The Union Legislature comprises the President and the two Houses of the Parliament. With reference to the Parliament, answer the following questions:
Mention any three legislative powers of the Union Parliament.
Topic: Legislative powers of Parliament
Answer
(1) It has exclusive power to make laws on the 97 subjects of the UNION LIST — defence, foreign affairs, currency, railways, banking and the like. (2) It may make laws on the 47 subjects of the CONCURRENT LIST along with the State Legislatures; if a Union law and a State law on the same subject conflict, the law made by Parliament prevails. (3) It may legislate even on subjects in the STATE LIST in certain circumstances — during a National Emergency, when the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a two-thirds majority that a State subject has assumed national importance, or when two or more States request it to do so.
One mark per power. The neatest structure is by LIST — Union, Concurrent, State — which guarantees three distinct points and shows you understand the division of powers. The numbers 97 and 47 are worth giving, and so is the rule that the Union law prevails in a conflict on the Concurrent List. The third point is the most examinable, since it is the exception to the ordinary federal rule.