List I: Union List

Article 217, Draft Constitution of India 1948

LIST – UNION LIST

1. * The defence of the territory of India and of every part thereof and generally all preparation for defence, as well as all such acts as may be conducive in times of war to its successful prosecution and after its termination to effective demobilization.
2. Central Intelligence Bureau.
3. Preventive detention in the territory of India **for reasons connected with defence, external affairs or the security of India.
4. *** The raising, training, maintenance and control of the Naval, Military and Air Forces of the Union and their employment; the strength, organization and control of the armed forces raised and employed in States for the time being specified in Part III of the First Schedule.
5. Industries declared by Parliament by law to be necessary for the purpose of defence or for the prosecution of war.
6. Naval, Military and Air Force works.
7. Local self-government in cantonment areas, the constitution and powers within such areas of cantonment authorities, the regulation of house accommodation in such areas and the delimitation of such areas.
8. Arms, firearms, ammunition and explosives.
9. Atomic energy and mineral resources essential to its production.
10. Foreign Affairs; all matters which bring the Union into relation with any foreign country.
11. Diplomatic, consular and trade representation.
12. United Nations Organization.

*The committee has omitted the entry ‘Requisitioning of lands for defence purposes including training and manœuvres” as the matter will be covered by entry 43.

**The words ‘reasons connected with defence, external affairs or the security of India’ have been substituted for the words ‘reasons of State’ in this entry to avoid conflict with entry 1 of the State List relating to preventive detention for reasons connected with the maintenance of public order.

***This follows the entry as adopted by the Constituent Assembly, but the Chairman of the Drafting Committee strongly feels that the second part of the entry relating to armed forces in States in Part III of the First Schedule should be deleted in order to preclude such States from maintaining any armed forces of their own,

13. Participation in international conferences, associations and other bodies and implementing of decisions made thereat.
14. War and Peace.
15. The entering into and implementing of treaties and agreements with foreign countries.
16. Foreign jurisdiction.
17. Trade and commerce with foreign countries.
18. Foreign loans.
19. Citizenship, naturalization and aliens.
20. Extradition.
21. Passports and visas.
22. Piracies, felonies and offences against the law of nations committed on the high seas and in the air.
23. Admission into, and emigration and expulsion from the territory of India.
24. Pilgrimages to places beyond India.
25. Port quarantine; seamen’s and marine hospitals, and hospitals connected with port quarantine.
26. Import and export across customs frontiers as defined by the Government of India
27. *Posts and telegraphs.
28. **Telephones, wireless, broadcasting and other like forms of communication.
29. Post Office Savings Bank.
30. Airways; aircraft and air navigation; provision of aerodromes; regulation and organization of air traffic and of aerodromes; provision for aeronautical education and training and regulation of such education and training provided by States and other agencies.
31. National highways declared to be such by Parliament by law.
32. Shipping and navigation on inland waterways, declared by Parliament by law to be national waterways, as regards mechanically propelled vessels, and the rule of the road on such waterways; carriage of passengers and goods on such waterways.
33. Maritime shipping and navigation, including shipping and navigation on tidal waters; provision of education and training for the mercantile marine and regulation and such education and training provided by States and other agencies.
34. Admiralty jurisdiction.
35. Ports declared to be major ports by or under law made by Parliament or existing law including their delimitation and the constitution and powers of port authorities therein.
36. Lighthouses, including lightships, beacons and other provision for the safety of shipping and aircraft.
37. Carriage of passengers and goods by air or by sea.
38. Union railways; the regulation of all railways other than minor railways in respect of the safety, maximum and minimum rates and fares, station and service terminal charges, interchange of traffic and the responsibility of railway administrations as carriers of goods and passengers; the regulation of minor railways in respect of safety and the responsibility of the administrations of such railways as carriers of goods and passengers.

*For restrictions on the power of Parliament to make laws with respect to ‘Posts and Telegraphs’ in relation to States for the time being specified in Part III of the First Schedule, see article 224 (a).

**For restrictions on the power of Parliament to make laws with respect to telephones, wireless, broadcasting, and other like forms of communication, in relation to States for the time being specified in Part III of the First Schedule, see article 224 (b).

