Forms of Government and the State Administration in India
Forms of Government and the State Administration in India
This domain tests classification of governments and how India's federal-parliamentary design shapes administration.
Core rules and concepts
- Unitary systems concentrate sovereignty in one centre; federal systems divide powers between union and states under a written constitution.
- Parliamentary government fuses executive and legislature and rests on confidence; presidential government separates them.
- India is described as quasi-federal: Article 1 calls India a Union of States; the Seventh Schedule divides Union, State and Concurrent Lists; residuary powers go to the Union; states are not sovereign.
- Administration operates through the Union government (PMO, Cabinet Secretariat, ministries), state governments (Chief Minister, Secretariat, directorates), and field agencies; local bodies handle devolved functions.
- Federal institutions include the GST Council, Finance Commission, Inter-State Council and All-India Services.
Worked example
A proposal affects both school education and higher education. Education is largely in the State List, but higher education has Union and Concurrent dimensions. The correct analysis identifies the constitutional entry, the implementing ministry or department, and the federal consultative mechanism, not a simple Centre decides answer.
Traps
Do not call India a pure federation or a unitary state. Do not place residuary powers in the states. Do not confuse the Union Cabinet with the Cabinet Secretariat, which is a coordinating civil service body.