Context The political scenario in Maharashtra, where several ruling party legislators revolted against the Chief Minister, has brought back the focus on the Anti-defection law. Anti-defection Law The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, commonly known as the anti-defection law, was …
Unrecognised political parties Either newly registered parties (under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951) or those which have not secured enough percentage of votes in Assembly or General Elections to become a State party or those which have never contested …
What are Parliamentary privileges? Parliamentary privileges are certain rights and immunities enjoyed by members of Parliament, individually and collectively, so that they can “effectively discharge their functions”. When any of these rights and immunities is disregarded, the offence is called …
About GST Council Goods & Services Tax Council is a constitutional body under Article 279A of the amended Constitution, for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax. The Council was introduced …
CONTEXT Recently, various State governments raised concerns about Central unilateralism in the enactment of critical laws on subjects in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. CONCERN RAISED BY THE STATES In the wake of the Union …
Context The government recently decided to withdraw the retrospective taxation amendment in the I-T Act introduced in March 2012. While scrapping the retrospective levy is believed to provide clarity to investors by removing a major source of ambiguity on taxation …
NEWS If States directly collect more tax, they will become less dependent on the Central government. INDIA’S REVENUE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM In India, direct taxes go entirely to the Central government (Direct taxes are income tax and corporate tax). The …
CONTEXT Recently, the government of Tamil Nadu has decided to shun the usage of the term ‘Central government’ in its official communications and replace it with ‘Union government’. HOW IS THE STEP TAKEN BEING PERCEIVED? The step taken is being …
NEWS There needs to be a federal coalition to preserve the idea of a plural India, in terms of culture and politics. CONTEXT Recently an observation has been made by Niti Aayog, regarding the management of Covid epidemic. One of …
What’s in the news? Recently, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh declared Malerkotla the 23rd district of the State. How are new districts carved? The power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing districts rests with the State …