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Prelims · Polity & governance · 30 questions

Federalism, states & centre–state relations

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Federalism, states & centre–state relations questions per year: 2016: 2, 2017: 2, 2018: 3, 2019: 3, 2020: 0, 2021: 1, 2022: 1, 2023: 2, 2024: 2, 2025: 4, 2026: 0 Asked in 9 of 11 years · most in 2025 (4)

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UPSC syllabus: “Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.” Sub-topics in the detailed syllabus →

Prelims 2023 · Q29

Medium

निम्नलिखित पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.जनांकिकीय निष्पादन
  2. 2.वन और पारिस्थितिकी
  3. 3.शासन सुधार
  4. 4.स्थिर सरकार
  5. 5.कर एवं राजकोषीय प्रयास

समस्तर कर-अवक्रमण के लिए पंद्रहवें वित्त आयोग ने उपर्युक्त में से कितने को जनसंख्या क्षेत्रफल और आय के अंतर के अलावा निकष के रूप में प्रयुक्त किया?

Read this question in English

Consider the following:

1. Demographic performance

2. Forest and ecology

3. Governance reforms

4. Stable government

5. Tax and fiscal efforts

For the horizontal tax devolution, the Fifteenth Finance Commission used how many of the above as criteria other than population area and income distance?

(a) Only two · (b) Only three · (c) Only four · (d) All five

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) केवल तीन

The Fifteenth Finance Commission shared the divisible pool among states on six criteria: income distance (45%), population (15%), area (15%), forest and ecology (10%), demographic performance (12.5%) and tax and fiscal efforts (2.5%). Governance reforms and stable government were not criteria, so three of the listed items were used.

  • ✓ 1. Demographic performance carried a 12.5% weight: the Commission used Census 2011 population but wanted to reward states that had done better on the demographic front.
  • ✓ 2. Forest and ecology carried a 10% weight in the 15th Finance Commission's formula.
  • ✗ 3. Governance reforms were not a criterion in the devolution formula.
  • ✗ 4. 'Stable government' was never part of the formula.
  • ✓ 5. Tax and fiscal efforts carried a 2.5% weight: the Commission re-introduced the tax effort criterion to reward fiscal performance.

Remember · 15th FC horizontal devolution: income distance 45, population (2011) 15, area 15, demographic performance 12.5, forest and ecology 10, tax and fiscal efforts 2.5. States' share: 41%.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2023 · Q32

Medium

निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. कथन–I: भारत में, दैनंदिन जेल-प्रशासन के लिए, जेलों का अनुरक्षण राज्य सरकारें अपने नियमों और विनियमों से करती हैं।
  2. कथन–II: भारत में, जेल का नियंत्रण जेल अधिनियम, 1894 द्वारा किया जाता है, जिससे जेल का विषय स्पष्ट रूप से प्रांतीय सरकारों के नियंत्रण में रहा।

उपर्युक्त कथनों के बारे में, निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा एक सही है?

Read this question in English

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I. In India, prisons are managed by State Governments with their own rules and regulations for the day-to-day administration of prisons.

Statement-II. In India, prisons are governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 which expressly kept the subject of prisons in the control of Provincial Governments.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I · (b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I · (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect · (d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (a) कथन–I और कथन–II दोनों सही हैं तथा कथन–II, कथन–I की सही व्याख्या है

Why not the tempting option · UPSC's key is (a). The 1894 Act does not use the words 'expressly kept', but it does expressly vest prisons in the provincial (now State) government: section 3 makes a prison a place used under that government's orders and section 59 gives it the rule-making power, so Statement II is a fair description. Option (b) fails because that rule-making power is precisely why each State has its own rules (Statement I); the State List entry of 1950 added the constitutional footing. In the exam, treat a statement as 'expressly' true when the Act's sections say it, even if not in those words.

Prisons are a State subject, and each State runs its prisons under its own manual and rules. The Prisons Act, 1894 is the framework law that placed prisons under the provincial (now State) government: a prison is a place used under that government's orders, and section 59 gives it the power to make the rules. That is exactly why States have their own rules, so Statement II explains Statement I.

  • ✓ Statement-I 'Prisons' is in the State List of the Seventh Schedule. The Ministry of Home Affairs says management and administration lie exclusively with State Governments, under the 1894 Act and each State's Prison Manual.
  • ✓ Statement-II The Act vests prisons in the provincial government throughout: section 3 defines a prison as a place used under the orders of the (then provincial, now State) Government, and section 59 says the State Government may make rules consistent with the Act. So it kept the subject under provincial control; Entry 4 of the State List later gave this constitutional footing.
  • ✓ (a) Statement-II is the legal reason for Statement-I: the 1894 Act's rule-making power is why each State has its own prison rules.
  • ✗ (b) This option accepts both statements but treats Statement-II as unrelated to Statement-I. The two are directly linked.

