Centre-State Relations Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The source of competence is Article 253.

Article 253 lets Parliament make any law for the whole or any part of India to implement any treaty, agreement or convention with other countries, or any decision made at an international conference or body, notwithstanding anything in the earlier distribution of legislative powers. That is why Parliament can legislate on a State List subject when it is implementing an international obligation.

Article 252 needs resolutions by two or more State Legislatures, which the stem says were not passed. Article 249 needs a Rajya Sabha resolution in the national interest, and Article 250 operates only while a Proclamation of Emergency is in force.

Answer: B

Residuary power is vested in the Parliament.

Article 248 gives Parliament exclusive power to make any law on a matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List or the State List, including a law imposing a tax not mentioned in either list. Entry 97 of the Union List repeats this. It reflects the Constitution's tilt towards a strong Centre; in the United States and Australia the residue lies with the states instead.

State Legislatures have no residuary power. The President legislates only through ordinances when Parliament is not in session, and the Supreme Court decides whether a matter falls in the residue but does not hold the legislative power.

Answer: C

The Fifth Schedule deals with Scheduled Tribes.

The Fifth Schedule provides for the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, which are covered by the Sixth Schedule. It provides for Tribes Advisory Councils and gives the Governor special powers over laws in these areas.

Scheduled Castes, religious minorities and linguistic minorities are protected by other provisions, such as Articles 17, 29-30 and 350A-350B.

Answer: B

The answer is B is correct but A is wrong.

In a 'coming together' federation, independent states join to form a larger unit while keeping their identity, so the states are usually strong and roughly equal in power with the centre. The USA, Switzerland and Australia are examples, so statement B is correct.

Statement A is wrong: a federation in which the centre has more power than the states describes a 'holding together' federation, such as India, Spain or Belgium.

Answer: C

The words that no tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of law are those of Article 265 of the Constitution, which is in Part XII on finance, property, contracts and suits. It ensures that every tax needs the sanction of a statute.

Article 67 deals with the term of office of the Vice-President, Article 238 was repealed by the Seventh Amendment, and Article 369 gave Parliament temporary power to legislate on certain State List subjects as if they were in the Concurrent List. None of them concerns the authority of law for taxation.

Answer: A

The answer is only I, during the external emergency.

During a national emergency under Article 352, declared on grounds of war or external aggression, the federal system can work in a unitary way: Parliament can legislate on State List subjects (Article 250), the Union can give directions to any state (Article 353), and the financial distribution can be altered.

A majority in the Lok Sabha does not change the federal distribution of powers. The two-thirds resolution in statement III is not how unitary features operate: Article 249 needs a resolution of the Rajya Sabha alone, and only for particular subjects. A presidential election has no effect on the federal structure, so options including II, III or IV are wrong.

Answer: A

Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct, so the answer is 1, 3 and 4.

India is described as an indestructible Union of destructible states: the Union cannot be broken up, but Parliament can alter the boundaries of states or create and abolish them under Article 3 without their consent. That makes statement 2, 'indestructible states', wrong; it is the description of the United States.

Statement 3 is correct: Article 1 calls India a 'Union of States', and the word 'federation' does not appear in the Constitution. Statement 4 is correct: Article 253 lets Parliament legislate on any subject, including State List subjects, to implement international treaties and agreements.

Answer: C

Indian federalism was called co-operative federalism by Granville Austin.

Granville Austin, in The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation (1966), described the Indian system as co-operative federalism: a strong Centre that does not weaken the states, with both working together through shared institutions.

K.C. Wheare called India 'quasi-federal', a unitary state with subsidiary federal features. Morris-Jones described it as 'bargaining federalism'. Ivor Jennings described India as a federation with a strong centralising tendency.

Answer: B

The residuary powers are vested in the Centre.

Under Article 248 and Entry 97 of the Union List, Parliament has exclusive power to make laws on any matter not listed in the State or Concurrent Lists, including any tax not mentioned in them. This follows the Canadian model and reflects the strong Centre of the Indian federation.

In the United States and Australia, residuary powers lie with the states, which is the trap in the first option. Union territories are governed by the Centre and have no residuary powers of their own, and the Constitution divides nothing equally on this point.

Answer: C

All four statements are correct, so the answer is 1, 2, 3 and 4.

The Constitution never uses the word 'federation'; Article 1 calls India a 'Union of States'. The Union is indestructible, since no state can secede, but the states are destructible, because Parliament can alter their boundaries or names, or form new states, under Articles 3 and 4.

The Constitution also has many unitary features, such as a single constitution, single citizenship, an integrated judiciary, all-India services, emergency provisions and governors appointed by the Centre, and it gives the Centre greater power, including the residuary power and a longer Union List. So statements 3 and 4 also hold.