WBPSC Prelims and Mains Notes-WBPSC Test Series
The term Sustainable growth became prominent after the World Conservation Strategy Presented in 1980 by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Brundland Report(1987) define sustainable development as the a process which seek to meet the needs and aspirations of the present generation without compromising the ability of the future generation to meet their own demands.
Natural resources are limited and thus sustainable development promotes their judicious use and put emphasis on conservation and protection of environment.Global warming and Climate change has brought the issue of Sustainable development in prominence.
Inclusive Growth is economic growth that creates opportunity for all segments of the population and distributes the dividends of increased prosperity, both in monetary and non-monetary terms, fairly across society.Indian Plans after the independence were based on the downward infiltration theory, which failed to bring equitable growth to all the sections of the Indian society.
Approach paper of 11th five year plan talked about “Inclusive and more faster growth” through bridging divides by including those in growth process who were excluded. Divide between above and Below Poverty Line, between those with productive jobs and those who are unemployed or grossly unemployed is at alarming stage.
Liberalization and Privatization after 1990’s have brought the nation out of the hindu growth rate syndrome but the share of growth has not been equitably distributed amongst different sections of Indian Society.
Various dimensions of Inclusive growth are:-
Important issues that are needed to be addressed to achieve the inclusive growth are:-
Government has launched several programs and policies for Inclusive growth such as:-
The leading economists of the country differ in their opinion about the socioeconomic and ecological consequences of the policy of liberalisation.Liberalization has led to several positive and negative effects on Indian economy and society. Some of the consequences of liberalisation have been briefly described here:
1. Increase in the Direct Foreign Investment: The policy of liberalisation has resulted in a tremendous increase in the direct foreign investment in the industrial and infrastructural sector (roads and electricity).
2. Enhancement in the Growth of GDP: There is a significant growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Prior to the liberalisation, the growth rate of GDP was around 4 per cent which rose to around 10 per cent in 2006-07.
3. Reduction in Industrial Recession: The industrial sector of India was passing through a period of recession prior to the policy of liberalisation. The foreign and private investment has checked the recession trend. This happened because of the massive investment in modernisation, expansion, and setting up of many new projects. Industries like automobiles, auto-components, coal-mining, consumer electronics, chemicals, food-processing, metal, petrochemicals, software, sport-goods, and textiles have undergone a growth rate of about 25 per cent. In addition to these, other industries, like crude-oil, construction, fertilisers, and power generation have shown an increase of about 15 per cent.
4. Employment: The heavy investments in industries and infrastructure by the Indian and foreign investors have generated great employment opportunities for the professionals, and skilled and unskilled workers.
5. Development of Infrastructure: Prior to the liberalisation, the infrastructure (roads and electricity) were in a bad shape affecting the industrial growth and economic development of the country adversely. Heavy investment in infrastructure has improved the efficiency of the industrial sector significantly.
6. Rise in Export: There is a phenomenal increase in export after liberalisation. Simultaneously India is importing raw materials, machinery, and finished products. Despite heavy imports, there has been a tangible improvement in the balance of payment.
7-Increase in Regional Disparities:The policy of liberalisation and New Industrial Policy (1991) could not reduce the regional inequalities in economic development. In fact, investments by the Indians and foreign investors have been made in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. The states like Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand are lagging behind. This has accentuated the regional imbalance and has lead to north south devide. The maximum investment so far has been done in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu. This uneven industrial development has resulted into many socioeconomic and political problems. The Naxal Movement, ULFA, and political turmoil in Jammu and Kashmir may be partly explained as being caused due to the less industrial and economic development of the regions.
8. Damage to Cottage and Small Scale Industries:Liberalisation in a country like India has adversely affected the traditional cottage and small scale industries which are unable to compete with the large-scale industries established by the multinationals. The cottage and small scale industries need protection in the form of subsidies, technology, technical access, funds, and network to export their products, Indian traditional workers such as silk workers of bihar are threatened by the imported synthetic silk.
9.Sophisticated Technology: The latest technology, being sophisticated, replaces labour and thus results in unemployment. This may be counter productive and detrimental to our industrial structure.
10. Comparatively Little Direct Investment: The foreign investors are more inclined to portfolio investment rather than direct investment. The former may be withdrawn at will at the slightest of hurdles giving a jolt to the economy of the country and it may create instability to Indian economy.
11. Investment in Selected Industries: Most of the foreign investment comes to white-goods and not to wage-good sector. Hence, it may be fruitful in improving the high priority sector and bringing in the latest technology. This will be counter productive. India is blessed with demographic dividend and the selective investment has failed to harness it.
12. Economic and Political Freedoms are at Stake: The over-enthusiasm of liberalisation to attract more investors and foreign exchange might lead to gradual handling over of the whole economy to the multinationals. This will affect adversely our economic and political freedom.
13. Inflation: Since the new industrial policy and liberalisations, the rate of inflation is continuously increasing. A section of the society is becoming more rich and adopting the lifestyle of consumerism. As opposed to this, the absolute number below the poverty line is also increasing. The gulf between the rich and the poor may be the cause of numerous social problems resulting in social tension.
Privatization in generic terms refers to the process of transfer of ownership, can be of both permanent or long term lease in nature, of a once upon a time state-owned or public owned property to individuals or groups that intend to utilize it for private benefits and run the entity with the aim of profit maximization.
ADVANTAGES OF PRIVATIZATION
Privatization indeed is beneficial for the growth and sustainability of the state-owned enterprises.
• State owned enterprises usually are outdone by the private enterprises competitively. When compared the latter show better results in terms of revenues and efficiency and productivity. Hence, privatization can provide the necessary impetus to the underperforming PSUs .
• Privatization brings about radical structural changes providing momentum in the competitive sectors .
• Privatization leads to adoption of the global best practices along with management and motivation of the best human talent to foster sustainable competitive advantage and improvised management of resources.
• Privatization has a positive impact on the financial health of the sector which was previously state dominated by way of reducing the deficits and debts .
• The net transfer to the State owned Enterprises is lowered through privatization .
• Helps in escalating the performance benchmarks of the industry in general .
• Can initially have an undesirable impact on the employees but gradually in the long term, shall prove beneficial for the growth and prosperity of the employees .
• Privatized enterprises provide better and prompt services to the customers and help in improving the overall infrastructure of the country.
