Introduction
India is described by political scientist K.C. Wheare as a federation with a strong
unitary bias — often called "quasi-federal". The Constitution itself never
uses the word "federal"; Article 1 calls India a "Union of States." It combines a federal structure with
several unitary features that give the Centre a stronger hand than in classical federations like the USA.
Federal Features
- Dual polity — Union and States, each with their own governments.
- Written Constitution with a clear division of powers.
- Rigidity — key provisions can be amended only with state ratification (Article 368 proviso).
- Independent judiciary with power of judicial review.
- Bicameral legislature — Rajya Sabha represents the states.
Unitary Features
- A single, integrated Constitution — no separate state constitutions (except J&K's special status, now abrogated).
- Single citizenship for the whole country.
- Flexibility — most of the Constitution can be amended by Parliament alone (simple/special majority).
- Emergency provisions can convert the federal structure into a unitary one (Art. 352, 356, 360).
- Integrated judiciary and All India Services common to Union and States.
- Governor appointed by the Centre, acts as a link between Union and State.
- Parliament can alter state boundaries/names by simple majority (Article 3) and legislate on State List subjects under specific conditions (Art. 249, 250, 252, 253).
⚖️ SR Bommai Case (1994): The Supreme Court held that federalism is part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution, and laid down guidelines to check the misuse of Article 356 (President's Rule), requiring floor tests in the Assembly rather than the Governor's subjective satisfaction alone.
Distribution of Legislative Powers — Seventh Schedule
Flowchart — Three Lists under the Seventh Schedule
Seventh Schedule (Article 246)
↓
Union List — Parliament only
State List — State Legislature only
Concurrent List — Both
In case of conflict on a Concurrent List subject, the Central law prevails (Article 254), subject to exceptions where the state law has received Presidential assent.
| List | Approx. Subjects | Examples |
|---|
| Union List | ~100 (originally 97) | Defence, foreign affairs, banking, currency, railways, atomic energy |
| State List | ~61 (originally 66) | Police, public order, agriculture, public health, local government |
| Concurrent List | ~52 (originally 47) | Education, forests, marriage & divorce, criminal law, electricity — added to significantly by the 42nd Amendment, 1976 |
Residuary Powers (Article 248): Any subject not covered in any of the three lists falls exclusively to Parliament — unlike the USA, where residuary powers rest with the states.
Cooperative and Competitive Federalism
- Cooperative Federalism: Centre and states working together — e.g., GST Council, NITI Aayog, Inter-State Council.
- Competitive Federalism: States compete with each other for investment, ease-of-doing-business rankings, and central funds.
✅ UPSC Focus: Federal vs unitary features table · SR Bommai case and Article 356 safeguards · Union/State/Concurrent List subject counts and examples · Residuary powers with Parliament (Art. 248) · Cooperative vs competitive federalism.