Federalism Notes | Class 10 Civics

What is Federalism?

Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and the various constituent units of the country.

A federation has two or more levels of government, and all these levels of government enjoy their power independent of the other. Federalism builds directly on the idea of power sharing, so it helps to read this alongside the Power Sharing notes.

Key features of Federalism

• There are two or more levels, or tiers, of government.
• Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
• The jurisdictions 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.
• The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government.
• Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
• Each level of government has its own independent sources of revenue, and these are clearly specified to ensure financial autonomy.

What are the objectives of a federal system?

The federal system thus has dual objectives:

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

Division of Powers: the three Lists

The Constitution of India clearly provides a threefold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments, as set out in the Seventh Schedule, in the following lists:

1. Union List
2. State List
3. Concurrent List

Union List

• It includes subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency.
• They are included in this list because we need a uniform policy on these matters throughout the country.
• The Union Government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the Union List.

State List

• It contains subjects of State and local importance such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation.
• The State Governments alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in the State List.

Concurrent List

• It includes subjects of common interest to both the Union Government and the State Governments, such as education, forest, trade unions, marriage, adoption and succession.
• Both the Union and the State Governments can make laws on the subjects mentioned in this list.
• If their laws conflict with each other, the law made by the Union Government will prevail.

Have the linguistic states in India made it more united?

• Experience has shown that the formation of linguistic States has actually made the country more united.
• It has also made administration easier.

What is the language policy in India?

• Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognised as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution.
• A candidate in an examination conducted for Central Government positions may opt to take the examination in any of these scheduled languages. States too have their own official languages.
• The Central Government continues the use of English along with Hindi for official purposes.

What are Coalition Governments?

When no single party gets a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the major national parties enter into an alliance with other smaller parties, including several regional parties, to form a government at the Centre. The government thus formed is a coalition government.

How is decentralisation practised in India?

The process by which power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local governments is referred to as decentralisation.

• A major step towards decentralisation was taken in 1992. The Constitution was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
• Now it is constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies.
• Seats are reserved in the elected bodies and in the executive heads of these institutions for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
• At least one third of all positions are reserved for women.
• An independent institution called the State Election Commission has been created in each State to conduct panchayat and municipal elections.
• The State governments are required to share some powers and revenue with local government bodies. The nature of sharing varies from State to State.

How are rural local governments organised? The panchayati raj system

Rural local government is popularly known by the name panchayati raj. Each village, or a group of villages in some States, has a gram panchayat.

• A gram panchayat is a council consisting of several ward members, often called panch, and is headed by a president or sarpanch.
• They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward.
• The panchayat works under the overall supervision of the gram sabha.
• All the voters in the village are members of the gram sabha. It has to meet at least twice or thrice a year to approve the annual budget of the gram panchayat and to review its performance.
• A few gram panchayats are grouped together to form what is usually called a panchayat samiti, block or mandal.
• The members of this representative body are elected by all the panchayat members in that area.
• All the panchayat samitis or mandals in a district together constitute the zilla, or district, parishad.
• The zilla parishad chairperson is the political head of the zilla parishad.

How are urban local governments organised?

Towns are governed by municipalities, and big cities are constituted into municipal corporations. Both municipalities and municipal corporations are controlled by elected bodies consisting of people's representatives.

The municipal chairperson is the political head of the municipality. In a municipal corporation, such an officer is called the mayor.

Why federalism still matters today

Federalism is not just a chapter to memorise. It is being tested and shaped in India right now. Here are three real developments from the last two years that put these exact ideas into action.

Sharing the money: the 16th Finance Commission

One key feature of federalism is that each level of government needs its own sources of revenue. Every five years an independent body called the Finance Commission decides how much of the central tax pool the states should receive. The 16th Finance Commission, chaired by the economist Arvind Panagariya, prepared its report for the years 2026 to 2031. The report was placed before the Lok Sabha in February 2026, and it keeps the states' share of the divisible pool of central taxes at 41 per cent. That single figure shapes how much money every state government has to run its schools, hospitals and roads, which is why states watch it so closely.

Making tax rules together: the GST Council

Some decisions need the Union and the states to agree with each other. The Goods and Services Tax Council is a clear example of this cooperative federalism. Under Article 279A of the Constitution, the Union holds one third of the votes and all the states together hold two thirds, and no decision can pass without at least three fourths of the weighted votes. This means the Centre cannot force a tax change on its own, and the states cannot either. In September 2025 the Council agreed to simplify GST into two main rates of 5 per cent and 18 per cent, with a higher rate kept for luxury and harmful goods, a change that touched the price of almost everything you buy.

The courts as umpire: Governors and state bills

Your notes say the highest court acts as an umpire when the levels of government clash. That is exactly what happened in April 2025, when the Supreme Court ruled on a dispute between the Tamil Nadu government and its Governor over bills the Governor had held back. The court held that a Governor cannot sit on bills passed by an elected state assembly for an unlimited time, and it set out timelines within which a decision must be taken. It described this as part of cooperative federalism: the two levels of government are meant to work together, not block each other.

To see how ideas like these connect to the wider world, you can explore the Learnacy Hub. For more chapters like this one, browse all Class 10 Political Science notes.

Sources

1. 16th Finance Commission report and the 41 per cent states' share (Drishti IAS): https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/16th-finance-commission-report
2. 16th Finance Commission report for tax revenue laid in the Lok Sabha, February 2026 (News on AIR, Prasar Bharati): https://www.newsonair.gov.in/16th-finance-commission-report-for-tax-revenue-laid-in-ls/
3. Next generation GST reform with simplified 5 and 18 per cent slabs, effective September 2025 (News on AIR, Prasar Bharati): https://www.newsonair.gov.in/nagaland-cm-welcomes-rollout-of-next-gen-gst-reform-hails-simplified-5-18-tax-slabs
4. Supreme Court judgement on the Tamil Nadu Governor and pending bills, April 2025 (Supreme Court Observer): https://www.scobserver.in/reports/pendency-of-bills-before-tamil-nadu-governor-judgement-summary/

Key takeaways

• Federalism is a system of government where power is divided between a central authority and constituent units, with multiple levels governing the same citizens but each having its own jurisdiction.
• The constitution guarantees the existence and authority of each tier of government, and fundamental provisions cannot be unilaterally changed—changes require consent from both levels.
• India has a threefold distribution of legislative powers: Union List for national matters like defence and foreign affairs, State List for local matters like police and agriculture, and Concurrent List for shared matters like education.
• The dual objectives of federalism are to safeguard and promote national unity while accommodating regional diversity.
• Decentralisation in India transferred power to local governments through the 1992 constitutional amendment, mandating regular elections, reserving seats for marginalised groups and women, and creating State Election Commissions.

Test yourself

What are the two objectives of a federal system?

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

Which subjects are included in the Union List?

Subjects of national importance such as defence of the country, foreign affairs, banking, communications and currency.

What happened in 1992 to strengthen local governments in India?

The Constitution was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective, making it constitutionally mandatory to hold regular elections to local government bodies, reserving seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, and at least one third for women.