DISADVANTAGES OF PRIVATIZATION
Privatization in spite of the numerous benefits it provides to the state owned enterprises, there is the other side to it as well. Here are the prominent disadvantages of privatization:
• Private sector focuses more on profit maximization and less on social objectives unlike public sector that initiates socially viable adjustments in case of emergencies and criticalities .
• There is lack of transparency in private sector and stakeholders do not get the complete information about the functionality of the enterprise .
• Privatization has provided the unnecessary support to the corruption and illegitimate ways of accomplishments of licenses and business deals
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PRIVATISATION IN INDIA
• Privatization loses the mission with which the enterprise was established and profit maximization agenda encourages malpractices like production of lower quality products, elevating the hidden indirect costs, price escalation etc..
• Privatization results in high employee turnover and a lot of investment is required to train the lesser-qualified staff and even making the existing manpower of PSU abreast with the latest business practices .
• There can be a conflict of interest amongst stakeholders and the management of the buyer private company and initial resistance to change can hamper the performance of the enterprise .
• Privatization escalates price inflation in general as privatized enterprises do not enjoy government subsidies after the deal and the burden of this inflation effects common man
Definition of Globalization :- Its a process(not an outcome) characterized by increasing global Interconnections by gradual removal of barriers to trade and investment between nation and higher economic efficiency through competitiveness.
Various economic, political, social and cultural effects of globalization are as follows:-
1- Liberalization- relaxation of restrictions, reduction in role of state in economic activities,decline in role of govt in key industries, social and infrastructural sector.
2- Privatization- Public offering of shares and private sale of shares, entry of private sector in public sector and sale of govt enterprises.
3- FDI
4- International regulatory bodies(WTO,IMF)
5- MNC’s
6- Infrastructural development
7- Expansion of information and communication technology and birth of information age.
8- Outsourcing of services- ie BPO and Call Centres.
9- Trade related intellectual property rights(TRIPS)- product based patent rather than process based.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), commonly referred to as the World Bank, is an international financial institution whose purposes include assisting the development of its member nation’s territories, promoting and supplementing private foreign investment and promoting long-range balance growth in international trade.
The World Bank was established in December 1945 at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. It opened for business in June 1946 and helped in the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Since 1960s the World Bank has shifted its focus from the advanced industrialized nations to developing third-world countries.
Organization and Structure:
The organization of the bank consists of the Board of Governors, the Board of Executive Directors and the Advisory Committee, the Loan Committee and the president and other staff members. All the powers of the bank are vested in the Board of Governors which is the supreme policy making body of the bank.
Capital Resources of World Bank:
The initial authorized capital of the World Bank was $ 10,000 million, which was divided in 1 lakh shares of $ 1 lakh each. The authorized capital of the Bank has been increased from time to time with the approval of member countries.Member countries repay the share amount to the World Bank in the following ways:
Objectives:
The following objectives are assigned by the World Bank:
(a) To provide guarantee on private loans or capital investment.
(b) If private capital is not available even after providing guarantee, then IBRD provides loans for productive activities on considerate conditions.
Functions:
World Bank is playing main role of providing loans for development works to member countries, especially to underdeveloped countries. The World Bank provides long-term loans for various development projects of 5 to 20 years duration.
The main functions can be explained with the help of the following points:
The major roles of the International Monetary Fund are as follows:
The important objectives of WTO are:
1. To improve the standard of living of people in the member countries.
2. To ensure full employment and broad increase in effective demand.
3. To enlarge production and trade of goods.
4. To increase the trade of services.
5. To ensure optimum utilization of world resources.
6. To protect the environment.
7. To accept the concept of sustainable development.
The main functions of WTO are discussed below:
1. To implement rules and provisions related to trade policy review mechanism.
2. To provide a platform to member countries to decide future strategies related to trade and tariff.
3. To provide facilities for implementation, administration and operation of multilateral and bilateral agreements of the world trade.
4. To administer the rules and processes related to dispute settlement.
5. To ensure the optimum use of world resources.
6. To assist international organizations such as, IMF and IBRD for establishing coherence in Universal Economic Policy determination.
? founded in 1784, by Sir William Jones, a British lawyer and Orientalist, to encourage Oriental studies.
? it was the vehicle for his ideas about the importance of Hindu culture and learning and about the vital role of Sanskrit in the Aryan languages.
? Headquarters are in Kolkata.
? The society owns an art collection that includes paintings by Peter Paul Rubens and Joshua Reynolds.
? The society’s library contains some 100,000 general volumes, and its Sanskrit section has more than 27,000 books, manuscripts, prints, coins, and engravings. The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal is published regularly.
Keshab Chander Sen :-
? was an Indian Bengali Hindu philosopher and social reformer who attempted to incorporate Christian theology within the framework of Hindu thought.He was born on 19th November 1838 in Kolkata. He was a descendant of the medieval Sena kings of Bengal.
? He was so influenced by the ideas of Brahmo Samaj that he joined the Calcutta Brahmo Samaj in 1857.
? At the age of 19, Keshab Chandra Sen started social work by establishing an evening school for adults.
? He used the medium of Press to spread social consciousness and development.
? he started a fortnightly journal ‘Indian Mirror’
? Keshab Chandra Sen was associated with many revolutionary programs of social reform like liberation of women from the social bindings, education of women and the poor workers, eradication of social evils like untouchability and casteism, spread of vernacular and various charitable works for the oppressed people.
? He took the initiative to introduce legislation to curb polygamy and child marriage and promoted inter-caste marriage.
? he was given the title of ‘Acharya’ of the ‘Brahmo Samaj’ by Devendranath Tagore. But due to the differences in the beliefs and philosophies of Devendranath Tagore and Keshab Chandra Sen, Brahmo Samaj split into two.
? founded his own breakaway “Brahmo Samaj of India” in 1866
? he propagated the Navavidhan, the New Dispensation or the Religion of Harmony. He preached bhakti, which was inspired from both Chaitanya and Christ.
Theodore Beck:-
was a British educationalist working for the British Raj in India, who was invited by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to serve as the first principal of the Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at the age 24. in Aligarh, which would later evolve into the Aligarh Muslim University. He was also opposed to join the Congress.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
? An Afghan Pashtun political and spiritual leader known for his non-violent opposition to British Rule in India.
