What is federalism?
Federalism refers to the vertical division of authority between various levels of government. It is a form of governance in which power is shared between a central authority and the country’s many constituent parts.
This feature ensures delegation of power and avoids the concentration of power under a single authority.

Levels in a Federal Government
Usually, a federation has two levels of government.
- Government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
- The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the day-to-day administering of their state.
Both these levels enjoy their powers independent of each other and into their own spheres.
Difference between Federal and Unitary System
- Under the unitary system, either there is only one level of government while in a Federal system, there exists multiple levels of government.
- Under the Unitary system, the sub-units are subordinate to the central government but in a federal setup, they are independent of each other.
- Under a Unitary System, the central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government but in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
Key Features of Federalism
- There exist two or more tiers under a federal system.
- Each tier has its own jurisdiction and power of legislation, taxation etc.
- The existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
- No unilateral changes are allowed. Consent is required to alter fundamental provisions.
- Each level enjoys its financial autonomy.
Dual Objectives of Federal System-
- To safeguard and promote unity of the country
- To accommodate regional diversity.
An ideal federal system has both aspects – mutual trust and agreement to live together.
Different Types of Federations
- Coming Together Federations – Under this route, independent States come together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignty and retaining identity they can increase their security.
- Ex- USA, Switzerland and Australia.
- Holding Together Federations – Under this, a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government.
- Ex- India, Spain and Belgium. Here, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-à-vis the States. Some special powers are also granted.

What makes India a Federal Country?
The Constitution clearly provided a threefold distribution of legislative powers between the Union Government and the State Governments. Thus, it contains three lists:
1) Union List: Under this are included subjects of national importance. Ex- Defence of the country, Foreign Affairs, Banking, Communications and Currency. The Union Government alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in this list.
2) State List: It contains subjects of State and local importance such as Police, Trade, Commerce, Agriculture and Irrigation. The State Governments alone can make laws relating to the subjects mentioned in this list.
3) Concurrent List: It includes subjects of common interest to both the Union and the State Governments.
The list includes Education, Forest, Trade Unions, Marriage, Adoption and Succession. Both the Union as well as the State Governments can make laws on it. If there is a conflict, the Union Government’s decision prevails.
How is Federalism practiced?
The real success of federalism in India can be attributed to the nature of democratic politics in our country. Federalism in India manifests itself through the following-
- Linguistic States– This was the first major test for democratic politics in India. From 1947 to 2017, many old States have disappeared, and new States have been created. This experience has shown that the formation of linguistic States has made the country more united and its administration easier.
- Language Policy– This was the second test for Indian federation. Our Constitution did not give the status of national language to any one language. Besides Hindi, there are 21 other languages recognized as Scheduled Languages by the Constitution. There are also various safeguards provided to protect different languages as India is very diverse on this ground. This policy of flexibility reduced insecurity and conflicts in the country, while allowing for usage of regional languages for official purposes.
- Centre- State Relations– Restructuring the Centre-State relations is one more way in which federalism has been strengthened in practice. For a long time, State governments did not enjoy much autonomy as federal units. But from 1990, a lot of regional parties emerged. This was also a period of rise of Coalition Governments.
Decentralization in India
By Decentralization, we mean division of authority and responsibility at different levels of hierarchy. India being a vast country could not be administered well with just two tiers. Thus, resulted a third tier of government, called local government. This is the rationale for sharing of power or decentralization in India.
When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given to local government, it is called decentralization.
There are issues that are best settled at local level with people’s participation and hence the need for this level of government arises. As a result of this, Panchayats and Municipalities gained ground as local models of self- government.
These were added through an amendment to the Constitution but remained ineffective on account of budgetary constraints and less autonomy.