82-92C, State List entries 45-63);
• sharing of Union taxes (Arts. 268-272);
• the Finance Commission (Art. 280);

• state borrowing (Art. 293).

• Grants-in-aid (Art. 275): fixed grants to states that need help, based on Finance Commission advice.

• Discretionary grants (Art. 282): grants for any public purpose. They fund centrally sponsored schemes and draw charges of bias against opposition-ruled states.
• Gadgil formula (1969): shared central plan aid among states by population, per capita income, tax effort and special problems. It was revised in 1991 (Gadgil-Mukherjee) and ended with planning.
• 101st Amendment, 2016: brought GST from 1 July 2017.
• Concurrent taxing power for GST (Art. 246A): Parliament and the states tax supplies at the same time. Parliament alone taxes inter-state supplies (Art. 269A).
• GST Council (Art. 279A). Mohit Minerals (2022) held its advice persuasive, not binding.

• Petroleum and alcohol stay outside GST.

• Points of friction: cesses kept outside the shared pool, and withheld scheme funds (verify current). Devolution formulas and borrowing limits are covered in the economy subject's fiscal-federalism note.

8. Language policy: official language, scheduled languages and the three-language formula

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• Language policy of India: there is no "national language". Hindi is promoted but not imposed, and states choose their own official languages.
• Official language of the Union (Art. 343): Hindi in Devanagari, with English for 15 years (to 1965). This was the Munshi-Ayyangar compromise of 14 September 1949. Other articles:
• Art. 348: English for the higher courts and for laws.
• Art. 350A: teaching in the mother tongue at primary level.

• Art. 351: the duty to spread Hindi.

• Official Language Commission (Art. 344): the first, under B.G. Kher, was set up in 1955.

• Official Languages Act 1963: English continues after 1965. After the anti-Hindi agitation (Tamil Nadu, 1965), the 1967 amendment kept English until every non-Hindi state legislature and Parliament agree to drop it. In effect, non-Hindi states have a veto.
• Eighth Schedule: 14 languages at first, 22 now.
• Sindhi was added by the 21st Amendment (1967).
• Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali by the 71st (1992).
• Bodo, Dogri, Maithili and Santali by the 92nd (2003).
• Oriya was renamed Odia by the 96th (2011).

• UPSC exams can be written in any scheduled language.

• Census 2011: over 1,300 mother tongues grouped into 121 languages. Hindi is the mother tongue of 43.63% (NCERT: "about 40 per cent"; its own table: 43.63%). English is the mother tongue of 0.02%.

• Classical language: Tamil came first (2004). Marathi, Pali, Prakrit, Assamese and Bengali were added in October 2024, making 11.
• Three-language formula (NPE 1968): Hindi states teach Hindi, English and another modern Indian language. Other states teach the regional language, Hindi and English. Tamil Nadu kept two languages. NEP 2020 keeps it flexible: two of the three languages must be Indian, and none is imposed.

9. The politics of centre-state relations: phases, autonomy demands and flashpoints

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• Centre-state relations depend on politics. "The Constitution is the skeleton; politics the flesh" (Class 11, Federalism). There have been three phases: 1. 1950s to mid-1960s: Congress ruled the centre and most states. Relations were smooth except over new states. 2. After 1967: opposition parties ran many states. Elected state governments were dismissed under Art. 356 (Kerala 1959; several after 1967; Andhra Pradesh and J&K in the 1980s), and autonomy demands grew. 3. After 1989-90: coalitions and regional parties brought "more mature federalism", backed by Bommai (1994). Single-party majorities returned from 2014, and coalition partners again from 2024 (verify current).

• State autonomy takes four forms:

• redistribution of powers (DMK, Akali Dal, CPI(M));
• financial autonomy (the West Bengal Left Front document of 1977);
• control over administration;

• protection of language and culture.

• Rajamannar Committee: set up by Tamil Nadu's DMK government in 1969, it reported in 1971. It asked for:

• an Inter-State Council;
• residuary powers for states;
• deletion of Arts. 356-357;
• more financial freedom for states.

The Anandpur Sahib Resolution (1973) is covered in regional-aspirations.

• Secession means a region leaving the country. It has no place in the Constitution, unlike autonomy, which seeks more power inside the Union. After the DMK's Dravida Nadu demand, the 16th Amendment (1963) allowed limits on speech to protect India's sovereignty and integrity.
• Governors and Art. 356 are the main flashpoints (Sarkaria asked for non-partisan Governors). Newer ones are delimitation after 2026 and simultaneous elections.

