Which one of the following is not a feature of Indian federalism?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) It is the result of an agreement among the federating units.
Indian federalism is not the result of an agreement among the States. India is a "holding together" federation, where a large country divides power between the Centre and the States, unlike the USA, where independent States came together. The Constitution calls India a Union of States, and the other three options are real features.
- ✓ (d) This is the odd one out. The Constitution begins with "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States"; the units did not sign a compact to form it. NCERT classes India with the "holding together" federations, not the "coming together" ones like the USA.
- ✗ (b) Powers are divided by the Seventh Schedule; for example, Article 246 gives Parliament exclusive power over the Union List. So this is a federal feature.
- ✗ (c) Seats in the Rajya Sabha are allocated State-wise under the Fourth Schedule (Article 80(2)), so States are not equally represented. This unequal representation is a real feature of Indian federalism.
- ✗ (a) An independent judiciary that settles Centre-State disputes is a standard feature of a federation and is present in India.
Remember · India is a "holding together" federation created by the Constitution (a Union of States), not by an agreement among States.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Democratic Politics – II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 10 · Democratic Politics – II, Chapter 2 “The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations.”
- Constitution of India (Ministry of Law and Justice), Article 1(1) ↗ “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. … Parliament has exclusive power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List I in the Seventh Schedule (in this Constitution referred to as the “Union List”). … The allocation of seats in the Council of States to be filled by representatives of the States and of the Union territories shall be in accordance with the provisions in that behalf contained in the Fourth Schedule.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·