Railway
The President's power to establish an Inter-State Council, to inquire into and advise on disputes between States and to discuss subjects of common interest, is given by:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option C — Article 263
Detailed Solution
Article 263 empowers the President to establish an Inter-State Council if it appears to him or her that the public interest would be served by it.
Functions of an Inter-State Council under Article 263:
- To inquire into and advise upon disputes which may have arisen between States.
- To investigate and discuss subjects in which some or all of the States, or the Union and one or more of the States, have a common interest.
- To make recommendations upon any such subject, especially for the better coordination of policy and action on that subject.
The Inter-State Council (1990):
On the recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission, the Inter-State Council was set up by a presidential order in 1990.
It consists of the Prime Minister (Chairman), the Chief Ministers of all the States, the Chief Ministers of Union Territories with legislatures, the Administrators of Union Territories without legislatures, the Governors of States under President's Rule, and six Union Cabinet Ministers nominated by the Prime Minister.
It is a recommendatory body, and meets at least three times a year (though in practice it has met much less often).
Other bodies for Centre-State cooperation:
The Zonal Councils, set up under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, for the five zones (Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern), to promote cooperation among neighbouring states; the North Eastern Council was set up by a separate Act in 1971.
The NITI Aayog's Governing Council, which includes all the Chief Ministers.
Importance:
The Inter-State Council is an important forum for cooperative federalism, where the Centre and the States can discuss and resolve their differences.
Why not the other options?
Article 261 deals with full faith and credit to public acts and records of states; Article 280 with the Finance Commission; Article 249 with the power of Parliament to legislate on a state subject in the national interest.
Quick tip
Remember: Article 263 = Inter-State Council (set up in 1990 on the Sarkaria Commission's recommendation; chaired by the Prime Minister).
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Centre-State Relations & Emergency Provisions Questions
View all ›- Q1.The Finance Commission is constituted by the President of India under which Article?
- Q2.The provision for a National Emergency is mentioned in which Article of the Constitution?
- Q3.Provisions in case of failure of the constitutional machinery in a state (President's Rule) are given in:
- Q4.The concept of the Concurrent List in the Indian Constitution was borrowed from the Constitution of:
- Q5.In the Constitution of India, the Union, State and Concurrent Lists are given in the:
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Centre-State Relations & Emergency Provisions — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Centre-State Relations & Emergency Provisions, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the distribution of legislative, administrative and financial powers between the Centre and the states, the Union, State and Concurrent Lists, inter-state councils and zonal councils, and the three types of emergency: national emergency (Article 352), President's rule (Article 356) and financial emergency (Article 360). Exams ask which list a subject falls in, which commission examined Centre-state relations (the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions), and how often each type of emergency has been declared. Remember that a financial emergency has never been declared in India, and that 'armed rebellion' replaced 'internal disturbance' as a ground for national emergency through the 44th Amendment. Practise the Centre-state relations and emergency provisions questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.