Railway
The Punchhi Commission, set up by the Government of India in April 2007, was asked to examine:
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Answer: Option B — Centre-State relations
Detailed Solution
The Punchhi Commission was set up by the Government of India in April 2007 to look into the existing arrangements between the Union and the states, in view of the changes in the polity and the economy since the earlier study of the subject.
Why it was needed:
- Many new issues had emerged, such as coalition governments, economic liberalisation, terrorism, internal security and disputes over the sharing of natural resources.
- Earlier commissions had studied Centre-State relations, but the situation had changed significantly.
- The commission submitted its report in 2010 in seven volumes.
Important recommendations:
- The Governor should be an eminent person from outside the state and should not have been active in politics recently.
- The Governor should have a fixed tenure of five years and should be removed only through an impeachment-like process by the state legislature.
- The Governor's discretion in appointing a Chief Minister after a hung verdict should follow clear guidelines.
- The phrase "during the pleasure of the President" should be removed from the provision on the Governor's tenure.
Emergency provisions:
- It suggested "localising emergency", meaning that emergency provisions could be applied to a district or part of a state instead of the whole state.
- It suggested that President's Rule should be a last resort.
Other recommendations:
- A National Integration Council should be strengthened.
- The Inter-State Council should meet regularly and become a strong forum for cooperation.
- The Centre should consult the states before making laws on subjects in the Concurrent List.
- Some recommendations on deploying central forces in states without their consent were controversial.
Background:
The issue of Centre-State relations has been studied by several bodies, including the Administrative Reforms Commission and a committee set up by the government of Tamil Nadu.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Electoral reforms, police reforms and judicial accountability were studied by other committees.
Quick tip
Remember: Punchhi Commission (2007, report 2010) = Centre-State relations; it suggested localised emergency.
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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.