Federal System in India

• The term ‘federation’ is derived from a Latin word ‘foedus’ which means ‘treaty’ or ‘agreement’.
• On the basis of nature of relation between Central and State Government, the government of different nations have been classified as Unitary and Federal Government.

Unitary Government

• • • All the Powers are vested in the Central Government, and if the State Governments exist, derive their powers from the Central Government.
    • Such types of Government are seen in Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Japan, China, Belgium, Norway etc.

Federal Government

• • • Powers are divided between the Central & State Governments by the Constitution itself and both operate in their respective jurisdictions independently.
    • Such types of Government are seen in US, Switzerland, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Australia etc.

Definition of Federalism

• Federalism is a system of Government in which powers have been divided between the centre and the states. The States possess certain level of autonomy depending on types of federation.
• Federal System are of two types –

1. 1. 1. Holding together Federation – the power is shared to accommodate the diversity I the society. In this type of federation, the powers are tilted towards the Centre. Eg. – India, Spain, Belgium etc.
      2. Coming together Federation – the independent states come together to form a bigger unit and Sacrifice some of their powers to enjoy central authority. The states have more autonomy in this types of federation. Eg. – USA, Australia, Switzerland etc.

Difference between Federal and Unitary System

Federal System in India

• The Government of India Act, 1919 introduced the concept of division of powers between the centre and the provincial legislatures by separating the central and provincial subjects. For the first time, it introduced bicameralism consisting of an Upper House and Lower House.
• The Constitution of India provides for a federal system of government in the country. The framers adopted the federal system due to two main reasons –
  • • large size of the country – small states will help in efficient Governance
    • Socio-cultural diversity – helps in reconciles national unity and regional autonomy.
• Constitution of India provides for a Federal System of Government. Although, the word Federation is nowhere mentioned in the Constitution.
• Article 1 says that India is a ‘Union of States’.
• According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, ‘Union of India’ was preferred to ‘Federation of India’ because –
  • • It is not a result of agreement between the States
    • The States do not have the right to secede from this Federation. The federation is union because it is indestructible.
• The Indian federation resembles the Canadian federation –
  • • In its formation (by way of disintegration)
    • In its preference to the term ‘Union’ (the Canadian federation is also called a ‘Union’)
    • In its centralising tendency (vesting more powers in the centre vs. the states).

Federal Features of the Constitution

1. Dual Polity

• • Constitution establishes dual polity consisting of the Union at the centre and the states at the periphery with their respective government.
  • The central government have more powers as compared to state government.

2. Written Constitution

• • Lengthiest Constitution in the World.
  • It specifies Structure, Organisation, Power and Functions of the Central & State Governments.
  • Indian constitution is a blend of rigidity and flexibility.

3. Bicameralism

• • Constitution provides for a bicameral legislature consisting of Upper House and Lower House.
  • The Rajya Sabha represents the states of Indian Federation, while the Lok Sabha represents the people of India as a whole.

4. Division of Powers

• • The constitution divides the power between state and the centre in terms of Union List, State List and Concurrent List which is present in 7th Schedule.
  • The residuary subjects (not mentioned in any three lists) are given to the Centre.

5. Supremacy of the Constitution

• • Constitution is the supreme law in India. The constitution is regarded as the guide in framing policies of the government.
  • The organs of the Government must operate as prescribed in the Constitution.
  • It lays out the ideas and philosophy of the constitution framers. It secures the right of the citizens.

6. Rigid Constitution

• • The Constitution is rigid in a sense that those provision which are concerned with the federal structure can be amended only by joint action of the Central and State Government.
  • This type of provisions requires special majority of Parliament with an approval of half of the states also.

7. Independent Judiciary

• • The Indian constitution provides for an independent and an integrated judicial system.
  • The Judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court by the Constitution. This is done due to following reasons –
    • • To protect the supremacy of the Constitution by the power of Judicial Review
      • To settle the disputes between the states or between the States and the Centre.
  • The Constitution also contains measures such as tenure of Judges, Service conditions, Salary etc. to make judiciary independent of the Centre.

Unitary Features of the Constitution

1. Single Constitution

• • The Constitution of India embodies the constitution of the Centre as well as that of States.
  • Both Centre and States must operates within Constitution frames.
  • Only Exception to this is Jammu and Kashmir which has its own state Constitution.

2. Flexibility of the Constitution

• • The Process of Constitution amendment id less rigid as compared to other federation.
  • The amendment can be made by the parliament alone either by simple or special majority.
  • The power to initiate an amendment to constitution lies only with the centre.

3. Strong Centre

• • The constitution has made centre more powerful as the Union List has more subjects than the State List. Most of the important subjects are in the Union List.
  • Moreover, it Centre has authority to override the law made by a state legislature on the matters related to concurrent list.
  • In some cases, the parliament is also empowered to make laws on state list subjects.
  • The residuary power are vested in the centre which are not in line with the principle of federalism.

4. States Not Indestructible

• • The states in India have no right to territorial integrity. The Parliament can by unilateral action change the area, boundaries or name of any state by uniting two or more States or parts of States or by uniting any territory to a part of any State.
  • It requires only a simple majority and not a special majority. Hence, states in India are not indestructible entity.

