A commentary has called for reviving the Inter-State Council as a regular Centre-State forum, saying issues like delimitation should be settled only after consulting States.

The Council is a consultative body, not a decision-making one.

• Article 263: The President may set it up. Its duties include advising on disputes between States, discussing subjects of common interest and recommending better coordination of policy.
• Creation: By a Presidential Order of 28 May 1990, after the Sarkaria Commission.
• Composition: The Prime Minister as chairman, with Chief Ministers and six Union Cabinet Ministers.
• Standing Committee and Secretariat: The Standing Committee was set up in 1996 (chaired by the Home Minister) and the Secretariat in 1991.

• Rare meetings: It should meet three times a year, but the last meeting was in July 2016.
• Under the Home Ministry: The commentary says it works as part of a central ministry and cannot set its own agenda.
• Preference for informal talks: Governments often decide on their own or hold informal talks instead.
• Lack of trust: Policies are made without asking Chief Ministers, especially of Opposition-ruled States.
• Takeaway: A forum that does not meet cannot build trust.

• The freeze: Seats in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies are fixed on 1971 Census numbers until the first Census after 2026 (84th Amendment, 2001).
• States’ concern: A change in the distribution of seats affects the balance of power between States, so States want a say.
• The argument: Deciding the issue in Parliament alone bypasses the States, and the Council is the natural forum for them to express their views.

• Advisory nature: The Council cannot bind the Centre or States.
• Overlapping forums: The GST Council, NITI Aayog’s Governing Council and Zonal Councils also deal with Centre-State issues.
• Political will: The Prime Minister decides when it meets and what it discusses.
• Trust deficit: States ruled by different parties may doubt the Centre’s intent.

• Article 263: Provision for an Inter-State Council.
• Establishment: 28 May 1990, by a Presidential Order, on the Sarkaria Commission’s advice (1983-88).
• Composition: Prime Minister as chairman, Chief Ministers and six Union Cabinet Ministers.
• Standing Committee and Secretariat: The Standing Committee (1996) is chaired by the Home Minister, and the Secretariat was set up in 1991.
• Zonal Councils: Statutory bodies under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, with five zones.
• Punchhi Commission: The second commission on Centre-State relations.
• Related articles: Article 262 (inter-State water disputes) and Article 131 (Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction in Centre-State disputes).
• Delimitation: Articles 82 and 170. The 84th Amendment (2001) keeps seats on 1971 numbers until the first Census after 2026.