Social Science (087) — CBSE Class 10 board question

The Indian Constitution provides a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union and State Governments through three lists:

1. Union List – Subjects of national importance like defence, banking, foreign affairs, and currency. Only the Union Government can make laws on these.

1. State List – Subjects of local importance like police, agriculture, trade, and irrigation. Only State Governments can make laws on these.

1. Concurrent List – Subjects of common interest like education, forests, and marriage. Both Union and State Governments can legislate; in case of conflict, Union law prevails.

Subjects not in any list (e.g., computer software) are called residuary subjects and fall under Union Government jurisdiction.

Source: Chapter 2 – Federalism, "What makes India a federal country?"

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• Examiners expect all three lists named and explained with at least one example each — this is the core of the answer.
• Mentioning who has legislative power for each list is mandatory.
• The conflict-resolution rule (Union law prevails in Concurrent List) and residuary powers add completeness and are often tested separately too.
• Keep examples short — one or two per list is enough.