Kundali IQHome › Exam notes › UPSC Civil Services › Federalism & Devolution
Federalism & Devolution
GS-II: Constitution, Governance, Social Justice & IR
Useful for: UPSC Civil Services
Overview
Indian federalism is a "holding-together" federation with a strong Centre; fiscal and administrative devolution decide how well it works in practice.
Key points
- Article 1 calls India a "Union of States"; states cannot secede.
- The 15th Finance Commission recommended 41% of the divisible pool for states (2021–26).
- GST pooled taxing powers through the GST Council, a forum of cooperative federalism.
- Centrally sponsored schemes give the Centre influence over state priorities.
- Article 356 was frequently misused before S. R. Bommai (1994) restricted it.
- Devolution of funds, functions and functionaries to local bodies remains uneven.
Practice MCQs
From the perspective of definition and scope, which one of the following statements about Federalism & Devolution is correct?
- Federalism & Devolution has no exceptions or limitations in exam analysis.
- Indian federalism combines constitutionally divided powers with mechanisms for coordination and a comparatively strong Union.
- Holding local elections by itself guarantees effective decentralisation.
- Federalism & Devolution is unrelated to institutions, processes or real-world applications.
Read chapter notes · Similar questions
Show answer
Answer: (b) Indian federalism combines constitutionally divided powers with mechanisms for coordination and a comparatively strong Union.. Indian federalism combines constitutionally divided powers with mechanisms for coordination and a comparatively strong Union.
Consider the following statements on Federalism & Devolution, focusing on definition and scope: 1. Holding local elections by itself guarantees effective decentralisation. 2. Indian federalism combines constitutionally divided powers with mechanisms for coordination and a comparatively strong Union. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Read chapter notes · Similar questions
Show answer
Answer: (b) 2 only. Statement 2 is correct; Statement 1 is a common misconception.
More topics in this chapter
Notes and questions are written by Kundali IQ for practice. They are not official papers; always check the latest official notification for the syllabus and pattern.