39. The institutions known on the 15th day of August, 1947, as the Imperial Library, the Indian Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Victoria Memorial and any other institution financed by the Government of India wholly or in part and declared by Parliament by law to be an institution of national importance.
40. The institutions known on the 15th day of August, 1947, as the Benares Hindu University and the Aligarh Muslim University.
41. The Survey of India, the Geological, Botanical and Zoological Surveys of | India; Union Meteorological organizations.
42. Property of the Union and the revenue therefrom, but as regards property situated in a State subject always to legislation by the State, save in so far as Parliament by law otherwise provides.
43. * Acquisition or requisitioning of property for the purposes of the Union subject to the provisions of List III with respect to regulation of the principles on which compensation is to be determined for property acquired or requisitioned for the purposes of the Union.
44. Reserve Bank of India.
45. Public debt of the Union.
46. Currency, foreign exchange, coinage and legal tender.
47. Banking.
48. Cheques, bills of exchange, promissory notes and other like instruments.
49. Insurance.
50. **Corporations, that is to say, the incorporation, regulation and winding up of trading corporations, including banking insurance and financial corporations but not including cooperative societies, and of corporations, whether trading or not, with objects not confined to one State, but not including universities.
51. Patents, copyright, inventions, designs, trademarks and merchandise marks.
52. ***Constitution, organization, jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court and fees taken.

* The committee is of opinion that the principle on which compensation is to be paid for the acquisition or the requisitioning of property should be the subiect-matter of the Concurrent List and this entry has been revised accordingly and a new entry 35 has been inserted for the purpose in the Concurrent List.

** For restrictions on the power of Parliament to make laws with respect to ‘corporations’ in relation to States for the time being specified in Part III of the First Schedule see article 224 (c).

***The committee is of opinion that the reference to ‘Federal Judiciary’ should be omitted from this entry as there should not be parallel judiciaries in the Union. The committee has, however, inserted a new article 219 providing power to Parliament to establish additional courts for the better administration of the laws made by Parliament and existing laws with respect to matters in the Union List on the lines of section 101 of the British North America Act, 1867.

53. Extension of the jurisdiction of a High Court having its principal seat in any State within the territory of India except the States for the time being specifed fin Part III of the First Schedule to, and exclusion of the jurisdiction of any such High Court from, any area outside that State.
54. Jurisdiction and powers of all courts, other than the Supreme Court with respect to any of the matters in this List.
55. Census.
56. Inquiries, surveys, and statistics for the purposes of the Union.
57. Union agencies and institutes for the following purposes, that is to say, for research, for professional or technical training, or for the promotion of special studies
58. Union Public Services and Union Public Service Commission.
59. Industrial disputes concerning Union employees.
60. *Ancient and Historical Monuments declared by Parliament by law to be of national importance; archaeological sites and remains.
61. Establishment of standards of weight and measure.
62. Opium, so far as regards cultivation and manufacture, or sale for export.
63. Petroleum and other liquids and substances declared by Parliament by law to be dangerously inflammable, so far as regards possession, storage and transport.
64. Development of industries where development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest.
65. Regulation of labour and safety in mines and oilfields.
66. Regulation of mines and oilfields and mineral development to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest.
67. Extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a police force belonging to any part of a State for the time being specified in Part I or Part II of the First Schedule to any area in any other State so specified, but not so as to enable the police of one part to exercise powers and jurisdiction elsewhere without the consent of the Government of the State; extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a force belonging to any State to railway areas outside that State.
68. Elections to Parliament and of the President and Deputy President; and Election Commission to superintend, direct and control such elections.
69. The emoluments and allowances and rights in respect of leave of absence of the President, the salaries and allowances of the Ministers for the Union and of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States and of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People; the salaries, allowances and privileges of the members of Parliament; the salary, allowances and the conditions of service of the Auditor-General of India.
70. The enforcement of attendance of persons for giving evidence or producing documents before committees of Parliament.
71. Migration from one State to another.
72. Inter-State quarantine.
73. Inter-State trade and commerce subject to the provision of entry 33 of List II.
74. The development of inter-State waterways for purposes of flood control, irrigation, navigation and hydro-electric power.
75. Fishing and fisheries beyond territorial waters.
76. Manufacture and distribution of salt by Union agencies, regulation and control of manufacture and distribution of salt by other agencies.
77. Provision for dealing with grave emergencies in any part of the territory of India affecting the Union.
78. Lotteries organized by the Government of India or the Government of any State.
79. * Stock Exchanges and futures market and taxes other than stamp duties on transactions therein.

*The committee is of opinion that Ancient and Historical Monuments declared by Parliament by law to be of national importance should be mentioned in this entry and not any and every Ancient and Historical Monument.

**This entry has been inserted to follow the recommendation of the Expert Committee on the Financial Provisions of the Constitution.

