In news- The central government has reconstituted the inter-state council, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the chairman and chief ministers of all states and six Union cabinet ministers as its members. The standing committee of the council has been reconstituted with home minister Amit Shah as its chairman.
About the Inter-state council-
- The Constitution of India in Article 263, provided that an Inter-State Council (ISC) may be established “if at any time it appears to the President that the public interests would be served by the establishment of a Council”.
- The ISC was established as a permanent body on 28 May 1990 by a presidential order on recommendation of Sarkaria Commission.
- The objective of the ISC is to discuss or investigate policies, subjects of common interest, and disputes among states.
- It makes recommendations for better coordination of policy and action on these subjects, and deliberations on matters of general interest to the states.
- The mandate of the council is to create a strong institutional framework to promote and support cooperative federalism in the country, and activate the council and zonal councils by organising regular meetings.
- It also facilitates consideration of all pending and emerging issues of Centre-state and inter-state relations by the zonal councils and develops a sound system to monitor the implementation of recommendations put forward by them.
The Inter-State Council has the following members:
- Prime Minister, Chairman.
- Chief Ministers of all states.
- Chief Ministers of the union territories having legislative assemblies.
- Administrators of the union territories not having legislative assemblies.
- 6 Union Cabinet Ministers, including Home Minister, to be nominated by the Prime Minister.
- Governors of the states being administered under President’s rule.
The Council has met 12 times (till 2017) since its inception.
Source: The Hindu
