Indian Polity Notes Which You Shouldn’t Miss!

This post is a compilation of our most viewed notes on Indian Polity, which we think our readers should not miss.

Learn Indian Polity: Must-read study materials

ClearIAS recommends aspirants learn Indian Polity by dividing it into three heads:

1. Indian Polity Concepts (Eg: State, Organs of the state etc)
2. Indian Constitution (All the important parts and articles)
3. Day-to-Day Indian Polity (Eg: Important Acts, Important Judgments etc)

The below-mentioned notes are a must-read for aspirants preparing for various exams.

Indian Constitution (basic concepts)

• Historical background of the Indian Constitution.
• Constitution of India: List of All Articles (1-395) and Parts (1-22).
• Indian Constitution Parts and Articles.
• Parts of Indian Constitution: A brief overview.
• Schedules of Indian Constitution: A brief overview.
• Must-Know Articles of Indian Constitution: A brief overview.

Indian Constitution

The below-mentioned posts follow the same order of the Constitution of India and hence we strongly suggest all aspirants follow the same for easy comprehension. Then build your concepts with respect to the three organs of the state, ie Executive, Legislature and Judiciary by reading the posts below.

• The Preamble of the Constitution.
• Union and its Territory.
• Citizenship.
• Fundamental Rights.
• Directive Principles of State Policy.
• Fundamental Duties.
• President.
• Vice-president.
• Prime Minister, CoM and Attorney General.
• Parliament.
• Supreme Court.
• Governor.
• Chief Minister and CoM.
• State Legislature.

The 3 organs of the State

The 3 organs of the state – Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary are very important. Also, understand the Fundamental Rights and DPSPs.

Legislature

• Sessions of Parliament: Adjournment, Prorogation, Dissolution etc.
• When Does a Bill Lapse in Indian Parliament?
• Types of Majorities Used in the Indian Parliament.
• Parliamentary Committees in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
• Important Parliamentary Committees in Detail.
• Election to Rajya Sabha: The Procedure.
• Government Budgeting in India – The Process and Constitutional Requirements.
• Budget Documents Made Simple: Key to Budget Documents.
• Difference between Full Budget and Vote on Account.
• Cut Motions: Policy Cut, Economy Cut, and Token Cut.

Executive

• President of India – Discretionary Powers You Never Knew Existed!

Judiciary

• Basic Structure Doctrine
• Indian Judicial Doctrines – Principles of Constitutional Law Explained
• Procedure Established by Law vs Due Process of Law.
• Special Leave Petition vs Review Petition vs Curative Petition vs Mercy Petition
• Capital Punishment, Mercy Pleas and the Supreme Court.
• Judicial Review vs Judicial Activism vs Judicial Overreach.
• Contempt of Court: Time for a relook?
• The Problem of Pending Cases in Indian Courts: How to tackle?
• The Problem of Excessive Government Litigation
• Arbitration in India – Mechanism and Challenges
• Right to Privacy as a Fundamental Right – Implications of the Verdict
• Gram Nyayalayas: Village Courts in India

Fundamental Rights

• Procedure Established by Law vs Due Process of Law.
• Fundamental Rights vs Directive Principles: What if there is a conflict?
• Fundamental Rights Available Only to Citizens of India
• Reservation in India – Explained in Layman’s Terms
• Encounter Killings – Can the ‘Extra-Judicial Killings’ be Justified?
• Article 35A of Indian Constitution – Should it be Scrapped?
• Defamation in India – IPC Section 499/500 vs Freedom of Speech
• Transgender Rights – Legal Recognition: The need of the hour

Centre-State Relations

1. Inter-State Council vs National Development Council.
2. NITI Aayog: The new ‘think-tank’ to replace the Planning Commission.
3. All-India Judicial Services (AIJS): Should it be formed?
4. Indian Federalism – 15 Issues that Challenge the Federal Structure of India
5. Inter-State River Water Disputes in India: Is it time for a new mechanism rather than tribunals?
6. Simultaneous Elections: Will this be good for India?

