The book Working a Democratic Constitution: The Indian Experience was written by the American historian and leading authority on the Indian Constitution, Granville Austin.

The Governor of the State appoints the Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission (SPSC), as mandated by Article 316(1) of the Indian Constitution. Although appointed by the Governor, the Chairman and members can only be removed from office by the President of India, not the Governor.

With a view to reviewing the working of the existing arrangements between the Union and the States in the changed socio-economic scenario, the Government of India in 1983 constituted a Commission under the Chairmanship of Justice R.S. Sarkaria with Shri B. Sivaraman and Dr. S.R. Sen as its members. The Commission submitted its report in January 1988.

The Commission made 247 recommendations to improve Centre-state relations. The important recommendations are mentioned below:

1. A permanent Inter-State Council called the Inter-Governmental Council should be set up under Article 263.
2. Article 356 (President’s Rule) should be used very sparingly, in extreme cases as a last resort when all the available alternatives fail.
3. The institution of All-India Services should be further strengthened and some more such services should be created.
4. The residuary powers of taxation should continue to remain with the Parliament, while the other residuary powers should be placed in the Concurrent List.
5. When the president withholds his assent to the state bills, the reasons should be communicated to the state government.
6. The National Development Council (NDC) should be renamed and reconstituted as the National Economic and Development Council (NEDC).
7. The zonal councils should be constituted afresh and reactivated to promote the spirit of federalism.
8. The Centre should have powers to deploy its armed forces, even without the consent of states. However, it is desirable that the states should be consulted.
9. The Centre should consult the states before making a law on a subject of the Concurrent List.
10. The procedure of consulting the chief minister in the appointment of the state governor should be prescribed in the Constitution itself.
11. The net proceeds of the corporation tax may be made permissibly shareable with the states.
12. The governor cannot dismiss the council of ministers so long as it commands a majority in the assembly.
13. The governor’s term of five years in a state should not be disturbed except for some extremely compelling reasons.
14. No commission of enquiry should be set up against a state minister unless a demand is made by the Parliament.
15. The surcharge on income tax should not be levied by the Centre except for a specific purpose and for a strictly limited period.
16. The present division of functions between the Finance Commission and the Planning Commission is reasonable and should continue.
17. Steps should be taken to uniformly implement the three language formula in its true spirit.
18. No autonomy for radio and television but decentralisation in their operations.
19. No change in the role of Rajya Sabha and Centre’s power to reorganise the states.
20. The commissioner for linguistic minorities should be activated.

The Central government has implemented 180 (out of 247)
recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission. The most important is the establishment of the Inter-State Council in 1990.

73RD AMENDMENT ACT OF 1992: The act provides for a five-year term of office to the panchayat at every level. However, it can be dissolved before the completion of its term. Further, fresh elections to constitute a panchayat shall be completed (a) before the expiry of its duration of five years; or (b) in case of dissolution, before the expiry of a period of six months from the date of its dissolution. But, where the remainder of the period (for which the dissolved panchayat would have continued) is less than six months, it shall not be necessary to hold any election for constituting the new panchayat for such period. Moreover, a panchayat constituted upon the dissolution of a panchayat before the expiration of its duration shall continue only for the remainder of the period for which the dissolved panchayat would have continued had it not been so dissolved. In other words, a panchayat reconstituted after premature dissolution does not enjoy the full period of five years but remains in office only for the remainder of the period.

“Asymmetric federalism” is based on unequal powers and relationships in political, administrative, and fiscal arrangements between the units constituting a federation.

“Symmetric federalism” in India, where all states technically possess equal powers and status, is primarily observed through uniform constitutional provisions applied to all states. Key examples include Uniform Constitution & Citizenship, Integrated Judiciary, All India Services, Uniform Electoral Structure, List-Based Division of Powers etc.

All India Services: The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) serve both the Union and the State governments, providing a uniform, centralized administrative structure.