CDS Polity · Indian Constitution — Making, Foundation and Amendments
Centre-State Relations
How the Seventh Schedule divides law-making between the Union, State and Concurrent Lists, and the commissions and councils set up to manage relations between the Centre and the States.
Why this matters
Nine CDS questions, three of them HARD. Five ask which List a subject sits in, every one of them from 2021 (II) onwards, so this has become a regular question. The other four ask about the commissions, the councils and Special Category Status, where a number or a year is the whole question.
Concept 1 of 2: The Union, State and Concurrent Lists
Article 246 and the Seventh Schedule split the subjects of law-making three ways. Subjects that need one rule for the whole country go to the Union, local matters to the States, and shared matters to the Concurrent List, where a Union law wins if the two clash.
Definition
The rules:
- Union List: only Parliament makes laws. Defence, foreign affairs, banking, insurance, census, atomic energy, railways.
- State List: normally only the State makes laws. Public order, police, land, local government, public health, agriculture, and taxes tied to agricultural land: tax on agricultural income, succession duty and estate duty on agricultural land, taxes on lands and buildings.
- Concurrent List: both can make laws; if they clash, the Union law prevails. Criminal law and criminal procedure, civil procedure, marriage and divorce, economic and social planning, price control, education, forests.
- The 42nd Amendment, 1976 moved five subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List: education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice.
- Residuary powers (subjects in no list) belong to Parliament (Article 248).
| Subject | List |
|---|---|
| Insurance | UnionQ |
| Census | Union |
| Public order, land, local government | State |
| Tax on agricultural income; succession and estate duty on agricultural land | StateQ |
| Taxes on lands and buildings | State |
| Criminal law, criminal procedure, civil procedure | ConcurrentQ CDS 2024 (II): criminal law is NOT a State List subject; it is Concurrent. |
| Economic and social planning, price control | ConcurrentQ |
| Forests, education (moved in 1976) | Concurrent |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (II) 2025 — General Knowledge · Q5Moderate
Example 1 · Indian Constitution — Making, Foundation and Amendments · Centre-State Relations
Which one among the following pairs of Subjects and Lists under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India is not correctly matched ?
Criminal law is Concurrent
Police and public order are State subjects, but criminal law and criminal procedure are in the Concurrent List. Do not let 'police is State' drag criminal law there too.
Forests left the State List in 1976
Forests and education were State subjects in 1950. The 42nd Amendment moved them to the Concurrent List.
Planning is shared
Economic and social planning is a Concurrent subject, not a State one, even though public order, land and local government are all in the State List.
Concept 2 of 2: Commissions and councils on Centre-State relations
Whenever relations between the Centre and the States got tense, the government asked a commission for advice, and some advice led to new councils. Learn each body with its year and its one famous recommendation.
Definition
The bodies:
- Zonal Councils: five (Northern, Central, Eastern, Western, Southern), set up by Part III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The North Eastern Council came later, by a separate Act of 1971.
- Sarkaria Commission (1983 to 1988): recommended a permanent Inter-State Council.
- Inter-State Council: set up in 1990 under Article 263, on Sarkaria's advice. The Prime Minister chairs it.
- Punchhi Commission (set up 2007, reported 2010): among much else, said a State Bill reserved for the President should be decided within six months.
- Special Category Status for States (from 1969): given for hilly and difficult terrain, low population density or a sizeable tribal population, a strategic location on international borders, economic and infrastructural backwardness, and weak State finances.
| Body | Year | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Zonal Councils (5) | 1956 | Set up by the States Reorganisation ActQ |
| Rajamannar Committee | 1969 | Set up by Tamil Nadu to study Centre-State relations |
| Sarkaria Commission | 1983 | Recommended a permanent Inter-State Council |
| Inter-State Council | 1990 | Set up under Article 263; chaired by the Prime Minister |
| Punchhi Commission | 2007 | Six months to decide a State Bill reserved for the PresidentQ |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (I) 2019 — General Knowledge · Q7Moderate
Example 2 · Indian Constitution — Making, Foundation and Amendments · Centre-State Relations
The Inter-State Council was set up in 1990 on the recommendation of
Sarkaria came before Punchhi
The Inter-State Council of 1990 followed the Sarkaria Commission. The Punchhi Commission came much later, in 2007, so it cannot be the source.
Five Zonal Councils, not six
The 1956 Act set up five Zonal Councils. The North Eastern Council is a separate body, made by an Act of 1971.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
The Union, State and Concurrent Lists8 rows
| Subject | List |
|---|---|
| Insurance | UnionQ |
| Census | Union |
| Public order, land, local government | State |
| Tax on agricultural income; succession and estate duty on agricultural land | StateQ |
| Taxes on lands and buildings | State |
| Criminal law, criminal procedure, civil procedure | ConcurrentQ CDS 2024 (II): criminal law is NOT a State List subject; it is Concurrent. |
| Economic and social planning, price control | ConcurrentQ |
| Forests, education (moved in 1976) | Concurrent |
Commissions and councils on Centre-State relations5 rows
| Body | Year | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| Zonal Councils (5) | 1956 | Set up by the States Reorganisation ActQ |
| Rajamannar Committee | 1969 | Set up by Tamil Nadu to study Centre-State relations |
| Sarkaria Commission | 1983 | Recommended a permanent Inter-State Council |
| Inter-State Council | 1990 | Set up under Article 263; chaired by the Prime Minister |
| Punchhi Commission | 2007 | Six months to decide a State Bill reserved for the PresidentQ |
Watch out for (5)
- Criminal law is Concurrent→ The Union, State and Concurrent Lists
- Forests left the State List in 1976→ The Union, State and Concurrent Lists
- Planning is shared→ The Union, State and Concurrent Lists
- Sarkaria came before Punchhi→ Commissions and councils on Centre-State relations
- Five Zonal Councils, not six→ Commissions and councils on Centre-State relations
Test yourself on Indian Constitution — Making, Foundation and Amendments
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.