? A lifelong pacifist, a devout Muslim,and a close friend of Mohandas Gandhi
? he was also known as Fakhri Afghan (“The Afghan pride”), Badshah Khan and Sarhaddi Gandhi (Urdu, Hindi lit.,
“Frontier Gandhi”)
? he decided social activism and reform would be more beneficial for Pashtuns. This ultimately led to the formation of the Khudai Khidmatgar movement (Servants of God). The movement’s success triggered a harsh crackdown
against him and his supporters and he was sent into exile.
? It was at this stage in the late 1920s that he formed an alliance with Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. This alliance was to last till the 1947 partition of India.
? Ghaffar Khan strongly opposed the Muslim League’s demand for the partition of India.
? In 1987 he became the first person without Indian citizenship to be awarded the Bharat Ratna
Sajjad Zaheer
? was a renowned Urdu writer, Marxist thinker
? Famously known as Bannay Mian, Zaheer was born in Lukhnow, the former state of Oudh
? He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India and later in 1948, the Communist Party of Pakistan, along with Faiz Ahmad Faiz.
? A collection of short stories, Angaray, which had stories by Sajjad Zaheer
? and was immediately banned in India by the British Government in 1933, “for hurting the religious susceptibilities of a section of the community.” This gave rise to the All-India Progressive Writers’ Movement & Association of which both Sajjad Zaheer and Ahmed Ali were co-founders.
? The first official conference of the Association was held in Lucknow in 1936 which was presided over by Munshi Premchand.
? LITERARY CONTRIBUTION:-London Ki Ek Raat- a novel.,Roshnai, a collection of essays on progressive writing and the progressive writers movement., Zikre Hafiz, his research based book on Persian poet Hafez.,Pighla Nilam, his last book,a collection of his poetry.
WW HUNTER
? Scottish historian, statistician, a compiler and a member of theIndian Civil Service, who later became Vice President of Royal Asiatic Society
? In 1869 Lord Mayo, the then governor-general, asked Hunter to submit a scheme for a comprehensive Statistical Survey of India. And the The Imperial Gazetteer of India was published in 1881.
? In 1882 presided over the commission on Indian Education
? in 1886 he was elected vice-chancellor of the University of Calcutta.
Achyut Patwardhan
? was an Indian independence activist and political leader and founder of the Socialist Party of India. He was also a philosopher who believed fundamental change in society begins with man himself,
? He studied Communist and Socialist literature, resigned his Professorship and plunged in 1932 into Gandhiji’s civil disobedience movement. He was imprisoned several times.
? In 1934 he and his associates in jail formed the Congress Socialistic Party with a view to working for socialistic objectives from within the Congress.
? He took a prominent part in the Quit India movement. he went underground, and ably directed the movement of a parallel government mainly in the Satara district.
? In 1947 they formed the Socialist Party of India, independently of the Congress. In 1950 Achyut retired from politics
LALA HAR DAYAL
? Indian revolutionary and scholar who was dedicated to the removal of British influence in India.
? On a Government of India scholarship to St. John’s College at Oxford, he became a supporter of the Indian revolutionary movement. In 1907 Har Dayal resigned his scholarship
? He returned to India in 1908 to further indigenous political institutions and to arouse his countrymen against British rule, butthe government thwarted his work, and he soon returned to Europe.
? In 1913 he formed the Ghadar rebellion (Gadar) Party to organize a against the British government of India.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
? was an Indian writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual subjects. His subject matter included: psychological revolution, the nature of the mind, meditation, human relationships, and bringing about positive change in society
? He constantly stressed the need for a revolution in the psyche of every human being and emphasized that such revolution cannot be brought about by any external entity, be it religious, political, or social.
? He claimed allegiance to no nationality, caste, religion, or philosophy, and spent the most of his life traveling the world, speaking to large and small groups and individuals
? His supporters, working through non-profit foundations in India, Great Britain and the United States, oversee several independent schools based on his views on education.
Gopi Krishna
? was a yogi, mystic, teacher, social reformer, and writer
? His autobiography is known under the title Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man.,in it he has put this amazing aspect of our nature in a logical, consistent and scientific light, and presented us with a new understanding of the goal of evolution, both as individuals and as a species.
? he himself has started to search the life of geniuses and enlightented persons in history for clues of kundalini awakening. He proposed an organisation to be erected to conduct scientific research on the matter. The research should, according to him, consist of research on biological processes in the body, psychological and sociological
research of living persons. According to Mr. Krishna the lives of historical persons should also be investigated.
Sir Muhammad Iqbal or Allama Iqbal
? was a philosopher,poet and politician in British India who is widely regarded as having inspired the Pakistan Movement.
? He is considered one of the most important figures in Urdu literature, with literary work in both the Urdu and Persian languages
? his best known Urdu works are Bang-i-Dara, Bal-i-Jibril, Zarb-i Kalim and a part of Armughan-e-Hijaz.
? Iqbal became a member of the London branch of the All India Muslim League,in one of his most famous speeches, Iqbal pushed for the creation of a Muslim state in Northwest India.
? Pakistan Government had recognised him as its “national poet”
Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu
? was an Indian politician and Freedom Fighter , prominent Telugu barrister and the first Chief Minister of the Indian province Andhra state. He was also known as Andhra Kesari
? He was elected the general secretary of the Congress Party in December 1921 at the Ahmedabad session
Maulana Mohammad Ali and Maulana Shaukat Ali
? were Indian Muslim leaders, activists, scholars, journalists and poets, and was among the leading figures of the Khilafat Movement
? Maulana Mohammad Ali Jouhar had spent four years in prison for advocating resistance to the British and support for the caliphate.
? publish the Urdu weekly Hamdard and the English weekly Comrade.
? form the All India Khilafat Committee. The organization was based in Lucknow,
? In 1920 an alliance was made between Khilafat leaders and the Indian National Congress, to work and fight together for the causes of Khilafat and Swaraj.
? Many Hindu religious and political leaders identified the Khilafat cause as Islamic fundamentalism based on a pan-Islamic agenda. And many Muslim leaders viewed the Indian National Congress as becoming increasingly dominated by Hindu fundamentalists and thus the Ali brothers began distancing themselves from Gandhi
and the Congress.
Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve
? popularly known as Maharishi Karve, was a social reformer in India in the field of women’s welfare.