80. The rates of stamp duty in respect of bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes. bills of lading, letters of credit, policies of insurance, transfer of shares. debentures, proxies and receipts.
81. Duties in respect of succession to property other than agricultural land.
82. Estate duty in respect of property other than agricultural land.
83. Terminal taxes on goods or passengers, carried by railway or air; taxes on railway fares and freights.
84. Taxes on income other than agricultural income.
85. Duties of customs including export duties.
86. *Duties of excise on tobacco and other goods manufactured or produced in India except-

a) alcoholic liquors for human consumption;

b) opium, Indian hemp and other narcotic drugs and narcotics: non-narcotic drugs; but including medicinal and toilet preparations containing alcohol, or any substance included in sub-paragraph (b) of this entry.

87. Corporation tax.
88. Taxes on the capital value of the assets, exclusive of agricultural land, of individuals and companies; taxes on the capital of companies.
89. Offences against laws with respect to any of the matters in this List.
90. Fees in respect of any of the matters in this List, but not including fees taken in any court.
91. Any other matter not enumerated in List II or List III including any tax not mentioned in either of those Lists.

*The committee is of opinion that duties of excise on medicinal and toilet preparations containing alcohol or any substance included in sub-paragraph (b) of this entry should be included in this entry as duties leviable by the Union, as it . thinks that uniform rates of excise duty should be fixed in respect of these goods in all States for the sake of development of the pharmaceutical industry. The levy of different rates in different States is likely to lead to a discrimination in favour of goods imported from foreign countries which would be detrimental to the interest of Indian manufacturers as was pointed out by the Drugs Enquiry Committee in their report in 1931.

