Laxminath - Indian Polity

To

my wife

M Vidya

Preface to the
Fourth Edition

I am pleased to place before the readers a thoroughly revised, enlarged and updated edition of this widely read book on Indian Polity.

In 2011 and 2013, the UPSC changed the pattern and syllabus of the preliminary and main examinations, respectively. In both the changes, the scope of Indian Polity has been considerably increased. Hence, this new edition of the book is more relevant now and is aimed to meet the expanded needs of the aspirants.

In the course of revision and updation of this edition of the book, the various new developments related to the subject like recent constitutional amendments, parliamentary legislations, executive decisions and supreme court judgments have been taken into account.

Changes in this Edition:

Addition of 8 new chapters.

Addition of 3 new appendices.

Inclusion of 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 preliminary questions with answers.

Inclusion of 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 mains questions.

Updation of the year-wise break-up of the UPSC questions in the preliminary and main examinations.

Inclusion of additional updated information on a number of topics.

List of Articles included at the end of each chapter.

New items included in various chapters.

New Chapters:

Basic Structure of the Constitution

Cabinet Committees

Parliamentary Committees

Parliamentary Forums

Central Bureau of Investigation

Cooperative Societies

Special Provisions Relating to Certain Classes

Electoral Reforms

New Appendices:

Flag Code of India

Allied Amending Acts at a Glance

Model Code of Conduct Relating to Elections

I firmly believe that this is now a very comprehensive and updated manual. It is a matter of immense satisfaction that the previous three editions of this book have received an overwhelming response from readers. I am confident that readers would continue to repose their faith in this edition as well.

Constructive comments and concrete suggestions to further improve the book are welcome and shall be gratefully acknowledged.

M. Laxmikanth

Preface to the
First Edition

I have great pleasure in placing this book before the aspirants of the top administrative services. The book has been written to meet the growing requirements of the candidates appearing for the Civil Services Examinations (Preliminary and Main) conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. It directly and fully covers the Indian Polity section of the paper on General Studies and is also useful for certain optional subjects like Public Administration, Political Science, Law, Sociology and Anthropology.

This comprehensive volume would enable the readers to acquire a complete and detailed understanding of the subject. It covers all dimensions (constitutional, non-constitutional, political and administrative) of the subject. My first-hand experience of coaching the candidates for the Civil Services Examinations has been a great source of inspiration and has helped me immensely in writing this book.

An effort has been made to make the contents of the book relevant, authentic, and up-to-date. The constitutional provisions are explained in the light of the debates of the Constituent Assembly of India as well as the judgements of the Supreme Court and the high courts. I have also used tables to make the presentation more clear. The Appendices, provided at the end of the book, serve as a reference section.

I welcome all constructive comments and concrete suggestions from the readers of this book.

M. Laxmikanth

Acknowledgements

D uring the course of writing this book, I have received the help, encouragement and assistance from my teachers, students, family members, colleagues, friends, library staff and others. I am thankful to all of them.

I am particularly grateful to my wife Smt. M Vidya for her encouragement and support that she provided during the preparation of the book.

I am deeply indebted to the eminent political scientists and constitutional experts (Granville Austin, Moris Jones, K C Wheare, Rajni Kothari, Paul Appleby, K Santhanam, N A Palkhivala, Soli Sorabji, D D Basu, V N Shukla, M P Jain, Subhash Kashyap) and other scholars of repute whose valuable works have been highly useful in writing this book.

My thanks are also due to Mr Tanmoy Roychowdhury, Mr K N Prakash, Ms Anubha Srivastava and Ms Medha Arora of McGraw Hill Education India Private Limited for their unstinted cooperation in bringing out this updated edition on time.

M. Laxmikanth

Year-wise Break-up of the UPSC Marks on Indian Polity (General StudiesMains)

Note: In 2013, the UPSC changed the pattern and syllabus of the Main Examination. In the new scheme, a separate and full paper on Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations has been introduced. It carries 250 marks.

Year-Wise Break-up of the UPSC Questions on Indian Polity (General StudiesPrelims)

Note: In 2011, the UPSC changed the pattern and syllabus of the Preliminary Examination. In the new scheme, the Indian Polity section has been renamed as Indian Polity and Governance. It covers Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc. Also, now each question carries two marks (previously one mark).