Indian Constitution exhibits centralising tendencies to maintain unity and integrity of the nation. Elucidate in the perspective of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897; The Disaster Management Act, 2005 and recently passed Farm Acts.
Approach · directive: “elucidate”
What it asks · Explain how the Constitution's unitary bias, seen in Union dominance in legislation and executive direction, shows up in the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act and the Farm Acts, and what federal checks remain.
The question has 3 parts — answer each
- Elucidate: the Constitution's centralising design meant to preserve unity and integrity
- Show how the tilt operated in the 1897 Epidemic Diseases Act, the 2005 Disaster Management Act and the 2020 Farm Acts
- Assess the balance: the federal checks that tempered the tilt
Open with · India is a 'Union of States' with a strong Centre, and the constitutional tilt towards the Union is visible in how these three laws operated.
Cover
- Basis: residuary powers with the Union (Article 248), Union law prevailing on Concurrent subjects (Article 254), directions to States (Article 256) and emergency powers.
- Epidemic Diseases Act 1897: public health is a State subject (List II), but Entry 29 of the Concurrent List covers inter-State spread of disease.
- Disaster Management Act 2005: the National Authority, chaired by the Prime Minister, ordered a nationwide lockdown (March 2020) that bound all States.
- Farm Acts 2020: agriculture and markets are State subjects, yet the Acts draw on trade in foodstuffs (Concurrent Entry 33) and bypass State market laws.
- Federal responses: Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh passed bills of their own in reply; the Supreme Court stayed the central farm laws in January 2021, and Parliament repealed them in November 2021.
- Checks: federalism is basic structure (S. R. Bommai, 1994); the GST Council and consultations with Chief Ministers temper central dominance.
- Assessment: a strong Centre helped a uniform national crisis response and protects unity, but unilateral use without consultation strains cooperative federalism.
Close with · The Constitution deliberately tilts towards the Union to safeguard unity, but the tilt works best when used through consultation, leaving States real room in the subjects assigned to them.
Add value (verified)
- Article 256 empowers the Union to give directions to a State to ensure compliance with laws made by Parliament. The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 256 — Legislative Department ↗“the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of such directions to a State as may appear to the Government of India to be necessary for that purpose”
- Section 72 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 gives the Act overriding effect over any inconsistent law, which is why lockdown orders under it bound every State. The Disaster Management Act, 2005, Section 72 — copy hosted by Meghalaya Police (Government of Meghalaya) ↗“The provisions of this Act, shall have effect, notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2020, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 343 words (UPSC limit 250) · Minimalist IAS
Article 1 calls India a 'Union of States', and the framers gave the Union the upper hand so that a diverse country could hold together; the three laws named in the question show that tilt at work in 2020.
The centralising design
- Legislative: residuary powers with the Union (Article 248) and Union law prevailing on Concurrent subjects (Article 254).
- Executive: Article 256 lets the Union direct States to comply with parliamentary law, and the emergency provisions can make the federation unitary; Governors, All-India Services and single citizenship reinforce the centre.
Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897
- Public health is a State subject (List II) and the Act works through State regulations under Section 2; yet Entry 29 of the Concurrent List (inter-State spread of disease) and the 2020 amendment, which widened the Centre's power to inspect buses, trains, ships and aircraft and penalised violence against health workers, show the Union's reach.
Disaster Management Act, 2005
- A central law created the National Disaster Management Authority, chaired by the Prime Minister; in March 2020 it ordered a nationwide lockdown, and the Home Ministry's guidelines under the Act bound every State, which could add restrictions but not relax them.
- Section 72 gives the Act overriding effect over any other law, so the national framework prevailed over State choices.
Farm Acts, 2020
- Agriculture and markets are State subjects, yet Parliament legislated through Entry 33 of the Concurrent List (trade in foodstuffs), bypassing State market laws and the mandi system.
Federal checks that remain
- States answered: Punjab, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh passed counter-bills; the Supreme Court stayed the farm laws in January 2021, and Parliament repealed them in November 2021.
- Courts guard the balance: federalism is basic structure (S. R. Bommai, 1994); the GST Council and Chief Ministers' conferences temper dominance; lockdown enforcement, testing and hospitals ran on State machinery.
The Constitution deliberately tilts to the Union to protect unity, and 2020 showed why a single national response can matter; the same year showed that the tilt works only when exercised through consultation, leaving States real authority in their own fields.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.