? Mr Karve decided to continue the work of promoting women’s education in India. The Government of India awarded Dhondo Keshav Karve its highest civilian award, Bh?rat Ratna,
? founded Widhaw?-Wiw?hottejak Mandali, which, besides encouraging marriages of widows, also helped the needy children of widows.
? established a Hindu Widows’ Home Association
Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna
? was as Indian revolutionary, the founding president of the Ghadar Party, and a leading member of the party involved in the Ghadar Conspiracy of 1915.
? Tried at the Lahore Conspiracy trial, Sohan Singh served sixteen years of a life sentence for his part in the conspiracy before he was released in 1930.
? He later worked closely with the Indian labour movement, devoting considerable time to the Kisan Sabha and
the Communist Party of India.
Alluri Sita Rama Raju
? was an Indian revolutionary involved in the independence movement.
? Raju led the ill-fated “Rampa Rebellion” of 1922–24, during which a band of tribal leaders and other sympathizers fought against the British Raj. He was referred to as “Manyam Veerudu” (“Hero of the Jungles”) by the local people.
Baba Ram Chandra or Shridhar Balwant Jodhpurkar
? was an Indian trade unionist ,who organised the farmers of Oudh, India into forming a united front to fight against the abuses of landlords in the 1920s and 1930s ,and formed the Oudh Kisan Sabha
? He was also an influential figure in the history of Fiji, and owed his inspiration to take up the cause of the down-trodden to his 12 years as an indentured labourer in Fiji and to his efforts to end the indenture system. He was a Brahmin, of Maharashtrian origin. He left for Fiji as an indentured labourer in 1904
Sir Thomas Roe
? diplomat and author who advanced England’s mercantile interest in Asia and was prominent in negotiations during the Thirty Years’ War.
? Roe began his diplomatic career in India as ambassador to the court of the Mogul emperor J?h?ng?r.
? As ambassador to Constantinople (1621–28), Roe obtained increased privileges for the English merchants trading in the Ottoman Empire.
? He negotiated a treaty with Algiers, then subject to Ottoman rule, resulting in the release of several hundred Englishmen captured by the Barbary pirates
Romesh Chunder Dutt
? was an Indian civil servant, economic historian, writer, and translator of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
? As an ics officier Dutt was especially troubled by the lack of assured tenants’ rights or rights of transfer for those who tilled the land. He considered the land taxes to be ruinous, a block to savings, and the source of famines.
? .He was president of the Indian National Congress in 1899.
? Dutt served as the first president of Bangiya Sahitya Parishad
? Dutt traced a decline in standards of living to the nineteenth-century deindustrialization of the subcontinent and
the narrowing of sources of wealth
? Wrote economic history of india under british rule
Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi
? was the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi, situated in the north-central part of India.
? She was one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and a symbol of resistance to the rule of the British East India Company in the subcontinent.after she was forcibly retired by the British due to a controversial law of “Doctrine of Lapse”
? Hugh Rose ,the army commander ,commented that the Jhansi Rani Lakshmibai is “personable, clever and beautiful” and she is “the most dangerous of all Indian leaders ”
Lala Har Dayal
? was a Indian nationalist revolutionary who founded the Ghadar Party in America.
? The movement began with a group of immigrants known as the Hindustani Workers of the Pacific Coast.
? In a letter toThe Indian Sociologist he started , published in 1907, to explore anarchist ideas, In April 1914, he was arrested by the United States government for spreading anarchist literature and fled to Berlin, Germany.
? was an armed force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. The aim of the army was to liberate India from the British occupation with Japanese assistance. Initially composed of Indian prisoners of war captured by Japan in the Malayan campaign and at Singapore, it later drew volunteers from Indian expatriate population in Malaya and Burma.
? The INA also was at the forefront of women’s equality and the formation of a women’s regiment, the Rani of
Jhansi regiment was formed as an all volunteer women’s unit to fight the British occupiers as well as provide medical services to the INA.
? Initially formed in 1942 immediately after the fall of Singapore under Mohan Singh, the first INA collapsed in December that year before it was revived under the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose in 1943 and proclaimed the army of Bose’s Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind (The Provisional Government of Free India).
? This second INA fought along with the Imperial Japanese Army against the British andCommonwealth forces in the campaigns in Burma, Imphal and Kohima, and later, against the successful Burma Campaign of the Allies
? . The end of the war saw a large number of the troops repatriated to India where some faced trial for treason and became a galvanising point of the Indian Independence movement
? the Red Fort trials of captured INA officers in India provoked massive public outcries in support of their efforts to fight for Indian independence against the Raj, eventually triggering the Bombay mutiny in the British Indian
Amendments
Amendments to the Constitution are made by the Parliament, the procedure for which is laid out in Article 368. An amendment bill must be passed by both the Houses of the Parliament by a two-thirds majority and voting. In addition to this, certain amendments which pertain to the federal nature of the Constitution must be ratified by a majority of state legislatures. As of June 2013 there have been 118 amendment bills presented in the Parliament, out of which 98 have been passed to become Amendment Acts.
