SEVENTH SCHEDULE

Subject : Polity

Context : Fifteenth Finance Commission chairman N.K. Singh has called for a fresh look at the Constitution’s Seventh Schedule and hinted at the need to fill an ‘institutional vacuum’ created by the abolition of the Planning Commission.

Concept :

• The Constitution provides for a three-fold distribution of legislative subjects between the Union and the states, viz., List-I (the Union List), List-II (the State List) and List-III (the Concurrent List), described in this schedule:
• Union List: This List contains matters of national importance and the matters which require uniformity of legislation nationwide. This list has at present 100 subjects (originally 97) like defence, naturalisation & citizenship (entry 17), banking, foreign affairs, atomic energy, communication, census, etc.
• State List: This List contains matters of regional and local importance which require state-specific solution and the matters which permit diversity of interest. It presently contains 61 subjects (originally 66 subjects) like public order, police, public health and sanitation, agriculture, local government, gambling, etc.
• Concurrent List: This List contains matters on which uniformity of legislation throughout the country is desirable but is not essential. This List at present has 52 subjects (originally 47 subjects) like criminal law and procedure, civil procedure, marriage and divorce, population control and family planning, electricity, economic and social planning, etc.