Governance and Public Policy — Policy Changes

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
73rd Amendment	1992	Added Part IX to the Constitution, providing constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions. Mandated three-tier structure (village, intermediate, district levels), regular elections every five years, reservation for SCs, STs, and women, and establishment of State Election Commissions and State Finance Commissions.	Revolutionized rural governance by institutionalizing participatory democracy at grassroots level. Empowered local communities in development planning and implementation, though effectiveness varies across states due to inadequate devolution of functions, funds, and functionaries.
74th Amendment	1992	Added Part IXA to the Constitution, providing constitutional framework for Urban Local Bodies. Established municipalities as institutions of self-government, mandated regular elections, reservation provisions, and creation of District Planning Committees and Metropolitan Planning Committees.	Strengthened urban governance by creating constitutional framework for city administration. However, implementation remains weak due to state government reluctance to devolve powers, inadequate financial resources, and capacity constraints in urban local bodies.
91st Amendment	2003	Limited the size of Council of Ministers to 15% of the strength of the House (minimum 12 members). Added Tenth Schedule provisions to prevent defection by ministers. Aimed at reducing political instability and improving governance quality.	Reduced political horse-trading and improved government stability by limiting ministerial positions. However, the amendment has had limited impact on overall governance quality as political considerations continue to influence ministerial appointments and policy decisions.
101st Amendment	2016	Introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST) by adding Article 246A (concurrent power to levy GST), Article 269A (GST as Union tax), and establishing GST Council as constitutional body for tax administration coordination between Union and States.	Created India's most significant tax reform, establishing cooperative federalism in taxation. The GST Council demonstrates successful federal coordination, though implementation challenges and revenue concerns for states continue to require ongoing policy adjustments.

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