| Amendments of constitution | |||
| Amendment | Enforced on | Objectives | |
| 1. | 1951 | To fully secure the constitutional validity of zamindari abolition laws and to place reasonable restriction on freedom of speech. A new constitutional device, called Schedule 9 introduced to protect laws that are contrary to the Constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. These laws encroach upon property rights, freedom of speech and equality before law. | |
| 2. | 1953 | A technical amendment to fix the size of each parliamentary constituency between 650,000 and 850,000 voters. | |
| 3. | 1955 | LS limit of 500 members, one member of a constituency represents between 500000 and 750000 people. | |
| 4. | 1955 | Restrictions on property rights and inclusion of related bills in Schedule 9 of the constitution. | |
| 5. | 1955 | Provides for a consultation mechanism with concerned states in matters relating to the amendments to the territorial matters and in the re-naming of the state. | |
| 6. | 1956 | Amend the Union and State Lists with respect to raising of taxes. | |
| 7. | 1956 | Reorganization of states on linguistic lines, abolition of Class A, B, C, D states and introduction of Union Territories. | |
| 8. | 1960 | Clarify state’s power of compulsory acquisition and requisitioning of private property and include Zamindari abolition laws in Schedule 9 of the constitution. | |
| 9. | 1960 | Minor adjustments to territory of Indian Union consequent to agreement with Pakistan for settlement of disputes by demarcation of border villages, etc. | |
| 10. | 1961 | Incorporation of Dadra, Nagar and Haveli as a Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from Portugal. | |
| 11. | 1961 | Election of Vice President by Electoral College consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament, instead of election by a Joint Sitting of Parliament. Indemnify the President and Vice President Election procedure from challenge on grounds of existence of any vacancies in the electoral college. |
|
| 12. | 1961 | Incorporation of Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from Portugal. | |
| 13. | 1963 | Formation of State of Nagaland, with special protection under Article 371A. | |
| 14. | 1962 | Incorporation of Pondicherry into the Union of India and creation of Legislative Assemblies for Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Goa. | |
| 15. | 1963 | Raise retirement age of judges from 60 to 62 and other minor amendments for rationalizing interpretation of rules regarding judges etc., | |
| 16. | 1963 | Make it obligatory for seekers of public office to swear their allegiance to the Indian Republic and prescribe the various obligatory templates. | |
| 17. | 1964 | To secure the constitutional validity of acquisition of Estates and place land acquisition laws in Schedule 9 of the constitution | |
| 18. | 1966 | Technical Amendment to include Union Territories in Article 3 and hence permit reorganisation of Union Territories. | |
| 19. | 1966 | Abolish Election Tribunals and enable trial of election petitions by regular High Courts. | |
| 20. | 1966 | Indemnify & validate judgments, decrees, orders and sentences passed by judges and to validate the appointment, posting, promotion and transfer of judges barring a few who were not eligible for appointment under article 233. Amendment needed to overcome the effect of judgement invalidating appointments of certain judges in the state of Uttar Pradesh. | |
| 21. | 1967 | Include Sindhi as an Official Language. | |
| 22. | 1969 |
Provision to form Autonomous states within the State of Assam. |
|
| 23. | 1970 | Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 1980. | |
| 24. | 1971 | Enable parliament to dilute fundamental rights through amendments to the constitution. | |
| 25. | 1972 | Restrict property rights and compensation in case the state takes over private property. | |
| 26. | 1971 | Abolition of privy purse paid to former rulers of princely states which were incorporated into the Indian Republic. | |
| 27. | 1972 | Reorganization of Mizoram into a Union Territory with a legislature and council of ministers. | |
| 28. | 1972 | Rationalize Civil Service rules to make it uniform across those appointed prior to Independence and post independence. | |
| 29. | 1972 | Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution. | |
| 30. | 1973 | Change the basis for appeals in Supreme Court of India in case of Civil Suits from value criteria to one involving substantial question of law. | |
| 31. | 1973 | Increase size of Parliament from 525 to 545 seats. Increased seats going to the new states formed in North East India and minor adjustment consequent to 1971 Delimitation exercise. | |
| 32. | 1974 | Protection of regional rights in Telengana and Andhra regions of State of Andhra Pradesh. | |
| 33. | 1974 | Prescribes procedure for resignation by members of parliament and state legislatures and the procedure for verification and acceptance of resignation by house speaker. | |
| 34. | 1974 | Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution. | |
| 35. | 1975 | Terms and Conditions for the Incorporation of Sikkim into the Union of India. | |
| 36. | 1975 | Formation of Sikkim as a State within the Indian Union. | |
| 37. | 1975 | Formation of Arunachal Pradesh legislative assembly. | |
| 38. | 1975 | Enhances the powers of President and Governors to pass ordinances | |
| 39. | 1975 | Amendment designed to negate the judgement of Allahabad High Court invalidating Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s election to parliament. Amendment placed restrictions on judicial scrutiny of post of President, vice-president and Prime Minister. | |
| 40. | 1976 | Enable Parliament to make laws with respect to Exclusive Economic Zone and vest the mineral wealth with Union of India
Place land reform & other acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution. |
|
| 41. | 1976 | Raise Retirement Age Limit of Chairmen and Members of Union and State Public Commissions from 60 to 62. | |
| 42. | 1977 | Amendment passed during internal emergency by Indira Gandhi. Provides for curtailment of fundamental rights, imposes fundamental duties and changes to the basic structure of the constitution by making India a “Socialist Secular” Republic. | |
| 43. | 1978 | Amendment passed after revocation of internal emergency in the Country. Repeals some of the more ‘Anti-Freedom’ amendments enacted through Amendment Bill 42. | |
| 44. | 1979 | Amendment passed after revocation of internal emergency in the Country. Provides for human rights safeguards and mechanisms to prevent abuse of executive and legislative authority. Annuls some Amendments enacted in Amendment Bill 42. | |
| 45. | 1980 | Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 1990. | |
| 46. | 1983 | Amendment to negate judicial pronouncements on scope and applicability on Sales Tax. | |
| 47. | 1984 | Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution. | |
| 48. | 1985 | Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to two years in the state of Punjab. | |
| 49. | 1984 | Recognize Tripura as a Tribal State and enable the creation of a Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council. | |
| 50. | 1984 | Technical Amendment to curtailment of Fundamental Rights as per Part III as prescribed in Article 33 to cover Security Personnel protecting property and communication infrastructure. | |
| 51. | 1986 | Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies. | |
| 52. | 1985 | Anti Defection Law – Provide disqualification of members from parliament and assembly in case of defection from one party to other. | |
| 53. | 1987 | Special provision with respect to the State of Mizoram. | |
| 54. | 1986 | Increase the salary of Chief Justice of India & other Judges and to provide for determining future increases without the need for constitutional amendment. | |
