Social Studies Question(1 Marks)

Subjects which are included in the Union List-

1. Defence of the country.
2. Foreign affairs.
3. Banking.
4. Communication.
5. Currency.

Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country/Federalism means two or more levels of government.

The jurisdiction of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So, the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.

Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub units are subordinate to the Central government. The Central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government.

The dual objectives of the federal system are to safeguard and promote unity of the country and at the same time accommodate regional diversity.

Gram Panchayat is a council consisting of several ward members, often called panch, and a president or sarpanch. It is the decision-making body for the entire village.

1. Government at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.
2. They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.

It is because we need a 'uniform policy' on these matters throughout the country.

Sri Lanka continues to be for all practical purposes, a unitary system where the national government has all the powers. Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system.

About 40.

When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government it is called decentralisation.

The area over which government has legal authority. The area may be defined in terms of geographical boundaries or in terms of certain kinds of subjects.

Education comes under concurrent list so that both the centre and the states can legislate on any aspect of education.

Gram Panchayat: is the lowest level of government in rural area.

For a long time, the same party ruled both at the centre and in most of the states. But when the ruling party at the state level was different, the parties that ruled at the Centre tried to undermine the powers of the state.

These areas are too small to become an independent state but they could not be merged with any of the existing states. These areas are called Union Territories. These territories do not have the power of the state. The Central Government runs these areas.

The Mayor is the political head of the municipal corporation.

Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to the local government bodies. Seats are reserved for SC, ST and Other Backward classes. Atleast one-third of all positions are reserved for women.

USA, Switzerland and Australia. In it, all the constituent states, usually have equal powers and are strong.

Subjects that do not fall in any of the three lists are included in Residuary subjects, e.g., computer software.

The boundaries of several old states of India were changed in 1947 in order to create new states. This was done to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same state.

The judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. In case of any dispute about the division of powers, the High Courts and the Supreme Court make a decision.

When no single party gets a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the major national parties had to enter into an alliance with many parties including several regional parties to form a government at the Centre.

At the local level, it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making. This helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation.

Gram Sabha.

Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government whereas in federal power is distributed between centre and state.

The Concurrent list includes subjects of common interest to both the union government as well as the state government, such as education, forests, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession. Both the union as well as the state governments can make laws on these subjects.

1. To safeguard and promote unity of the country.
2. To accommodate regional diversity.

When a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent states and the national government, it is called ‘holding together federation’.

Panchayats and Municipalities come under the third-tier of federalism.

A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992. The Constitution was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.

Hindi has been given the official language of the country.

States have their own official languages. Much of the government work takes place in official language of the concerned state.

The basic idea behind decentralisation is that there are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local level.

Municipalities are local government bodies in smaller towns and Municipal Corporations are meant for bigger towns.

Local people have better knowledge of problems in their localities. They also have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently.

A third tier of Federalism was added in the form of Panchayats and Municipalities.

Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language to protect the sentiments of the people of India who speak other different language.

Rural local government is popularly known as the Panchayati Raj.

States Reorganization Commission was formed in 1954 to recommend creation of States on the linguistic basis.

All the Panchayat Samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the Zila Parishad.

India, Spain and Belgium are examples of holding together federations. In it, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the states.

Australia is an example of 'coming-together' federation.
The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignity and retaining identity they can increase their security.

The Municipal Chairperson is the political head of the municipality.

No. It is not easy to make changes in the power sharing arrangements of India. The Parliament cannot on its own change this arrangement.

Both the governments can make laws. If their laws conflict with each other, the law made by the Union Government will prevail.

The USA, Switzerland and Australia.

Chandigarh, Lakshadweep Islands, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadar and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Puducherry and Capital city of Delhi.

In a Federal system, the Central Government cannot order the state government to do something. State Government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the Central Government.

The Constitution originally provided for a two-tier system of government, the Union Government or what we call the Central Government representing the Union of India and the State governments.