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Indian Polity & Constitution for UPSC Prelims

I. Foundational Concepts of Indian Polity

  1. Evolution of Constitutional Framework
  2. Making of the Constitution
  3. Philosophy of the Constitution
  4. Key Features of the Indian Constitution
  5. Preamble: Vision and Ideals
  6. The Union and Its Territory
  7. Citizenship: Provisions and Policies

II. Fundamental Rights, Duties, and Principles

  1. Fundamental Rights: Scope and Limitations
  2. Directive Principles of State Policy
  3. Fundamental Duties of Citizens
  4. Doctrine of Basic Structure
  5. Constitutional Amendments

III. Central Government

  1. President: Powers and Functions
  2. Vice-President: Role and Responsibilities
  3. Prime Minister: Role and Powers
  4. Union Council of Ministers
  5. Cabinet Committees

IV. State Government

  1. Governor: Role and Powers
  2. Chief Minister: Executive Head of the State
  3. State Council of Ministers
  4. State Legislatures: Composition and Functions

V. Local Governance

  1. Panchayati Raj System
  2. Urban Local Bodies: Municipalities and Corporations

VI. Parliamentary System and Processes

  1. Indian Parliament: Structure and Powers
  2. Parliamentary Committees: Roles and Relevance
  3. Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG)

VII. Federalism and Inter-Governmental Relations

  1. India’s Quasi-Federal System
  2. Centre-State Relations
  3. Inter-State Relations
  4. Emergency Provisions

VIII. Judiciary

  1. Supreme Court: Powers and Jurisdiction
  2. High Courts: Role and Structure
  3. Subordinate Courts

IX. Judicial Mechanisms

  1. Judicial Review
  2. Judicial Activism
  3. Public Interest Litigation (PIL)

X. Alternative Dispute Resolution

  1. Tribunals: Scope and Authority
  2. Consumer Forums
  3. Lok Adalats and Alternative Mechanisms

XI. Union Territories and Special Provisions

  1. Administration of Union Territories
  2. Scheduled and Tribal Areas

XII. Constitutional Bodies

  1. Election Commission of India
  2. Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
  3. State Public Service Commissions
  4. Finance Commission
  5. Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council
  6. Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)
  7. Attorney General of India
  8. Advocate General of States

XIII. Special Commissions

  1. National Commission for Scheduled Castes
  2. National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
  3. National Commission for Backward Classes
  4. Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities

XIV. Non-Constitutional Bodies

  1. NITI Aayog: Policy Think Tank
  2. Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)
  3. Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
  4. Lokpal and Lokayuktas
  5. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
  6. State Human Rights Commissions
  7. National Commission for Women (NCW)
  8. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
  9. National Commission on Minorities
  10. Central and State Information Commissions

XV. Political Dynamics and Elections

  1. Political Parties: National and Regional
  2. Coalition Governments: Evolution and Impact
  3. Electoral Process and Laws
  4. Electoral Reforms and Innovations
  5. Anti-Defection Law
  6. Voting Behavior and Trends
  7. EVMs and Election Technology

XVI. Societal Structures and Advocacy

  1. Pressure Groups and Their Influence
  2. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs)

XVII. Cooperative Societies and Public Administration

  1. Cooperatives and Cooperative Movement

XVIII. Public Administration

  1. Public Services: Recruitment and Administration

XIX. Languages and Special Provisions

  1. Official Language and Regional Language Policies
  2. Special Provisions for Certain States and Classes

XX. Miscellaneous Topics

  1. National Integration and Unity
  2. Foreign Policy Principles and Challenges
  3. Landmark Judicial Verdicts
  4. Significant Doctrines in Indian Law
  5. Constitutions of Other Nations: A Comparative Study
  6. Rights and Liabilities of the Government

Constitutional Amendments

April 17, 2024 Indian Polity & Constitution for UPSC Prelims
Constitutional Amendments

A brief description of the amendments made in the Constitution (till August, 2014, only 98 amendments have been made), is given here under:

Sl. No. of Amendments Enforced since Major Details/Aspects
Amendment
1 Made in articles 15, 19, 85, 18 June 1951 Restrictions on right to freedoms; constitutional validity
87, 174, 176, 341, 342, 372 of Zamindari abolition laws; insertion of Article 31A
and 376.Inserted articles and 31B in right to property; Schedule Ninth
31A and 31B. Inserted incorporated to provide protection to the land
Schedule 9. reforms laws passed by the state legislatures.
constituency was adjusted
3 Made in Schedule 7 22 February 1955 Entry III (Concurrent List) of the Schedule Seventh was
amended
4 Made in articles 31, 35 27 April 1955 Restrictions on property rights and inclusion of related
and 305 and Schedule 9. bills in Schedule 9 of the Constitution
5 Made in article 3. 24 December 1955 Provision made for a consultation mechanism with
concerned states in matters relating to the amendments
to the territorial matters and in the renaming of the state
6 Made in articles 269 and 11 September 1956 Changes made in Union and State Lists with respect to
286 and Schedule 7. raising of taxes. Entry 92A was added in the Union List.
7 Made articles 1, 49. 80. 81. 1 November 1956 States are reorganized on linguistic bases, abolition of
82. 131. 153. 158. 168. 170. Class A, B, C, D states and introduction of Union
171. 216. 217. 220. 222. 224. Territories: Now 14 States and 6 Union Territories;
230. 231 and 232. Also Related changes are made in the Lok Sabha; also made
inserted articles 258A, changes in Supreme/High Courts.
290A, 298, 350A, 350B,