| 55. | 1987 | Special powers to Governor consequent to formation of state of Arunachal Pradesh. | |
| 56. | 1987 | Transition provision to enable formation of state of Goa. | |
| 57. | 1987 | Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies. | |
| 58. | 1987 | Provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of constitution as on date and provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of future amendments. | |
| 59. | 1988 | Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to three years in the state of Punjab, Articles 352 and Article 359A amended to permit imposing emergency in state of Punjab or in specific districts of the state of Punjab. | |
| 60. | 1988 | Profession Tax increased from a maximum of Rs. 250/- to a maximum of Rs. 2500/-. | |
| 61. | 1989 | Reduce age for voting rights from 21 to 18. | |
| 62. | 1989 | Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 2000. | |
| 63. | 1990 | Emergency powers applicable to State of Punjab, accorded in Article 359A as per amendment 59 repealed. | |
| 64. | 1990 | Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to three years and six months in the state of Punjab. | |
| 65. | 1990 | National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes formed and its stututory powers specifed in The Constitution. | |
| 66. | 1990 | Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution. | |
| 67. | 1990 | Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to four years in the state of Punjab. | |
| 68. | 1991 | Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to five years in the state of Punjab. | |
| 69. | 1992 | To provide for a legislative assembly and council of ministers for Federal National Capital of Delhi. Delhi continues to be a Union Territory. | |
| 70. | 1991 | Include National Capital of Delhi and Union Territory of Pondicherry in electoral college for Presidential Election. | |
| 71. | 1992 | Include Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali as Official Languages. | |
| 72. | 1992 | Provide reservation to Scheduled Tribes in Tripura State Legislative Assembly. | |
| 73. | 1993 | Statutory provisions for Panchyat Raj as third level of administration in villages. | |
| 74. | 1993 | Statutory provisions for Local Administrative bodies as third level of administration in urban areas such as towns and cities. (Municipalities) | |
| 75. | 1994 | Provisions for setting up Rent Control Tribunals. | |
| 76. | 1994 | Enable continuance of 69% reservation in Tamil Nadu by including the relevant Tamil Nadu Act under 9th Schedule of the constitution. | |
| 77. | 1995 | A technical amendment to protect reservation to SC/ST Employees in promotions. | |
| 78. | 1995 | Place land reform acts and amendments to these act under Schedule 9 of the constitution. | |
| 79. | 2000 | Extend reservation for SC / ST and nomination of Anglo Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for another ten years i.e. up to 2010. | |
| 80. | 2000 | Implement Tenth Finance Commission recommendation to simplify the tax structures by pooling and sharing all taxes between states and The Centre. | |
| 81. | 2000 | Protect SC / ST reservation in filling backlog of vacancies. | |
| 82. | 2000 | Permit relaxation of qualifying marks and other criteria in reservation in promotion for SC / ST candidates. | |
| 83. | 2000 | Exempt Arunachal Pradesh from reservation for Scheduled Castes in Panchayati Raj institutions. | |
| 84. | 2002 | Extend the usage of 1991 national census population figures for statewise distribution of parliamentary seats. | |
| 85. | 2002 | A technical amendment to protect seniority in case of promotions of SC/ST Employees. | |
| 86. | 2002 | Provides Right to Education until the age of fourteen and Early childhood care until the age of six. | |
| 87. | 2003 | Extend the usage of 2001 national census population figures for statewise distribution of parliamentary seats. | |
| 88. | 2004 | To extend statutory cover for levy and utilization of Service Tax. | |
| 89. | 2003 | The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was bifurcated into The National Commission for Scheduled Castes and The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. | |
| 90. | 2003 | Reservation in Assam Assembly relating to Bodoland Territory Area. | |
| 91. | 2004 | Restrict the size of council of ministers to 15 % of legislative members & to strengthen Anti Defection laws. | |
| 92. | 2004 | Enable Levy of Service Tax. Include Bodo, Dogri, Santali and Maithili as National Languages. | |
| 93. | 2006 | Reservation for OBCs in government as well as private educational institutions | |
| 94. | 2006 | To provide for a Minister of Tribal Welfare in newly created Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh States. | |
| 95. | 2010 | Extended the reservation of seats in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies for SCs and STs from sixty to seventy years. | |
| 96. | 2011 | Changed “Oriya” in the Eighth Schedule to “Odia. | |
| 97. | 2012, Jan 12 | Right to form unions or co-operative societies. (19(1)C)
Promotion of Co-operative Societies. (43B) The Co-operative Societies. (Part 9B) |
|
| 98. | 2013, Jan 2 | To empower the Governor of Karnataka to take steps to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka Region.
(To insert Article 371J in the Constitution) |
Structure
| Parts of Constitution | ||
| Part | Articles | Deals with |
| 1 | 1-4 | The Union and its territory |
| 2 | 5-11 | Citizenship |
| 3 | 12-35 | Fundamental Rights |
| 4 | 36-51 | Directive Principles of State Policy |
| 4A | 51A | Fundamental Duties |
| 5 | 52-151 | The Union |
| 6 | 152-237 | The States |
| 7 | 238 | Repealed |
| 8 | 239-242 | The Union Territories |
| 9 | 243A-O | The Panchayats |
| 9A | 243P-ZG | The Municipalities |
| 10 | 244-A | The Scheduled and Tribal areas |
| 11 | 245-263 | The relation between Union and States |
| 12 | 264-300A | Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits |
| 13 | 301-307 | Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the territory of India |
| 14 | 308-323 | Services under The Union and The States |
| 14A | 323A-B | Tribunals |
| 15 | 324-329A | Elections |
| 16 | 330-342 | Special provisions relating to SCs, STs, OBCs and Anglo-Indians |
| 17 | 342-351 | Official Language |
| 18 | 352-360 | Emergency Provisions |
| 19 | 361-367 | Miscellaneous |
| 20 | 368 | Amendment of the Constitution |
| 21 | 369-392 | Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions |
| 22 | 393-395 | Short title, Commencement, Authoritative text in hindi and repeals |
| Schedules of Constitution | ||
| Schedule | Articles | Deals with |
| 1 | 1,4 | The States and The Union Territories. (28 states, 7 union territories) |
| 2 | 59,65,75,97,125,148,158,164,186,221 | Emoluments, allowances and Privileges.
|
| 3 | 75,84,99,124,146,173,188,219 | Oaths of ministers and judges.
Office of union ministers, secrecy of union ministers, candidate for MP elections, elected MP, Judges of SC or CAG, candidate for state legislatures, elected state ministers, Judges of HC. |
| 4 | 4,80 | Allocation of seats in the Rajya Sabha. (currently 233 elected + 12 nominated) |
| 5 | 244 | Administration and control of Scheduled areas and scheduled tribes. |
| 6 | 244,275 | Administration of Tribal areas of North-Eastern states: Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura. |
| 7 | 246 | Distribution of Power : Union list(99), State list(61) and Concurrent list(52).
Union list: |
| 8 | 344,351 | Languages.
Originally 14, currently 22. Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Marathi, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu. 21st amendment: Sindhi. (1967) 71st amendment: Konkani, Manipuri, Nepali. (1992) 92nd amendment: Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, Santhali. (2004) |
| 9 | 31B | Validation of certain Acts and Regulations.
