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Federalism.pptx

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Federalism is a system of government where power is divided between a central authority and constituent units. In India, power is shared between the central and state governments according to the constitution. Key features include separate taxing powers and jurisdictions over various subjects for each level of government. India's federal system has succeeded due to the creation of linguistic states, flexible language policies, power sharing between central and state governments, and increased decentralization to local authorities through constitutional reforms.

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FEDERALISM
WHAT IS FEDERALISM? • Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. • Federation has two levels of government. One is the government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest. • The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day to day administering of their states. • Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.
UNITARY GOVERNMENT &FEDERAL GOVERNMENT • Federations are contrasted with unitary governments. Under unitary system: • 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. • In a federal system, the central government cannot order the state governments to do something. • State government has power of its own. • Both the governments are separately answerable to the people.
KEY FEATURES OF FEDERALISM • There are two or more levels/ tiers of government. • Each tiers / levels has its own Jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration. • The Jurisdiction of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and the authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed. • The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. • Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the power of different levels of government. It acted as an umpire.
KEY FEATURES OF FEDERALISM • Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy. • Federalism safeguard and promote unity of the country as well as accommodate regional diversity. • Therefore, two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism. Government at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing. They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement. An ideal federal system has both aspects: mutual trust and agreement to live together.
HOW FEDERATION FORMED? • The exact balance of power between the central and the state governments varies from one federation to another. It depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed. • There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed. • Coming together federation: Independent states coming together on their own to form a bigger unit. • All the states have equal power and are strong. • By pooling sovereignty and retaining identity; they increase their security. U.S.A., Switzerland, Australia are example of it
HOW FEDERATION FORMED? Holding together federation: Large country decides to divide its power between states and the centre. Central government tends to be more powerful. Federating units have unequal power. some units are granted special powers. India, Spain, Belgium are example.
WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY? • The independent Indian constitution declared India as a Union of States. Although it did not use the word federation, the Indian Union is based on the principles of federalism. • We can see that all the key features apply to the provisions of Indian constitution. • Union list includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country , foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They are included in this lists because we need a uniform policy on these matters throughout the country. The Union government alone can make laws on these subjects.
WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY? • State List contains subjects of State and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The state government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the State list. • Concurrent List includes subjects of common interest to both the Union Government as well as the State Governments, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adaptation and succession. Both the government can make laws on it but if their laws conflicts with each other, the law made by the Union government will prevail.
WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY? • Residuary subjects are the subjects that do not fall in any of the three lists. According to the constitution the union government has the power to legislate on these residuary subjects. • In holding together federations Center do not give equal and identical power to its constituent units. Some states enjoy a special status. The union territories do not have the powers of a state. The central government has special powers in running these areas.
WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY? •In India parliament cannot on its own change the power sharing arrangement. Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least two third majority. Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total States. •The Judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. •The Union government and State governments have the power to raise resources by levying taxes in order to carry on the government and responsibilities assigned to each other.
HOW IS FEDERALISM PRACTISED? • If the federal experiment has succeeded in India, it is not merely because of the clearly laid out constitutional provisions. The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country. This ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together became shared ideals in our country. Following are some major ways through which federal system succeeded in India:
HOW IS FEDERALISM PRACTISED? • Linguistic States: the creation of linguistic states was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country. In 1947 new states were created to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same State. • Some states were created to recognized differences based on culture , ethnicity or geography. • Some national leaders feared that formation of linguistic states would lead to the disintegration of the country. But experiences has shown that the formation of linguistic states has actually made the country , more united. It has also made administration easier.
• Language Policy: Our constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language. But Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 percent of Indians. • Therefore, there were many safeguards to protect other languages. There are 21 other languages recognized as Scheduled languages by the constitution. • States too have their own official languages. • Promotion of Hindi continues to be the official policy of the Government of India. It does not mean that the Central Government can impose Hindi on States where people speak a different language. • The flexibility shown by Indian political Leaders helped our country avoid the kind of situation that Sri Lanka finds itself in.
• Centre-State relations: Restructuring the center state relations is one more way in which federalism has been strengthened in practice. How the constitutional arrangements for sharing power work in reality depends to a large extent on how the ruling parties and leaders follow the arrangements. • After 1990 Coalition Governments led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of the state governments. • This trend was supported by a major judgments of the Supreme Court that made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss state governments in an arbitrary manner.
Decentralization in India • When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralization. • The basic idea behind decentralisation are: • (a) There are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local level/ • (b) People have better knowledge of problems in their localities. • (c) People have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently/
• (d) at the local level it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making. It helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation. • (e) It is the best way to realize one important principle of democracy, namely local self government. • The need for decentralisation was recognized in our constitution. Since then, there have been several attempts to decentralized power to the level of villages and towns..
• Decentralisation Before 1992: • (a) Panchayats in villages and municipalities in urban areas were set up in all the states. • (b) Local bodies were directly under the control of state governments. • (c) Elections of local bodies were not held regularly. • (d) Local governments did not have any power or resources of their own. • Thus , there was very little decentralisation in effective terms.
• Decentralisation After 1992:

