Structure, relief and physiographic divisions

  Three Geological divisions: The peninsular block The Himalayas and other Peninsular Mountains Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra Plain   Peninsualar block is made of gneisses (metamorphic) and granites (igneous). Six physiographic divisions: The Northern and North-eastern Mountains The Northern Plain The Peninsular Plateau The Indian Desert The Coastal Plains The Islands Northern and North-Eastern Mountains Approximate length of … Read more

Local Governance: 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments.Types of Urban local bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions in India.Sources of Finance in Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions.

The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts, 1992, which gave Constitutional status to panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) and urban local bodies (ULBs) respectively, in both letter and spirit in order to bring about greater decentralisation and increase the involvement of the community in planning and implementing schemes and, thus, increase accountability. The Amendments left important … Read more

Lok Adalats and Legal Awareness Campaign

LOK ADALATS Lok stands for People and the word Adalat means Court. Lok Adalat is a special kind of people’s court in which disputes solved by direct talks between the litigants. The members of legal profession, college students, social organisations, charitable and philanthropic institutions and other similar organisations may be associated with Lok Adalat. Salient … Read more

Constitutional Amendment methods and important constitutional amendments.

  Amendments to the Constitution are made by the Parliament, the procedure for which is laid out in Article 368. An amendment bill must be passed by both the Houses of the Parliament by a two-thirds majority and voting. In addition to this, certain amendments which pertain to the federal nature of the Constitution must … Read more

Preamble and its significance

The Constitution of India begins with a Preamble which describes the nature of the Indian State and the objectives it is committed to secure. K.M. Munshi describes the Preamble as the political horoscope of the constitution. Thakur Dass Bhargawa says Preamble is the most precious part and the soul of the constitution. The Preamble reads: … Read more

Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India.It was established on 25 January 1950 under Article 324 of the Constitution of India. Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. The commission presently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners, appointed by the president. The President … Read more

Union Parliament and State Legislatures.

Parliament is the central institution through which the will of the people is expressed, laws are passed and government is held to account. It plays a vital role in a democracy, and endeavours to be truly representative, transparent, accessible, accountable and effective in its many functions. The Parliament has two Houses–Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha. … Read more

Finance Commission

Under the Constitution the financial resources of the State are very limited though they have to do many works of social uplift under directive principles. In order to cope with their ever-expanding needs, the Central Government makes grants-in-aid to the States. Grant- in-aid to States , through it Central Government exercises a strict control over … Read more

Framing of Indian Constitution

Making of the constitution 1934: Idea of constituent assembly put forward by M N Roy 1935: INC officially demands constituent assembly 1938: JL Nehru’s declaration on the constitution of India 1940: Nehru’s demand accepted in the form of August Offer August Offer PM: Winston Churchill While rejecting INCs demand for independence of India after the … Read more

Political Parties and Pressure Groups

Political Parties and Elections Political parties are an established part of modern mass democracy, and the conduct of elections in India is largely dependent on the behaviour of political parties. Although many candidates for Indian elections are independent, the winning candidates for Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections usually stand as members of political parties, … Read more