Remember · Prisons: State List, Seventh Schedule. States run them under the Prisons Act, 1894 and their own Prison Manuals; the Centre only advises (e.g. Model Prison Manual, 2016).

Sources

  • Scheme of Modernisation of Prisons (Ministry of Home Affairs) ↗ “The management and administration of Prisons falls exclusively in the domain of the State Governments, and is governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 and the Prison Manuals of the respective State Governments.”
  • The Prisons Act, 1894, section 3 (Ministry of Home Affairs copy) ↗ ““prison” means any jail or place used permanently or temporarily under the general or special orders of a State Government for the detention of prisoners … Power to make rules.—[The State Government may] make rules consistent with this Act— (1) defining the act which shall constitute prison-offences; (2) determining the classification of prison-offences into serious and minor offences”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2023 · Q39

X-Ray · Core #17 Medium

भारत में ‘अनुसूचित क्षेत्र’ के संदर्भ में, निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.किसी राज्य के भीतर, किसी क्षेत्र की अनुसूचित क्षेत्र के रूप में अधिसूचना राष्ट्रपति के एक आदेश के माध्यम से होती है।
  2. 2.अनुसूचित क्षेत्र के रूप में बनने वाली सबसे बड़ी प्रशासकीय इकाई जिला होता है और सबसे छोटी इकाई ब्लॉक में गाँवों का समूह होता है।
  3. 3.संबंधित राज्यों के मुख्यमंत्रियों से अपेक्षित है कि वे राज्यों के अनुसूचित क्षेत्रों के प्रशासन के विषय में केन्द्रीय गृह मंत्रालय को वार्षिक प्रतिवेदन दें।

उपर्युक्त में से कितने कथन सही हैं?

Read this question in English

With reference to ‘Scheduled Areas’ in India, consider the following statements:

1. Within a State, the notification of an area as Scheduled Area takes place through an Order of the President.

2. The largest administrative unit forming the Scheduled Area is the District and the lowest is the cluster of villages in the Block.

3. The Chief Ministers of the concerned States are required to submit annual reports to the Union Home Ministry on the administration of Scheduled Areas in the States.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one · (b) Only two · (c) All three · (d) None

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) केवल दो

Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule are declared by a Presidential Order, and they can be as large as a whole district or as small as a cluster of villages in a block, so statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is wrong because the report on administering Scheduled Areas is made by the Governor to the President, not by the Chief Minister to the Home Ministry.

  • ✓ 1. Under paragraph 6 of the Fifth Schedule, the President specifies Scheduled Areas in a State by a notified order, after consulting the Governor of that State.
  • ✓ 2. The Tribal Affairs Ministry looks for a viable administrative entity such as a district, block or taluk. In practice the area varies: Rajasthan's 2018 declaration covered three whole districts as well as gram panchayats covering 227 villages in other districts.
  • ✗ 3. Paragraph 3 of the Fifth Schedule requires the Governor, not the Chief Minister, to report to the President each year (or when asked) on the administration of Scheduled Areas.

Remember · Fifth Schedule: President declares Scheduled Areas by order (para 6); Governor reports to the President annually (para 3); Tribes Advisory Council in each such State.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2023 · Q75

Medium

निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. कथन–I: भारत की सार्वजनिक क्षेत्रक स्वास्थ्य देखभाल प्रणाली सीमित निरोधक, वर्धक और पुनःस्थापक देखभाल के साथ मुख्यतः रोगनाशक व्यवस्था पर ध्यान केन्द्रित करती है।
  2. कथन–II: भारत के स्वास्थ्य देखभाल प्रदान करने के विकेन्द्रीकृत उपागम के अंतर्गत, राज्य प्राथमिक रूप से स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं को जुटाने के लिए उत्तरदायी हैं।

उपर्युक्त कथनों के बारे में, निम्नलिखित में से कौन-सा एक सही है?

Read this question in English

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I. India's public sector health care system largely focuses on curative care with limited preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care.

Statement-II. Under India's decentralized approach to health care delivery, the States are primarily responsible for organizing health services.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

(a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I · (b) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I · (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect · (d) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) कथन–I और कथन–II दोनों सही हैं तथा कथन–II, कथन–I की सही व्याख्या नहीं है

Both statements are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I. Public health and hospitals are State subjects, so States organise health services, while the National Health Policy 2017 itself calls for moving primary care from a very selective package to a comprehensive one.

  • ✓ Statement-I The National Health Policy 2017 calls for an important change from a very selective primary care package to a comprehensive one that adds geriatric, palliative and rehabilitative care, and it treats preventive and promotive care as needing a stronger place in the system.
  • ✓ Statement-II 'Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries' is entry 6 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule, so States are primarily responsible for organising health services.
  • • link The Seventh Schedule fixes who holds the health subject; it does not say what the services must emphasise. Statement-II therefore does not by itself explain Statement-I, which rules out option (a).