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Federalism.pptx

  • 2. WHAT IS FEDERALISM? • Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. • Federation has two levels of government. One is the government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest. • The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day to day administering of their states. • Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.
  • 3. UNITARY GOVERNMENT &FEDERAL GOVERNMENT • Federations are contrasted with unitary governments. Under unitary system: • 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. • In a federal system, the central government cannot order the state governments to do something. • State government has power of its own. • Both the governments are separately answerable to the people.
  • 4. KEY FEATURES OF FEDERALISM • There are two or more levels/ tiers of government. • Each tiers / levels has its own Jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration. • The Jurisdiction of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and the authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed. • The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. • Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the power of different levels of government. It acted as an umpire.
  • 5. KEY FEATURES OF FEDERALISM • Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy. • Federalism safeguard and promote unity of the country as well as accommodate regional diversity. • Therefore, two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism. Government at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing. They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement. An ideal federal system has both aspects: mutual trust and agreement to live together.
  • 6. HOW FEDERATION FORMED? • The exact balance of power between the central and the state governments varies from one federation to another. It depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed. • There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed. • Coming together federation: Independent states coming together on their own to form a bigger unit. • All the states have equal power and are strong. • By pooling sovereignty and retaining identity; they increase their security. U.S.A., Switzerland, Australia are example of it
  • 7. HOW FEDERATION FORMED? Holding together federation: Large country decides to divide its power between states and the centre. Central government tends to be more powerful. Federating units have unequal power. some units are granted special powers. India, Spain, Belgium are example.
  • 8. WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY? • The independent Indian constitution declared India as a Union of States. Although it did not use the word federation, the Indian Union is based on the principles of federalism. • We can see that all the key features apply to the provisions of Indian constitution. • Union list includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country , foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency. They are included in this lists because we need a uniform policy on these matters throughout the country. The Union government alone can make laws on these subjects.
  • 9. WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY? • State List contains subjects of State and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation. The state government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the State list. • Concurrent List includes subjects of common interest to both the Union Government as well as the State Governments, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adaptation and succession. Both the government can make laws on it but if their laws conflicts with each other, the law made by the Union government will prevail.
  • 10. WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY? • Residuary subjects are the subjects that do not fall in any of the three lists. According to the constitution the union government has the power to legislate on these residuary subjects. • In holding together federations Center do not give equal and identical power to its constituent units. Some states enjoy a special status. The union territories do not have the powers of a state. The central government has special powers in running these areas.
  • 11. WHAT MAKES INDIA A FEDERAL COUNTRY? •In India parliament cannot on its own change the power sharing arrangement. Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses of Parliament with at least two third majority. Then it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the total States. •The Judiciary plays an important role in overseeing the implementation of constitutional provisions and procedures. •The Union government and State governments have the power to raise resources by levying taxes in order to carry on the government and responsibilities assigned to each other.
  • 12. HOW IS FEDERALISM PRACTISED? • If the federal experiment has succeeded in India, it is not merely because of the clearly laid out constitutional provisions. The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country. This ensured that the spirit of federalism, respect for diversity and desire for living together became shared ideals in our country. Following are some major ways through which federal system succeeded in India:
  • 13. HOW IS FEDERALISM PRACTISED? • Linguistic States: the creation of linguistic states was the first and a major test for democratic politics in our country. In 1947 new states were created to ensure that people who spoke the same language lived in the same State. • Some states were created to recognized differences based on culture , ethnicity or geography. • Some national leaders feared that formation of linguistic states would lead to the disintegration of the country. But experiences has shown that the formation of linguistic states has actually made the country , more united. It has also made administration easier.
  • 14. • Language Policy: Our constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Hindi was identified as the official language. But Hindi is the mother tongue of only about 40 percent of Indians. • Therefore, there were many safeguards to protect other languages. There are 21 other languages recognized as Scheduled languages by the constitution. • States too have their own official languages. • Promotion of Hindi continues to be the official policy of the Government of India. It does not mean that the Central Government can impose Hindi on States where people speak a different language. • The flexibility shown by Indian political Leaders helped our country avoid the kind of situation that Sri Lanka finds itself in.
  • 15. • Centre-State relations: Restructuring the center state relations is one more way in which federalism has been strengthened in practice. How the constitutional arrangements for sharing power work in reality depends to a large extent on how the ruling parties and leaders follow the arrangements. • After 1990 Coalition Governments led to a new culture of power sharing and respect for the autonomy of the state governments. • This trend was supported by a major judgments of the Supreme Court that made it difficult for the Central Government to dismiss state governments in an arbitrary manner.
  • 16. Decentralization in India • When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralization. • The basic idea behind decentralisation are: • (a) There are a large number of problems and issues which are best settled at the local level/ • (b) People have better knowledge of problems in their localities. • (c) People have better ideas on where to spend money and how to manage things more efficiently/
  • 17. • (d) at the local level it is possible for the people to directly participate in decision making. It helps to inculcate a habit of democratic participation. • (e) It is the best way to realize one important principle of democracy, namely local self government. • The need for decentralisation was recognized in our constitution. Since then, there have been several attempts to decentralized power to the level of villages and towns..
  • 18. • Decentralisation Before 1992: • (a) Panchayats in villages and municipalities in urban areas were set up in all the states. • (b) Local bodies were directly under the control of state governments. • (c) Elections of local bodies were not held regularly. • (d) Local governments did not have any power or resources of their own. • Thus , there was very little decentralisation in effective terms.