Introduced by 1st amendment (1951) to protect from judicial review. Laws made after April 24, 1973 are open for judicial review now. 284 laws includes state laws on land reforms. |
| 10 | 102,191 | Anti-Defection Law (52nd amendment) |
| 11 | 243G | Powers and Responsibilities of Panchayats (73rd amendment) |
| 12 | 243W | Powers and Responsibilities of Municipalities (74th amendment) |
Features
Provisions
| Emergency Provisions in the Constitution of India
The Emergency Provisions are mentioned from Article 352 to Article 360. ? Article 352: Proclamation of Emergency – due to external intrusion or war the President of India can declare a state of emergency through a Proclamation. This Article suggests that such a Proclamation can be revoked or a varied Proclamation can also be issued. However, the decision of the Cabinet ministers to issue such a proclamation must be sent to the President in written form prior to his issuance of the same. According to the Article, all such Proclamations should be presented to both the Houses of the Parliament. The Proclamations, if not accepted by a resolution, will be counted as ineffective after one month. If the Proclamation is not accepted after the passing of a second resolution, then it will become ineffective after the expiry of 6 months of the second resolution. It is also mentioned in the Article that not less than two-thirds of the members of any of the Parliamentary Houses should be required to pass a resolution. There are certain rules specified in this Article regarding the President revoking or issuing a varied Proclamation during Emergency. ? Article 353: Effect of Proclamation of Emergency – this Article states that the Proclamation of Emergency includes extending the executive power of the union to the states in the form of directions. The Parliament, as per this Article, can confer the power to make laws, upon the officers or authorities of the Union. ? Article 354: Application of provisions relating to distribution of revenues while a Proclamation of Emergency is in operation – provisions made under Articles 268 to 279 can be modified or exceptions can be made by the President of India by an Order while the Proclamation period of emergency is going on. Information about all such Orders must be conveyed to both the Houses of Parliament. ? Article 355: Duty of the Union to protect States against external aggression and internal disturbance – this Article states the fact that the Union or Center is solely responsible for defending the various states from all types of violence and aggressions erupting from outside and disturbances occurring within the nation’s territory. ? Article 356: Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in States – the President of India can take charge of a state if the reports submitted to him by the Governor suggest that the government of the state has become incapable of exercising the Constitutional powers. The President is also subjected to exercise the powers of the government of such state by Proclamation. The Proclamation issued under such circumstances become ineffective after 6 months from the date of issuance, if not revoked during this time period. All such Proclamations have to be presented to both the Houses of Indian Parliament and will expire after two months. The Legislative powers of such state shall also be exercised by the Parliament. In the Houses of Parliament there are certain rules and regulations regarding the expiry of the Proclamation and the time period normally depends upon the fact whether it has been revoked earlier or not. ? Article 357: Exercise of legislative powers under Proclamation issued under article 356 – the powers of the Legislature shall be exercised by the Parliament during emergency. The Parliament has the right to delegate Legislative powers to the President of India or any such authority. The President of India, after the Proclamation of Article 356, can make laws and shall have access to the consolidated fund during the time period when the House of the People is not in operation. ? Article 358: Suspension of provisions of article 19 during emergencies – any provision under Article 19 will not be effective during emergency and the states can make law and undertake executive action. However, only those laws and executive actions containing recital related to emergency during the Proclamation of Emergency are effective as per the Article. ? Article 359: Suspension of the enforcement of the rights conferred by Part III during emergencies – the President of India can suspend all ongoing proceedings in any court of the nation during emergencies by an Order. The President can also call upon all pending court proceedings in case of emergencies. All such orders declaring the suspension of court proceedings have to be submitted to both the Houses of Parliament. ? Article 360: Provisions as to financial emergency – a declaration shall be made by the President of India through a Proclamation regarding the financial crisis of the nation if such situation arises. Such a Proclamation can be revoked and has to be presented in both the Houses of the Parliament. The Proclamation thus issued will become null and void after two months if the same is not approved through a resolution passed by the Houses of Parliament. In case the Houses are not in session the Article suggests certain specific guidelines regarding the Proclamation. This Article also includes provisions relating to the salary and allowance reduction of those who are employed with Union and state departments. A provision relating to money bills and other financial bills passed by the state Legislature is mentioned in the Article. This provision states that all such bills have to be considered by the President during financial instability.
Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes The Constitution of India has listed the special provisions relating to certain classes in Part XVI. From Article 330 to Article 342. ? Article 330: Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the House of the People – this Article states that a certain number of seats should be reserved in the House of the People for both the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. However, clause b of the Article includes Schedule Tribes excluding those who live in the autonomous districts of Assam. Clause c of the Article includes the Schedule Tribes belonging to the autonomous Assam districts. It is also mentioned in this Article that the total number of such seats assigned to the Schedule Tribes of autonomous Assam districts should match the total number of seats allotted in the House of the People. The seats alloted to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes of a particular state or Union Territory should be proportional to the total number of seats reserved for such state or Union Territory in the house of the People. ? Article 331: Representation of the Anglo-Indian Community in the House of the People – it is specified in this Article of the Indian Constitution that the President of India has the sole right to elect a maximum of 2 members belonging to the Anglo-Indian section to represent the entire community. ? Article 332: Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assemblies of the States – This Article of the Constitution states that a definite number of seats in every state’s Legislative Assembly should be alloted to the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. The Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes of the autonomous districts of Assam are also given seats in the Legislative Assembly. It is also specified that a person not belonging to the Schedule Tribes category of Assam state cannot contest the Legislation Assembly election from any of the constituencies of the districts of the state. Also, all areas outside the periphery of the districts of Assam should not hold any constituency of the Legislative Assembly of the Assam state. The total seats alloted to the state Legislative Assembly of Assam should be in proportion of the total population and the share of the SC/ST in such population.
As per Article332, the number of seats alloted to the SC/STs of a state should follow a proportion to the total number of seats assigned in the Assembly as the total population of the SC/STs in that state with respect to the total state population. In case of such states as Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, as per the Constitution Act 1987, if all the seats of the Legislative Assembly after the first census of 2000, belong to the Schedule Tribes, then only one seat shall be alloted to other communities. Also, the total number of seats alloted to the Schedule Tribes shall not be less than the existing number of seats in the Assembly of the state. The Article suggests that the the total number of seats of Schedule Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of Tripura state should be proportional to the total number of existing seats in the Assembly. As per the Constitution Act 1992, the number of the Schedule Tribe members in the Legislative Assembly of Tripura shall not be less than the total number of seats already available in the Assembly.