Remember · Health is a State subject (State List, entry 6: public health and sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries). NHP 2017 moves primary care from selective to comprehensive, adding preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2023 · Q77

X-Ray · Core #15 Medium

निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.भारत के संविधान के अनुसार, केन्द्र सरकार का यह एक दायित्व है कि वह राज्यों को आंतरिक विक्षोभों से बचाए।
  2. 2.भारत का संविधान राज्यों को, निवारक निरोध में रखे जा रहे किसी व्यक्ति को विधिक काउंसेल उपलब्ध कराने से छूट प्रदान करता है।
  3. 3.आतंकवाद निवारण अधिनियम, 2002 के अनुसार, पुलिस के समक्ष अभियुक्त की संस्वीकृति को साक्ष्य के रूप में प्रयुक्त नहीं किया जा सकता।

उपर्युक्त में से कितने कथन सही हैं?

Read this question in English

Consider the following statements:

1. According to the Constitution of India, the Central Government has a duty to protect States from internal disturbances.

2. The Constitution of India exempts the States from providing legal counsel to a person being held for preventive detention.

3. According to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, confession of the accused before the police cannot be used as evidence.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one · (b) Only two · (c) All three · (d) None

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) केवल दो

Statements 1 and 2 are correct; statement 3 is wrong. The Constitution makes the Union protect every State from internal disturbance and denies a preventive detainee the right to a lawyer, while the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 allowed certain confessions made to a senior police officer to be used in court.

  • ✓ 1. Article 355 says it is the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance.
  • ✓ 2. Article 22(1) gives an arrested person the right to consult and be defended by a lawyer, but Article 22(3)(b) says this does not apply to anyone arrested or detained under a preventive detention law.
  • ✗ 3. Section 32 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 made a confession recorded by a police officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police admissible in trial under that Act, and required the officer to warn the person that it may be used against him. The Act was repealed in 2004.

Remember · Article 355: Union protects States from external aggression and internal disturbance. Article 22(3)(b): no right to a lawyer under preventive detention. POTA 2002 (repealed 2004) admitted confessions made to a police officer of SP rank or above.

Sources

  • Constitution of India, Article 355 ↗ “It shall be the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the Government of every State is carried on … Nothing in clauses (1) and (2) shall apply— (a) to any person who for the time being is an enemy alien; or (b) to any person who is arrested or detained under any law providing for preventive detention.”
  • The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (India Code), section 32 ↗ “explain to such person in writing that he is not bound to make a confession and that if he does so, it may be used against him”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2023 · Q91

Medium

होम गार्ड के संदर्भ में, निम्नलिखित कथनों पर विचार कीजिए :

  1. 1.होम गार्ड को होम गार्ड अधिनियम और केन्द्र सरकार के नियमों के अधीन समुत्थापित किया जाता है।
  2. 2.होम गार्ड की भूमिका आंतरिक सुरक्षा बनाए रखने में पुलिस को सहायक बल के रूप में सेवा देने की है।
  3. 3.अंतर्राष्ट्रीय सीमा/तटीय क्षेत्रों में घुसपैठ रोकने के लिए कुछ राज्यों में सीमा विंग होम गार्ड बटालियनें समुत्थापित की गई हैं।

उपर्युक्त में से कितने कथन सही हैं?

Read this question in English

With reference to Home Guards, consider the following statements:

1. Home Guards are raised under the Home Guards Act and Rules of the Central Government.

2. The role of the Home Guards is to serve as an auxiliary force to the police in maintenance of internal security.

3. To prevent infiltration on the international border/coastal areas, the Border Wing Home Guards Battalions have been raised in some States.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one · (b) Only two · (c) All three · (d) None

उत्तर और व्याख्या · explanation in English

Answer: (b) केवल दो

Statements 2 and 3 are correct; statement 1 is wrong because Home Guards are a State subject raised under the Home Guards Acts and Rules of the States and Union Territories. There is no Central Home Guards Act.

  • ✗ 1. The Ministry of Home Affairs has told Parliament that Home Guards are a State subject governed by the Home Guards Acts and Rules of the respective States/UTs, and that there is no Central Act on them.
  • ✓ 2. The role of Home Guards is to serve as an auxiliary force to the police in maintaining internal security, and also to help the community in emergencies such as fire, cyclone or earthquake.
  • ✓ 3. In border States, Border Wing Home Guards battalions (Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal) serve as an auxiliary to the Border Security Force for preventing infiltration on the international border and coastal areas.

Remember · Home Guards: a State subject, raised under State/UT Home Guards Acts (no Central Act); auxiliary to the police; Border Wing battalions assist the BSF in border States.

Sources

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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  • HighSpecial provisions & scheduled areas · 4 questions
  • HighCentre–state legislative & financial relations · 3 questions

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