Previous Year Question

The Sarkaria Commission was concerned with the study of relations between the Union and the States in India. The Centre-State Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs also expressly identifies the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission as relating to Centre-State Relations.

The Government of India constituted the Commission in 1983. Its purpose was to examine the existing constitutional arrangements between the Union and the States, including the distribution of powers, functions and responsibilities, and to recommend appropriate improvements. Official records of the Inter-State Council Secretariat describe it as the first national-level Commission to comprehensively review Centre State relations.

The Commission was chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice R. S. Sarkaria. It examined several important aspects of Indian federalism, including legislative relations, administrative relations, financial relations, the role of Governors, Article 356 and mechanisms of inter-governmental coordination. The official Sarkaria Commission records contain separate chapters dealing with these aspects of Centre-State relations.