Indian State Governments

India has 29 states and a single Prime Minister or President can’t possibly pay attention to every single detail in every state. Hence each state has its own government.

The Constitution clearly lays down the matters (subjects) which the state government will deal with and the matters which the union government will deal with. For example, public health and sanitation is on the state subject list. It would be silly if each time a minister had to fly down from Delhi to check on a hospital in Satara or Bajrangipur.

The Railways, on the other hand, is a Union subject. The reason is that Railways have to benefit the entire country. So the central government must decide the trains, their routes and so on. You can’t have a train that runs only in Maharashtra. What would you do if you had to go from Mumbai to New Delhi? If railways were a state subject, then you would have to change trains three or four times!

Some issues can be completely solved at the state level like using the local police to deal with local goondas. Some other issues have to be taken to the higher level like issuing passports or using the Army, Navy or Air Force for law and order. No matter what the issue, the state and union government have to follow the constitution.

The government in the state is like a small-scale version of the Union Government.

INDIAN UNION GOVERNMENTS

• President is the advisory head
• Prime Minister and Cabinet make important decisions for the country
• The legislature is composed of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
• The Supreme Court is the supreme judicial power
• Located in the national capital ( New Delhi)

INDIAN STATE GOVERNMENTS

• Governor is the advisory head
• Chief Minister and cabinet make important decisions for the state
• The legislature is composed of Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) and Vidhan Parishad (Legislative Council)
• The High Court is the supreme judicial power
• Located in the capital of the respective states

Project

Locate each state on the map of India.
Find out when the following states were made part of the Indian Union- Sikkim, Jharkhand, Uttaranchal, Chhatisgarh.

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