? Article 333: Representation of the Anglo-Indian community in the Legislative Assemblies of the States – according to this Article of the Constitution of India if the Governor of any state thinks it necessary to elect one representative of the Anglo-Indian community for the Legislative Assembly of that state then he can do the same. Also, if the governor feels that Anglo-Indian community does not have sufficient representation in the state Legislative Assembly then also he can elect one member of that community for the Assembly. ? Article 334: Reservation of seats and special representation to cease after 289A – This Article holds the fact that after 60 years of the enactment of the Indian Constitution, certain provisions shall become ineffective. However, it is also specified that the Article will not be applied until and unless the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly gets dissolved because of some significant reason. The Provisions with which this Article deals with include reserving seats for Anglo-Indian community, Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes in the House of the People or in the Legislative Assembly. ? Article 335: Claims of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to services and posts – The Article states that the various claims of the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes shall be regarded accordingly. Relaxation of age, lower cut off marks and easier parameters of evaluation for the purpose of selecting SC/ST candidates to different posts and services will remain intact irrespective of the provisions mentioned in this Article. ? Article 336: Special provision for Anglo-Indian community in certain services – as per this Article, for such posts of Union as postal and telegraph, customs and railway, the members of the Anglo-Indian community will be selected, for the first two years of the initiation of the Constitution, following the rules prevailing before 15th August, 1947. It is also specified that in every two years the total number of seats allotted to the Anglo-Indian community in different services and posts will go down by 10%. The Article states that these provisions will become ineffective after 10 years of the enactment of the Indian Constitution. However, clause 2 of this Article clearly mentions that if a candidate of the concerned community is eligible for any post other than the ones mentioned above then he will be selected with immediate effect. ? Article 337: Special provision with respect to educational grants for the benefit of Anglo-Indian community – the provisions of this Article deal with the fact that grants to the Anglo-Indian community shall be offered in the first three years of the enactment of the Constitution following the same rules made on 31st March 1948. It is also stated that the amount of such grants will reduce by 10% in every three succeeding years. It is mentioned that after 10 years of the initiation of the Constitution of India all such grants will cease to exist. Moreover, the Article states that only when at least 40% of the admissions in educational units belong to communities other than Anglo-Indians, such grants will be offered to the said community. ? Article 338: National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes – This Article covers the issues to be dealt with by the said Commission exclusively made for the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. As per the Constitution of India, the Article holds that the Commission should include a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other members all of whom are elected by the President of India. The Commission, according to the Article, has the power to investigate all matters that are related to the safeguard of the Sc/STs. The commission can also exercise its power by summoning any person from any part of the nation to interrogate him regarding a particular issue of the SC/STs. The Commission shall also take necessary measures to improve the socio-economic status of the Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes. A report specifying whether the safeguards of the ST/SCs are maintained properly shall be submitted to the President of India every year by the Commission. ? Article 339: Control of the Union over the administration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare of Scheduled Tribes – the Article suggests that a Commission specifying the administration of Scheduled Areas and Welfare of Scheduled Tribes shall be formed by Order of the President after 10 years of the Indian Constitution’s enactment. The various procedures and powers of the commission are to be included in the said Order. Planning and execution of various schemes pertaining to the development of the Schedule Tribes included in the executive power of the Union is also mentioned in the Article. ? Article 340: Appointment of a Commission to investigate the conditions of backward classes – this Article specifies that the President of India can form a Commission by Order that will look into the overall condition of the people belonging to the backward classes. This Commission is also supposed to recommend any state or union the necessary steps through which the underprivileged classes can improve their social and economic status. On the basis of the investigation done, the Commission shall submit a report to the President of India. The President, in turn, shall present such report with a memorandum to both of the Houses of the Indian Parliament and will prescribe the necessary steps to be taken to develop the condition of the backward classes. ? Article 341: Scheduled Castes – this Article states that the President of India after taking the advice of the Governor of any state or Union Territory, has the right to demarcate tribes, races or castes or a part of any group as Scheduled Castes, in accordance with the law of the Constitution. The president can do the same by issuing a public notification. However, the Parliament of India can, by law, accept or reject the list containing the Scheduled Caste groups. ? Article 342: Scheduled Tribe – a group belonging to a tribe or an entire tribal community of a state or an Union Territory can be declared as Scheduled Tribe by the President of India through issuing a public notice. The President consults with the Governor of the concerned state or Union Territory before specifying a tribe as Scheduled Tribe. The Parliament of India can decide upon canceling or keeping the particular ST in the list of Scheduled Tribes. However, the public notification issued for declaration of the Scheduled Tribe can be saved by the Parliament.
Other provisions
Article 369 {Temporary power to Parliament to make laws with respect to certain matters in the State List as if they were matters in the Concurrent List} Article 370 {Temporary provisions with respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir} Article 371 {Special provision with respect to the States of Maharashtra and Gujarat} Article 371A {Special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland} Article 371B {Special provision with respect to the State of Assam} Article 371C {Special provision with respect to the State of Manipur} Article 371D {Special provisions with respect to the State of Andhra Pradesh} Article 371E {Establishment of Central University in Andhra Pradesh} Article 371F {Special provisions with respect to the State of Sikkim} Article 371G {Special provision with respect to the State of Mizoram} Article 371H {Special provision with respect to the State of Arunachal Pradesh} Article 371I {Special provision with respect to the State of Goa} Article 372 {Continuance in force of existing laws and their adaptation} Article 372A {Power of the President to adapt laws} Article 373 {Power of President to make order in respect of persons under preventive detention in certain cases} Article 374 {Provisions as to Judges of the Federal Court and proceedings pending in the Federal Court or before His Majesty in Council} Article 375 {Courts, authorities and officers to continue to function subject to the provisions of the Constitution} Article 376 {Provisions as to Judges of High Courts} Article 377 {Provisions as to Comptroller and Auditor-General of India} Article 378 {Provisions as to Public Commissions} Article 378A {Special provisions as to duration of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly} |