10. Inter-state disputes: river waters and borders

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• Inter-state river water disputes: Art. 262 lets Parliament set up a way to settle them and keep them out of the courts. Class 11, Federalism calls these disputes more serious than border disputes because they involve drinking water and farming.
• Inter-State River Water Disputes Act 1956: provides for tribunals and bars court jurisdiction (s.11). The 2002 amendment:
• gives tribunals three years for an award, extendable by two;
• gives a published award the force of a Supreme Court decree.

The Supreme Court still hears appeals under Art. 136. The 2019 Bill for a single standing tribunal passed the Lok Sabha but is still pending (verify current).

• River Boards Act 1956: allows advisory boards for inter-state rivers. No board has ever been set up.
• Inter-state water disputes tribunal: an ad hoc body for each river. Examples: Krishna, Godavari, Narmada, Ravi-Beas, Cauvery, Vansadhara, Mahadayi and Mahanadi.
• Cauvery water dispute (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Puducherry): the 2007 award gave Tamil Nadu 419 TMC and Karnataka 270 TMC. The Supreme Court (16 February 2018) changed this to 404.25 and 284.75 TMC. The Cauvery Water Management Authority (2018), helped by a regulation committee, carries out the sharing.
• Narmada water dispute: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The 1979 award allowed the Sardar Sarovar dam.
• Ravi-Beas water dispute: Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. The Eradi Tribunal (1986) came out of the Punjab Accord. Punjab's 2004 law ending the water agreements was held unconstitutional (2016). The SYL canal is still unbuilt (verify current).
• Inter-state border disputes: border areas speak more than one language. Examples are Punjab and Haryana over Chandigarh, and Assam with its north-eastern neighbours.
• Belgaum border dispute: Maharashtra claims Belagavi. The Mahajan Commission (1966) largely backed Karnataka, and the case is pending in the Supreme Court.

11. Reviewing the relationship: Sarkaria, Punchhi and the coordination bodies

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• Sarkaria Commission (set up 1983, reported 1988, 247 recommendations). It wanted no major structural change, but asked for:
• a permanent Inter-State Council;
• Art. 356 only as a last resort;
• non-partisan Governors from outside the state, chosen after consulting the Chief Minister;

• consulting states before Concurrent List laws.

• Punchhi Commission (set up 2007, reported 2010) proposed:

• a fixed five-year term for Governors;
• removal of a Governor only by a resolution of the state legislature;
• "localised emergency" for a district or part of a state;

• short-term deployment of central forces without state consent.

• Inter-State Council (Art. 263) was set up by Presidential Order on 28 May 1990.

• Members: the Prime Minister (chair), Chief Ministers, UT administrators and six Union ministers.

• It is only advisory. It has met 11 times, the last on 16 July 2016 (verify current).

• Zonal councils: five statutory advisory bodies under the States Reorganisation Act 1956. The Union Home Minister chairs them.

• North Eastern Council: set up under the NEC Act 1971. The 2002 amendment made it a regional planning body and added Sikkim. The Union Home Minister has chaired it since 2018.

12. Cooperative and competitive federalism, and decentralisation as the third tier

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• Cooperative federalism: the Union and states work as partners. The framers meant this as the base (Class 11, Federalism). Tools include:
• the GST Council;
• the Aspirational Districts Programme (2018);
• joint action during COVID-19;

• "collaborative federalism" (GNCTD, 2018).

• NITI Aayog Governing Council: the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers of all states and of UTs with legislatures, and Lieutenant Governors of other UTs. It first met on 8 February 2015, and its 10th meeting was on 24 May 2025. Some opposition Chief Ministers boycotted in 2024 (verify current).

• Competitive federalism: states compete through rankings. Examples are the Business Reform Action Plan (since 2015), the SDG India Index (since 2018) and the Good Governance Index. Critics point to:
• a race to the bottom on tax cuts and freebies;
• wider gaps between regions;

• cooperative talk alongside centralising practice.

• Third tier (Class 10, Federalism): states are as big as countries (Uttar Pradesh has more people than Russia). The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992) brought:

• regular elections;
• reserved seats for SC, ST and OBC;
• at least one-third of seats for women;

• State Election Commissions.

• Devolution: handing funds, functions and staff ("3Fs") to local bodies. It is uneven, and gram sabhas meet irregularly. NCERT counts about 36 lakh elected representatives (verify current).

