General Studies II

Union and States

Union and States: functions, responsibilities, federal structure, devolution of powers and finances, challenges

Standard text. Learned once from the standard text and rarely rewritten by the news.

• Article 370
• 7th Schedule of the Constitution
• Article 370 & 35A
• Federalism
• Local Governance
• NITI Aayog
• Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA)
• State Governments

• Establishment and statutory powers of the National Road Safety Board 8/10
• Omar Abdullah's campaign for J&K Statehood restoration 7/10

• Indian Constitution 01
• Separation of powers: dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions 03
• Comparison of Indian constitutional scheme with other countries 04
• Parliament and State legislatures 05
• Executive and Judiciary 06
• Representation of People’s Act: salient features 07
• Constitutional posts 08
• Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies 09
• Government policies and interventions 10
• Development processes and industry 11
• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections 12
• Social Sector/Services: health, education, human resources 13
• Poverty and hunger: issues and management 14
• Governance 15
• Role of civil services in democracy 16
• India and its neighborhood: relations 17
• Bilateral, regional, global groupings and agreements: impact on India 18
• Policies and politics of developed and developing countries 19
• International institutions, agencies, fora: structure, mandate 20