 

Indian Polity and Governance 33
8 Made in article 334. 5 January 1960 Extension of the period of reservation of seats for
Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes and Anglo-
Indian community in Parliament and State Legislatures
for a further period of ten years.
9 Made in Schedule 1. 28 December 1960 Transfer of certain territories to Pakistan in view of an
agreement between two countries. In Berubari case, the
apex court held that such transfer needs amendment.
10 Made in article 240 11 August 1961 Incorporation of Dadra, Nagar and Haveli as a Union
and Schedule 1. Territory, consequent on their acquisition from Portugal
11 Made in articles 66 and 71. 19 December 1961 Election of Vice President by electoral college consisting
of members of both Houses of Parliament, instead of
the President and Vice President Election procedure
from challenge on grounds of existence of any vacancies
in the electoral college
12 Made in article 240 20 December 1961 Incorporation of Goa, Daman and Diu as a Union
and Schedule 1. Territory, consequent on their acquisition from Portugal
13 Insertion of Article 371A. 1 December 1963 Formation of the state of Nagaland.
14 Made in article 81 and 28 December 1962 Incorporation of Pondicherry into the Union of India
240 and inserted article and creation of Legislative Assemblies for Himachal
239A, and Schedules Pradesh, Tripura, Manipur and Goa
1 and 4.
15 Made in articles 124, 128, 5 October 1963 Retirement age of High Court judges from 60 to 62
217, 222, 224, 226, 297, 311 raised and other minor amendments for rationalizing
and 316 and inserted interpretation of rules regarding judges etc.
article 224A, and
Schedule 7.
16 Made in articles 19, 84 5 October 1963 Changes in the freedom right and made it obligatory
the Indian Republic
17 Made in article 31A, 20 June 1964 To secure the constitutional validity of acquisition of
and Schedule 9. estates and place land acquisition laws in Schedule 9
of the Constitution
18 Made in Article 3. 27 August 1966 Amendment to include Union Territories in Article 3
and hence permit reorganization of Union Territories
19 Made in article 324. 11 December 1966 Provision to abolish election tribunals and enable trial
of election petitions by regular High Courts
and sentences passed by judges and to validate the
appointment, posting, promotion and transfer of judges
barring a few who were not eligible for appointment
under article 233. Amendment needed to overcome
the effect of judgement invalidating appointments of
certain judges in the state of Uttar Pradesh as in Chandra
Mohan v State of Uttar Pradesh
22 Made article 275 and 25 September 1969 Provision to form Autonomous states within the State
inserted articles 244A in Assam
and 371B,

 

23 Made in articles 330, 23 January 1970 Reservation for SC/ST and nomination of Anglo
332, 333 and 334. Indian members in Parliament and State Assemblies for
another ten years extended i.e. up to 1980
24 Made in articles 13 5 November 1970 Enable parliament to dilute fundamental rights through
and 368. amendments to the Constitution as was restricted in
Golak Nath case. Asserts Parliament’s power to amend
the Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights
25 Made in article 31 20 April 1972 Restricts property rights and compensation in case the
and inserted article 31C. state taking over private property, using the word
‘amount’ for ‘compensation’.
26 Made article 366 and 28 December 1971 Abolition of privy purse paid to former rulers of princely
inserted article 363A, states in the wake of overriding what was decided in
the Madhav Rao’s case
while removing articles
291 and 362.
27 Made in articles 239A 15 February 1972 Reorganization of Mizoram into a Union Territory with
and 240, and inserted a legislature and a Council of Ministers
articles 239B and 371C.
28 Inserted article 312A and 29 August 1972 Rationalize Civil Service rules to make it uniform across
removed article 314. those appointed prior to independence and post
independence, removed the earlier special privileges.
29 Made in Schedule 9. 9 June 1972 Land reform acts and amendments to be put under
Schedule 9 of the Constitution
30 Made in article 133. 27 February 1973 The basis for appeals in Supreme Court of India in case question of law
31 Made in articles 81, 17 October 1973 The size of the Lok Sabha in increased from 500 to 525
330 and 332. from the states while that of the Union Territories reduced
from 25 to 20.
32 Made in article 371, 1 July 1974 Protection of regional rights in Telengana and Andhra
and inserted articles 371D regions of State of Andhra Pradesh and a central
and 371E, and changes University Andhra Pradesh
in Schedule 7.
33 Made in Articles 19 May 1974 Prescribed procedure for resignation by member of
101 and 190. Parliament and State legislatures and the procedure for speaker
34 Made in Schedule 9. 7 September 1974 Land reform acts and amendments to be put under
Schedule 9 of the Constitution
35 Made in articles 80 and 1 March 1975 Terms for the incorporation of Sikkim into the Union
81, and inserted articles of India as an associate State of India
2A, and also inserted
Schedule 10.
36 Made in articles and 81 26 April 1975 Sikkim as a State within the Indian Union was admitted
and inserted article 371F, into India and relative changes made in Articles and
while removing article 2A; Schedules.
also changes in Schedules
1 and 4 and removed
Schedule 10.

