Local self-government can be best explained as an exercise in
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Democratic decentralisation
Local self-government moves power from the Central and State governments to elected bodies of villages and towns, so that people decide local matters themselves. Handing power down to elected local bodies is exactly what democratic decentralisation means.
- ✓ (b) When power is taken from Central and State governments and given to elected local government, it is decentralisation; panchayats were seen as instruments of decentralisation and participatory democracy.
- ✗ (a) Federalism is a constitutional division of power between the Union and the States. Local bodies are a third tier created within the States, and their powers depend on State laws.
- ✗ (c) Administrative delegation passes work to appointed officials who stay answerable to superiors; local self-government gives authority to bodies elected by and answerable to the local people.
Remember · Local self-government (73rd and 74th Amendments) = democratic decentralisation: power shifted from Centre and States to elected panchayats and municipalities.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Democratic Politics – II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 8 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 10 · Democratic Politics – II, Chapter 2 “When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralisation.”
- NCERT Class 11 · Indian Constitution at Work, Chapter 8 “Panchayats therefore were looked upon as instruments of decentralisation and participatory democracy.”
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). ·