5. No Equality of State Representation in Upper House

• • The states in India do not have equal representation in Rajya Sabha. The representation is based on the population of the state. For e.g. Uttar Pradesh has 31 members whereas Rajasthan has 10 members in Rajya Sabha.
  • Whereas, in a federal country, the representation of each state should be equal in Upper House.

6. Single Citizenship

• • There is only Indian Citizenship and no separate state citizenship. All citizens irrespective of the state in which they are born or reside enjoy the same rights all over the country.
  • The provision of single citizenship increases the feeling of nationality among the citizens which helps in maintaining unity in spite of cultural and regional diversity.

7. Integrated judiciary

• • Judiciary in India, though independent, is integrated. That means, India does not have separate judiciary at the centre and the state level.
  • High Courts in the states work under the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is at the top of the Indian Judiciary.

8. Emergency Powers

• • The centre has been provided with emergency powers. Three types of emergency are national emergency, state emergency (president’s rule) and financial emergency.
  • During emergency, the level of control of centre over the states increases and states goes into total control of Centre. These provisions undermine the autonomy of states.
  • It converts the federal structure into a unitary one without a formal amendment of the Constitution.

9. All-India Services

• • In India, the Centre and the states have their separate public services. But, in addition, there are all-India services (IAS, IPS, and IFS) which are common to both the Centre and the states.
  • The members of these services are recruited and trained by the Centre which also hold ultimate control over them.
  • Though immediate control of these services is in hand of state but ultimate powers lies with the centre. These services provide efficiency and uniformity in administration throughout the country.
  • Thus, these services violate the principle of federalism under the Constitution.

10. Integrated Audit Machinery

• • The Comptroller and Auditor General is appointed (and/or removed) by the President without consulting the States.
  • He audits the account of both the centre and the states.
  • There is no separate provision for an audit machinery at state level.

11. Integrated Election Machinery

• • The Election Commission of India is responsible to conduct free and fair elections at both the centre and the state level.
  • The Chairman and the members of the election commission are appointed (or removed) by the President.

12. Appointment of Governor

• • The governor of a state is appointed by the President. The state has no role in his appointment.
  • He acts as an agent of the central government in the state.
  • In this respect, India adopted the Canadian system.

13. Parliament’s Authority over State List

• • The Parliament is empowered to legislate on any subject of the State List if Rajya Sabha passes a resolution to that effect in the national interest.
  • Hence, States do not have exclusive control of the State List. Notably, this can be done when there is no emergency of any kind.

14. Veto Over State Bills

• • The governor of a state has the authority to reserve certain types of bills for the consideration of the president.
  • The president enjoys the absolute veto on these bills. He can even reject the bill at the second instance i.e. if the bill is sent after reconsideration by the state legislature.

15. Authority to remove key functionaries

• • The state legislature or government is not empowered to remove government functionaries even at state level such as Election Commissioner of a state, member or chairman of state public service commission, judges of the high court etc.       

Critical Evaluation of the Federal System in India

• India is regarded as ‘Quasi-Federal’ State. According to K C Where – “Indian Union is a unitary state with subsidiary federal features rather than a federal state with subsidiary unitary features.”
• Two Factors are responsible for increasing tendency of unitary system of the Constitution. These are –
  • • The dominance of Central Government in Finance and dependence of States on Central Government to fulfil their grants.
    • The emergence of powerful Planning Commission which controls development process of the state.
• Paul Appleby described India as ‘Extremely Federal’.
• Morris Jones termed it as ‘Bargaining Federalism’.
• Indian Federalism is Cooperative in nature as it has created a strong centre, it did not make the state government weak and has not reduced them to the level of administrative agencies.
• In fact, the federal system in India represents a compromise between the following two conflicting considerations –
  • • normal division of powers under which states enjoy autonomy within their own spheres
    • Need for national integrity and a strong Union government under exceptional circumstances.
• The following points reflects the federal character of India and its states –
  • • Territorial disputes between states
    • Disputes between states over sharing of river water, for example, between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over Cauvery Water.
    • The emergence of regional parties and their coming to power in states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, etc.
    • Creation of new States to fulfil regional aspirations e.g. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand or more recently Telangana
    • Demand of the states for more financial grants from the Centre to meet their developmental needs.
• Central Government of India took several steps towards Cooperative Federalism. Although NITI Aayog & GST are steps in the right direction but, to ensure that each State progresses Economically & Socially, various new initiatives are required. Such as –
  • • Inter-State Councils (Article 263) & Zonal Councils should meet regularly.
    • There is a need to ensure that the Unitary Features of the Indian Constitution should not be abused. (Governors Powers, President withholding a State Bill, President’s Rule, Emergency Provisions etc.).
    • Some broad consensus needs to be reached between Centre and States before introducing bills on concurrent subjects, as recommended by Punchhi Commission
    • State bills reserved for President Assent should be disposed off within 6 months by the centre.
    • International Treaties should be finalised with greater involvement of States if their implementation impacts the States directly.
    • More freedom required for States in matters of Technology transfers and tie-ups with Foreign Companies and Governments to ensure efficient practices and low cost technology transfers.

So, this was all about Federal System or Federal System in India and its Significance.

In the Next Post (Click Here), we will study about the Emergency Provisions of India.