• Participatory budgeting: in Porto Alegre, Brazil (from 1989), residents shape the city budget. About 20,000 take part each year, and spending has moved towards poor areas. Kerala's People's Plan Campaign (1996) is the Indian parallel.

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Exam angles

Prelims — high-yield facts and traps

• Article matches:
• Art. 1: "Union of States".
• Art. 2: admit or establish states.
• Art. 3: new states by simple majority; the state's views do not bind Parliament.
• Art. 4: not an Art. 368 amendment.
• Art. 248: residuary powers.
• Art. 249: Rajya Sabha resolution by two-thirds present and voting.
• Art. 252: two or more states consent.
• Art. 253: treaties.
• Art. 254(2): state law saved by presidential assent.
• Art. 262: water disputes.
• Art. 263: Inter-State Council.
• Art. 301: free trade.
• Art. 343: official language.

• Art. 350A: mother-tongue instruction.

• Amendments:

• 7th (1956): reorganisation, Art. 258A, Art. 350A.
• 16th (1963): sovereignty and integrity.
• 42nd (1976): five subjects moved to the Concurrent List.
• 21st, 71st and 92nd: Eighth Schedule, now 22 languages.
• 96th: Odia.
• 100th: Land Boundary Agreement, 111 and 51 enclaves.

• 101st: GST.

• Commonly confused pairs:

• Art. 249 vs Art. 252: Rajya Sabha resolution vs state request.
• Residuary power with the Union (Canada) vs with the states (USA).

• The Concurrent List comes from Australia.

• Body-chair pairs: Inter-State Council (Presidential Order 1990, PM chairs) · zonal councils (SRA 1956, Home Minister chairs) · NEC (NEC Act 1971) · NITI Governing Council (executive resolution).

• Statement traps:
• "The Constitution calls India a federation": FALSE.
• "Hindi is the national language": FALSE.
• "Ceding territory needs only an Art. 3 law": FALSE (Berubari).

• "Tribunal awards cannot reach the Supreme Court": FALSE (Art. 136).

• Tribunal-state pairs: Mahadayi (Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra) · Vansadhara (Odisha, Andhra Pradesh) · Mahanadi (Odisha, Chhattisgarh) · Narmada (includes Rajasthan).

• Case-principle pairs: Balsara (pith and substance) · Gajapati Narayan Deo (colourable legislation) · RMDC (territorial nexus) · Karunanidhi (repugnancy) · Jindal Stainless (entry tax) · MADA v. SAIL (states can tax minerals) · Lalta Prasad Vaish (industrial alcohol).
• Dates: Rajamannar (1969/71) · Sarkaria (1983-88) · Punchhi (2007-10) · 11 classical languages (October 2024).

Mains — GS-II themes

1. Is India "quasi-federal"? Weigh the holding-together design and unitary features against the federalising effect of coalitions and Bommai.
2. Cooperative vs competitive vs confrontational federalism. Look at the NITI Governing Council, the GST Council, rankings, boycotts and fund disputes. Is cooperation real or only talk?
3. The Inter-State Council rarely meets, and the Sarkaria and Punchhi agendas are unfinished. How can coordination bodies be made to work?
4. Why water tribunals take decades and their awards are resisted (Cauvery, SYL, Mahadayi). Consider the 2019 Bill and river-basin management.
5. Linguistic states and language policy as ways of accommodating diversity. Add the NEP 2020 three-language rows and the criticism that English favours an elite.
6. Central agencies, all-India services and the deployment of forces: how far should state consent count?
7. Criteria for new states, the case for a second SRC, and the J&K precedent of turning a state into a UT.
8. Why states hold back the 3Fs from local bodies, and what participatory budgeting offers as a model.

Current-affairs hooks

• Art. 131 suits (CBI consent, funds, borrowing) and new Supreme Court rulings on the lists.
• NITI Governing Council meetings and boycotts, and meetings of the Inter-State Council and zonal councils.
• Water flare-ups: Cauvery releases in dry years, Mekedatu, SYL, Mahadayi, the Mahanadi tribunal.
• Language rows: the three-language formula, Samagra Shiksha funds, demands to add languages to the Eighth Schedule, state renaming proposals.
• Statehood and autonomy demands (J&K, Ladakh, Vidarbha, Gorkhaland) and Tamil Nadu's 2025 committee on Union-State relations.
• Census 2027 and delimitation after 2026 (verify current).