Article 246, Constitution of India 1950

List I—Union List

1. Defence of India and every part thereof including preparation for defence and all such acts as may be conducive in times of war to its prosecution and after its termination to effective demobilisation.
2. Naval, military and air forces; any other armed forces of the Union.
3. Delimitation of cantonment areas, local self-government in such areas, the constitution and powers within such areas of cantonment authorities and the regulation of house accommodation (including the control of rents) in such areas.
4. Naval, military and air force works.
5. Arms, firearms, ammunition and explosives.
6. Atomic energy and mineral resources necessary for its production.
7. Industries declared by Parliament by law to be necessary for the purpose of defence or for the prosecution of war.
8. Central Bureau of Intelligence and Investigation.
9. Preventive detention for reasons connected with Defence, Foreign Affairs, or the security of India; persons subjected to such detention.
10. Foreign Affairs; all matters which bring the Union into relation with any foreign country.
11. Diplomatic, consular and trade representation.
12. United Nations Organisation.
13. Participation in international conferences, associations and other bodies and implementing of decisions made thereat.
14. Entering into treaties and agreements with foreign countries and implementing of treaties, agreements and conventions with foreign countries.
15. War and peace.
16. Foreign jurisdiction.
17. Citizenship, naturalisation and aliens.
18. Extradition.
19. Admission into, and emigration and expulsion from, India; passports and visas.
20. Pilgrimages to places outside India.
21. Piracies and crimes committed on the high Seas or in the air; offences against the law of nations committed on land or the high seas or in the air.
22. Railways.
23. Highways declared by or under law made by Parliament to be national highways.
24. Shipping and navigation on inland waterways, declared by Parliament by law to be national waterways, as regards mechanically propelled vessels; the rule of the road on such waterways.
25. Maritime shipping and navigation, including shipping and navigation on tidal waters; provision of education and training for the mercantile marine and regulation of such education and training provided by States and other agencies.
26. Lighthouses, including lightships, beacons and other provision for the safety of shipping and aircraft.
27. Ports declared by or under law made by Parliament or existing law to be major ports, including their delimitation, and the constitution and powers of port authorities therein.
28. Port quarantine, including hospitals connected therewith; seamen’s and marine hospitals.
29. Airways; aircraft and air navigation; provision of aerodromes; regulation and organisation of air traffic and of aerodromes; provision for aeronautical education and training and regulation of such education and training provided by States and other agencies.
30. Carriage of passengers and goods by railway, sea or air, or by national waterways in mechanically propelled vessels.
31. Posts and telegraphs; telephones, wireless, broadcasting and other like forms of communication.
32. Property of the Union and the revenue therefrom, but as regards property situated in a State specified in Part A or Part B of the First Schedule subject to legislation by the State, save in so far as Parliament by law otherwise provides.
33. Acquisition or requisitioning of property for the purposes of the Union.
34. Courts of wards for the estates of Rulers of Indian States.
35. Public debt of the Union.
36. Currency, coinage and legal tender; foreign exchange.
37. Foreign loans.
38. Reserve Bank of India.
39. Post Office Savings Bank.
40. Lotteries organised by the Government of India or the Government of a State.
41. Trade and commerce with foreign countries; import and export across customs frontiers; definition of customs frontiers.
42. Inter-State trade and commerce.
43. Incorporation, regulation and winding up of trading corporations, including banking, insurance and financial corporations but not including co-operative societies.
44. Incorporation, regulation and winding up of corporations, whether trading or not, with objects not confined to one State, but not including universities.
45. Banking.
46. Bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes and other like instruments.
47. Insurance.
48. Stock exchanges and futures markets.
49. Patents, inventions and designs; copyright; trademarks and merchandise marks.
50. Establishment of standards of weight and measure.
51. Establishment of standards of quality for goods to be exported out of India or transported from one State to another.
52. Industries, the control of which by the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest.
53. Regulation and development of oilfields and mineral oil resources; petroleum and petroleum products; other liquids and substances declared by Parliament by law to be dangerously inflammable.
54. Regulation of mines and mineral development to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest.
55. Regulation of labour and safety in mines and oilfields.
56. Regulation and development of inter-State rivers and river valleys to the extent to which such regulation and development under the control of the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest.
57. Fishing and fisheries beyond territorial waters.
58. Manufacture, supply and distribution of salt by Union agencies; regulation and control of manufacture, supply and distribution of salt by other agencies.
59. Cultivation, manufacture, and sale for export, of opium.
60. Sanctioning of cinematograph films for exhibition.
61. Industrial disputes concerning Union employees.
62. The institutions known at the commencement of this Constitution as the National Library, the Indian Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Victoria Memorial and the Indian War Memorial, and any other like institution financed by the Government of India wholly or in part and declared by Parliament by law to be an institution of national importance.
63. The institutions known at the commencement of this Constitution as the Benares Hindu University, the Aligarh Muslim University and the Delhi University, and any other institution declared by Parliament by law to be an institution of national importance.
64. Institutions for scientific or technical education financed by the Government of India wholly or in part and declared by Parliament by law to be institutions of national importance.
65. Union agencies and institutions for—
    • (a) professional, vocational or technical training, including the training of police officers; or
    • (b) the promotion of special studies or research; or
    • (c) scientific or technical assistance in the investigation or detection of crime.
66. Co-ordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions.
67. Ancient and historical monuments and records, and archaeological sites and remains, declared by Parliament by law to be of national importance.
68. The Survey of India, the Geological, Botanical, Zoological and Anthropological Surveys of India; Meteorological organisations.
69. Census.
70. Union public services; all-India services; Union Public Service Commission.
71. Union pensions, that is to say, pensions payable by the Government of India or out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
72. Elections to Parliament, to the Legislatures of States and to the offices of President and Vice-President; the Election Commission.
73. Salaries and allowances of members of Parliament, the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People.
74. Powers, privileges and immunities of each House of Parliament and of the members and the committees of each House; enforcement of attendance of persons for giving evidence or producing documents before committees of Parliament or commissions appointed by Parliament.
75. Emoluments, allowances, privileges, and rights in respect of leave of absence, of the President and Governors; salaries and allowances of the Ministers for the Union; the salaries, allowances, and rights in respect of leave of absence and other conditions of service of the Comptroller and Auditor-General.
76. Audit of the accounts of the Union and of the States.
77. Constitution, organisation, jurisdiction and powers of the Supreme Court (including contempt of such Court), and the fees taken therein; persons entitled to practise before the Supreme Court.
78. Constitution and organisation of the High Courts except provisions as to officers and servants of High Courts; persons entitled to practise before the High Courts.
79. Extension of the jurisdiction of a High Court having its principal seat in any State to, and exclusion of the jurisdiction of any such High Court from, any area outside that State.
80. Extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a police force belonging to any State to any area outside that State, but not so as to enable the police of one State to exercise powers and jurisdiction in any area outside that State without the consent of the Government of the State in which such area is situated; extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a police force belonging to any State to railway areas outside that State.
81. Inter-State migration; inter-State quarantine.
82. Taxes on income other than agricultural income.
83. Duties of customs including export duties.
84. Duties of excise on tobacco and other goods manufactured or produced in India except—
    • (a) alcoholic liquors for human consumption;
    • (b) opium, Indian hemp and other narcotic drugs and narcotics,
    • but including medicinal and toilet preparations containing alcohol or any substance included in sub-paragraph (b) of this entry.
85. Corporation tax.
86. Taxes on the capital value of the assets, exclusive of agricultural land, of individuals and companies; taxes on the capital of companies.
87. Estate duty in respect of property other than agricultural land.
88. Duties in respect of succession to property other than agricultural land.
89. Terminal taxes on goods or passengers, carried by railway, sea or air; taxes on railway fares and freights.
90. Taxes other than stamp duties on transactions in stock exchanges and futures markets.
91. Rates of stamp duty in respect of bills of exchange, cheques, promissory notes, bills of lading, letters of credit, policies of insurance, transfer of shares, debentures, proxies and receipts.
92. Taxes on the sale or purchase of newspapers and on advertisements published therein.
93. Offences against laws with respect to any of the matters in this List.
94. Inquiries, surveys and statistics for the purpose of any of the matters in this List.
95. Jurisdiction and powers of all courts, except the Supreme Court, with respect to any of the matters in this List; admiralty jurisdiction.
96. Fees in respect of any of the matters in this List, but not including fees taken in any court.
97. Any other matter not enumerated in List II or List III including any tax not mentioned in either of those Lists.