Local Self Government

• Evolution of Local Self-Government (Panchayati Raj System) in India

Constitutional Bodies and Non-Constitutional Bodies in India

• Constitutional Bodies in India – Detailed List with Explanation
• Non-Constitutional Bodies in India (Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies)

Non-Constitutional Bodies (Examples)

• National Commission for Minorities (NCM)

Policies, Bills and Acts (Statutes)

• Representation of Peoples Act 1950 and 1951.
• Right To Information Act 2005.
• Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.
• Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013.
• Indian Companies Act 2013.
• Anti-Defection Law: Is it time for reconsideration?
• SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act – Recent Issues and Court Rulings
• Uniform Civil Code (UCC): Pros and Cons in a nutshell
• FRBM Act – Guidelines, Targets, and Escape Clause
• National Security Act (NSA)

Governance

• 100+ Government Schemes and the Implementing Ministries.
• Role of Civil Services in a Democracy.
• Functions of an IAS Officer.
• IAS/IPS Allocation Overhaul Proposal by PMO – An Impractical Move to Create A ‘Loyal’ Bureaucracy?
• Lateral Entry into Civil Services – Should the Government Allow It?
• Police Reforms in India – Against the backdrop of T P Senkumar Case
• Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions and Bodies for Vulnerable Sections.
• Sevottam Model.
• Jallikattu: History, Court Rulings, and Controversy
• The Problems of Medical Education in India – Should the Medical Council of India (MCI) be Scrapped?
• Right To Recall – Can this clean up the Indian Political System?
• Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs): Can they be tampered with?

Social Justice

• North India-South India Divide – Is there a Growing Regional Divide in India?
• Modern Slavery – Why Contemporary Slavery in India Should Be an Urgent Concern?
• Criminal Justice System of India – Is it time to implement the Malimath Committee Report?
• Major Tribes in India: State-wise compilation.
• SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act – Recent Issues and Court Rulings
• Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) – Understand the 10% Quota Bill
• Sabarimala Temple Issue – Should Women of All Ages Be Allowed To Enter?

Indian Polity: Recent Issues

• Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 – Government’s Clarification on CAA
• Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 2019 – Why is it controversial?
• National Population Register (NPR) – How is it different from the National Register of Citizens (NRC)?

Learn more…

Check the Indian Polity notes category to read the complete article archives (from the latest posts to the oldest ones).

How to download ClearIAS Notes?

Every note published on ClearIAS.com has a print-pdf button attached at the post-bottom-right. Readers can download each of the notes as a PDF for free using the ‘print-pdf’ option.

Alternatively, you can use the website ‘printfriendly.com’ to enter the URL of any posts in ClearIAS.com to download a clean, reader-friendly PDF.

What should you understand by the term Polity?

For ease of convenience, it’s always mentioned as polity, but the UPSC syllabus for Prelims elaborates these topics in a few more words, ie. “Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.” Undoubtedly, the Constitution is the most important topic under Indian Polity. Apart from those new bills, laws, governance issues etc. should also be studied.

Books to learn Indian Polity and Constitution

1. Indian Polity – by M. Laxmikanth (Click to buy from Amazon)
2. Important Acts that Transformed India – by Alex Andrews George (Click to buy from Amazon)
3. Important Judgments that Transformed India – by Alex Andrews George (Click to buy from Amazon)

Note: Important Judgments that transformed India – Alex Andrews George: This book perfectly compliments Laxmikanth’s Indian Polity. The approach used in this book is to present Indian Polity and Constitution from the perspective of the Indian Judiciary – through several landmark judgments.

Indian Polity Books for extra reference

• Introduction to the Constitution of India by Durga Das Basu
• Constitution of India: A handbook for students by Subhash Kashyap
• Our Parliament by Subhash Kashyap.
• India Year Book.
• Class 11 and 12 NCERT textbook of Political Science.
• Governance in India – Laxmikanth

Our approach and advice!

ClearIAS has prepared a lot of free online resources to supplement your Indian polity preparation. If you want to get a comprehensive idea about the Indian Constitution and its 395 articles, start from the mega-post: Constitution of India: List of All Articles (1-395) and Parts (1-22). We have tried to cover in detail, each article of the Indian Constitution, explaining the non-constitutional or current affairs associated with each article.

Then, browse our posts which will help you to build concepts regarding the three organs of state – executive, legislature and judiciary. Apart from Indian Polity notes, check the tag ‘notes for IAS Mains GS2 paper‘ which includes study materials written especially from the UPSC CSE main exam point of view.