Chapter 16 · Topic 16.3 · Prelims + Mains3 of 3
State Government: Mains view: the Governor debate and representation
Key points
- Mains view: the Governor debate and representation
5 PYQs 2014–2025
Prelims box: facts and traps
| Issue | Problem |
|---|---|
| Appointment | Active politicians appointed |
| Tenure | Removed when governments change |
| Assent | Bills held for long periods |
| Government formation | Partisan choice of CM; early floor-test calls |
| President's rule | Misuse of reports under Art 356. |
- → Emergency Provisions Art 356 and S.R. Bommai.
Mains view: the Governor debate and representation
| Issue | Problem | Remedy suggested |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment | Active politicians appointed | Sarkaria: outsider, consult the CM |
| Tenure | Removed when governments change | Punchhi: fixed five-year term; B.P. Singhal limits |
| Assent | Bills held for long periods | Return with reasons; limited judicial review (2025 opinion) |
| Government formation | Partisan choice of CM; early floor-test calls | Floor test (Bommai); Subhash Desai (2023) |
| President’s rule | Misuse of reports under Art 356 | Bommai: proclamation is open to review |
Mains 2023 asked about the contribution of civil society groups for women’s effective and meaningful participation and representation in state legislatures. Women are a small share of MLAs. Civil society groups train women candidates and elected panchayat members (a pipeline built by the 73rd Amendment’s one-third reservation), run voter-awareness drives, monitor parties’ ticket distribution, and campaigned for the 106th Amendment (2023), which will reserve one-third of Assembly seats for women after the next delimitation.
Discuss the contribution of civil society groups for women’s effective and meaningful participation and representation in state legislatures in India.
| Governor | Chief Minister | Assembly |
|---|---|---|
| Constitutional head, not | Real executive, | Needs more sitting days |
| an agent of the Centre. | answerable to the Assembly. | and committees, as Parliament does. |
→ Federal System Governors in Centre–State relations; the Sarkaria and Punchhi reports.
→ Emergency Provisions Art 356 and S.R. Bommai.
Mains box: analysis and answer points
- → Federal System Governors in Centre–State relations; the Sarkaria and Punchhi reports.
- Likely next angle: Women's reservation in Assemblies after delimitation
- Asked: Mains 2023 (GS Paper II, 15 marks): Discuss the contribution of civil society groups for women’s effective and meaningful participation and representation in state legislatures in India.
Practice
Prelims PYQs on this topic (5)
Consider the following statements :
With reference to the Constitution of India, if an area in a State is declared as Scheduled Area under the Fifth Schedule
- I. the State Government loses its executive power in such areas and a local body assumes total administration
- II. the Union Government can take over the total administration of such areas under certain circumstances on the recommendations of the Governor
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Neither statement is correct (d). Statement I is wrong: under the Fifth Schedule, the State's executive power still covers Scheduled Areas. No local body takes over total administration. What changes is that the Governor reports to the President, can modify laws for these areas, and a Tribes Advisory Council advises. Statement II is wrong: the Union can give the State directions on how to run these areas, but nothing lets it take over the administration. So options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice the Sixth Schedule, for tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, which does create Autonomous District Councils with law-making powers. PESA, 1996 extends panchayats to Fifth Schedule areas with strong gram sabha powers.
"directions" stretched into "take over". Strong verbs usually signal a wrong statement in this topic.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
Statement I :
- In India, State Governments have no power for making rules for grant of concessions in respect of extraction of minor minerals even though such minerals are located in their territories.
Statement II :
- In India, the Central Government has the power to notify minor minerals under the relevant law.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer (d) & explanation
Statement I is wrong, Statement II is right (d). Under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, Statement II is right: the Centre decides which minerals count as "minor" (Section 3(e)). Statement I is wrong: the States make the rules for granting minor mineral concessions (Section 15), and they keep the royalty. So options (a), (b) and (c) fail.
Notice examples of minor minerals: sand, gravel, building stone, marble and brick earth. Illegal sand mining is a big problem that States must police. Major minerals, such as coal, iron ore and bauxite, are regulated mostly by the Centre. In 2024, the Supreme Court held that States can tax mineral-bearing land.
in a Statement I/II question, check each statement alone first. Only then ask whether one explains the other.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
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?
Answer (a) & explanation
Both statements are correct and II explains I (a). Statement I is right: prisons are Entry 4 of the State List, so each State runs them under its own jail manual and rules. Statement II is right: the colonial Prisons Act, 1894 still applies and treats prisons as a provincial matter. UPSC accepted that this old arrangement explains why States run prisons today.
Notice the reform push. In 2023, the Home Ministry issued a Model Prisons Act, to replace the 1894 Act, with ideas like open jails, video trials and help for rehabilitation. India's prisons are overcrowded, and most inmates are undertrials, people not yet convicted. The Supreme Court has repeatedly urged bail for poor undertrials and the end of caste-based work in jails (2024).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to India, consider the following statements :
- 1. When a prisoner makes out a sufficient case, parole cannot be denied to such prisoner because it becomes a matter of his/her right.
- 2. State Governments have their own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong: parole is a concession, not a right. The authority may refuse it even when grounds exist, for example if release would threaten public order. Statement 2 is right: prisons are a State subject (Entry 4, State List), so each State frames its own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules. Parole is a temporary release, for reasons such as a death or wedding in the family, and the time may or may not count towards the sentence.
Notice the difference from furlough, which is a periodic short release as a matter of good conduct, and from remission, which cuts the sentence. The Union issued the Model Prisons Act, 2023 for States to adopt.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following are the discretionary powers given to the Governor of a State?
- 1. Sending a report to the President of India for imposing the President's rule
- 2. Appointing the Ministers
- 3. Reserving certain bills passed by the State Legislature for consideration of the President of India
- 4. Making the rules to conduct the business of the State Government
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (b) & explanation
The Governor uses personal discretion when sending a report to the President under Article 356 for President's rule (1 correct) and when reserving a Bill for the President's consideration under Article 200 (3 correct). So the answer is (b). Ministers are appointed on the Chief Minister's advice under Article 164, not at discretion. Rules of business are made under Article 166(3) on the advice of the Council of Ministers, not as a discretionary power.
Article 163 allows discretion only where the Constitution provides it. Notice how the Supreme Court in S.R. Bommai (1994) restricted misuse of Article 356.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Write an answer
In 150 words, explain the significance of State Government with one recent example.
Read more: related explainers
- Governor of a State: Appointment, Powers, Discretion and Controversies
- Uniform Civil Code (Article 44): Meaning, Constituent Assembly Debate, Court Cases, Goa and Uttarakhand Models and the Way Forward
- Fifth Schedule of the Constitution: Scheduled Areas, Governor's Powers, Tribes Advisory Council, Samatha Case and Sixth Schedule Compared
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