About India

The Republic of India, with approx. 900 million people the most populous of all federations, is comprised of 25 States and 7 centrally administered Union Territories. Uttar Pradesh with a population of 139 million and Bihar (86 m.), Maharashtra (79 m.), West Bengal (68 m.), Andhra and Madhya Pradesh (66 m. each) are all larger than 90 percent of the sovereign states contained in the World Directory of National Parliamentary Libraries.

Indian federalism is weighted heavily towards the central government. The distribution of powers between the Union and the States is enumerated on 3 lists in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. List I, the Union List, consists of 97 subjects (including defence, foreign affairs, communications, currency and coinage, banking and customs) with respect to which the Union Parliament has exclusive power to make laws. The State legislatures have exclusive power to make laws with respect to the 66 subjects in list II, the State List; these include police and public order, agriculture and irrigation, education, public health and local government. The powers to make laws on the 47 subjects (including economic and social planning, population control, family planning, legal questions and labour and price control) in list III, the Concurrent List, are held by both Union and State parliaments. In the event of conflict between Union law and State law on any subject enumerated in the Concurrent List, Union law will prevail. The Union Parliament may legislate with respect to any subject in the State List in circumstances when the subject assumes national importance or during emergencies.

Residual powers are vested in the Union. Other provisions deal with the administrative relations between the Union and the States, inter-State trade and commerce, distribution of revenues between the States and the Union, official language, etc.

The States are organized mainly along language lines. The central government may and occasionally has reorganized State boundaries.

The structure of State government is similar to that of the centre. The executive power is vested in a governor who is appointed by the President of India on the advice of the Prime Minister. The governor is appointed for a five-year term and is largely a figurehead whose powers and role are analogous to those of the President at the centre.

Real political and administrative power is exercised by a Chief Minister (analogous to the Prime Minister at the centre) and his Council of Ministers who are appointed by the Governor and are collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Most States have a unicameral legislature. The legislative assemblies are composed of between 32 and 426 members chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies based on population. Seven States have bicameral legislatures with a smaller Legislative Council functioning alongside the Legislative Assembly. Members of the Legislative Council are elected indirectly by the Assembly or appointed by the Governor to fixed terms with approximately one- third retiring every second year.

Only 2 of the Union Territories, Delhi and Pondicherry, have legislative assemblies, but the Delhi Council stands dissolved with effect from January 1990. The Adaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep have no territorial assemblies of their own.