CONCURRENT LIST

CONCURRENT LIST

Subject : Polity

Context : Health should be shifted to the Concurrent list under the Constitution, and a developmental finance institution (DFI) dedicated to healthcare investments set up, Fifteenth Finance Commission Chairman N.K. Singh said on Friday.

Concept :

• Article 246 adopts a threefold distribution of legislative power between the Union and the states.
• The subject-wise distribution of this power is given in the three lists of the Seventh Schedule of the constitution:

List-I- the Union List

List-II- the State List

List-III- the Concurrent List

Concurrent List:

• Both, the Parliament and state legislature can make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the Concurrent List.
• It includes the matters on which uniformity of legislation throughout the country is desirable but not essential.
• However State legislation operates to the extent that it is not in conflict with the Central legislation. At times, the very presence of a central legislation can negate the state’s ability to legislate.
• This list has at present 52 subjects (originally 47) like criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, marriage and divorce, population control and family planning, electricity, labour welfare, economic and social planning, drugs, newspapers, books and printing press, and others.
• The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 transferred five subjects to Concurrent List from State List i.e. education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice; constitution and organisation of all courts except the Supreme Court and the High Courts.