 

37 Made in articles 239A 3 May, 1975
and 240.
38 Made in articles 123, 213, 1 August 1975
239B, 352, 356, 359 and 360.
39 Made in articles 71 and 10 August 1975
329, and inserted article
329A, also changes in
Schedule 9.
40 Made in article 297, 27 May 1976
and changes in
Schedule 9.
41 Made in article 316. 7 September 1976
42 Made in articles 31, 31C, 1 April 1977
39, 55, 74, 77, 81, 82, 83,
100, 102, 103, 105, 118,
145, 150, 166, 170, 172, 189,
191, 192, 194, 208, 217,
225, 226, 227, 228, 311, 312,
330, 352, 353, 356, 357,
358, 359, 366, 368 and 371F,
and inserted articles 31D,
32A, 39A, 43A, 48A, 131A,
139A, 144A, 226A, 228A
and 257A. Also inserted
changes in parts 4A and
14A and Schedule 7.
43 Made in articles 145, 226, 13 April 1978
228 and 366, and removed
articles 31D, 32A, 131A,
144A, 226A and 228A.
44 Made in articles 19, 22, 6 September 1979
30, 31A, 31C, 38, 71, 74,
77, 83, 103, 105, 123, 132,
133, 134, 139A, 150, 166,
172, 192, 194, 213, 217,
225, 226, 227, 239B, 329,
352, 356, 358, 359, 360
and 371F, and inserted
articles 134A and 361A,
while removing articles 31,
257A and 329A. Changes
were made in Part XII and
also in Schedule 9.
45 Made in article 334. 25 January 1980

 

46 Made article 269, 286 and 2 February 1983 Amendment to negate judicial pronouncements on
366 and in Schedule 7. scope and applicability on Sales Tax
47 Made in Schedule 9. 26 August 1984 Land reform acts and amendments added under Schedule
9 of the Constitution
48 Made in article 356. 1 April 1985 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to
two years in the state of Punjab
49 Made in article 244, and 11 September 1984 Tripura as a Tribal State was recognized and the
also in Schedules 5 and 6. amendment enabled the creation of a Tripura Tribal
Areas Autonomous District Council
50 Made in article 33. 11 September 1984 An Amendment in the Fundamental Rights as per Part III
as prescribed in Article 33 to cover Security Personnel
protection property and communication infrastructure
51 Made in articles 330 16 June 1986 Reservation to Schedule Tribes in Nagaland,
and 332. Meghalaya, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative
Assemblies was provided
102, 190 and 191 and members from Parliament and Legislative Assembly in
inserted Schedule 10. case of defection from one party to other
53 Inserted article 371G. 20 February 1987 Special provision with respect to the state of Mizoram
54 Made in article 125 and 1 April 1986 The salaries of Chief Justice of India & other Judges
221, and in Schedule 2. were increased and provided for determining future
increases without the need for constitutional amendment
55 Inserted article 371H. 20 February 1987 Special powers to Governor, consequent to formation
of state of Arunachal Pradesh
56 Inserted article 371I. 30 May 1987 Provision to enable formation of state of Goa was
incorporated
57 Made in article 332. 21 September 1987 Reservation to Scheduled tribes in Nagaland, Meghalaya.
Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assemblies
provided
58 Inserted article 394A, 9 December 1987 Provision to publish authentic Hindi translation of
and changes in Part 22. Constitution as on date and provision to publish authentic
Hindi translation of future amendments
59 Made in article 356, and 30 March 1988 Article 356 amended to permit President’s rule up to
inserted article 359A. three years in the state of Punjab, Articles 352 and
Article 359A amended to permit imposing emergency
in the state or part thereof in Punjab
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