The Draft Seventh Schedule (Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India 1950) was discussed in the Constituent Assembly on 29, 30 and 31 August 1949; 1, 2, 3 and 9 September, 1949; and 13 and 17 October 1949. Draft Article 217 conferred on Parliament and State Legislature, the power to make laws on matters listed out in the Draft Seventh Schedule. The schedule in turn provides three detailed lists – Union List, State List and Concurrent List – demarcating the matters on which Parliament and State Legislature have the sole and shared responsibility of making laws.

The Assembly took up for discussion each entry in the three lists against which amendments were moved. For instance, one item in the Union List that raised concerns of the Assembly members was the Union’s legislative control over any educational Institution that Parliament declared to be an institution of national importance. A few members were afraid this was an unnecessary expansion of the Centre’s jurisdiction as this meant that any educational institution could be brought under the Centre’s control in the future. Also, taking away more responsibilities of the State could lead to a weaker State and a sense of grievance against the Centre. Citing the State government’s incompetence and economically weak status, a few members wanted education entirely to be placed in the Union List and all Universities to be under Central control. One member reasoned that Centralisation would also mean better coordination between these institutions and greater national unity in a way.

A member moved an amendment to now place a ban on cattle-slaughter under the State List. Some members felt the Drafting Committee was being timid by not agreeing to explicitly state a ban on cow-slaughter within the Schedule. A Drafting Committee member countered that the function of this schedule was to only distribute legislative powers between the Union and the State and not to dictate the policy of the government. Hence, the Committee saw it more appropriate to limit such an entry within the Directive Principles of State Policy and not introduce it within this Schedule. He also reassured the Assembly members that the ban on cow-slaughter would be achieved even without an explicit provision in the Seventh Schedule. A member also pushed for this provision to be shifted to the Concurrent List, giving both the State and the Union legislative authority over this matter as the improvement and protection of cattle stock required the knowledge and funds of the Centre too. The finalized entry adopted by the Assembly made changes to include protection and did not include cow-slaughter.

The question of legislative control over taxation brought up a few points of conflict within the Assembly. While insisting that the duty to be paid on agricultural land must also be included in the Union List, one member took an inflexible position that States should have no financial autonomy as this would only further inequality between people and stall the country’s development. A member took a similar position on the Centre collecting agricultural duties citing the need for uniformity in taxation. The Drafting Committee member’s move to include duty on the excise of non-narcotic drugs within the Union List brought out scathing criticism from one member. He chided the Committee members that if they were going to rob the States from, ‘powers, political, financial and others, it would be better for us to say here and now that Provincial (State) Autonomy must go and there must be Unitary Government’.

One member introduced a new entry – 88-A – to the Union List that dealt with taxation on the sale or purchase of newspapers. Few members came out in strong opposition to the move. A member argued that it violated the Fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression and asked the Drafting Committee to reconsider the entry. A member opposing this position claimed that if one were to extend the meaning of freedom of speech and expression to this extent it would lead to chaos. To tax the income of newspapers did not in any way offend the freedom of speech and expression. The Drafting Committee Chairman did not accept these arguments. He reasoned that as long as the taxation was reasonable and non-discriminatory it did not go against the freedom of speech and expression. Eventually entry 88-A was approved by the Assembly to be included in the Union List of the Seventh Schedule.

The Assembly systematically took up each entry for discussion and went about the proceedings over the course of 9 days. Finally, the Seventh Schedule with all the amendments was adopted as part of the Constitution.