---
title: "Article 246: Distribution of Legislative Powers"
description: "Article 246 splits Indian lawmaking between Parliament and states via the Union, State, and Concurrent Lists. Learn how Union supremacy resolves conflicts."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/article-246-distribution-of-legislative-powers"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Article 246 of the Indian Constitution distributes legislative powers between Parliament and state legislatures through three lists in the Seventh Schedule.
- Which list prevails when Parliament and a state legislate on the same subject?
- Where do residuary powers lie under the Article 246 scheme?
- How did the 42nd Amendment alter Article 246's distribution?
- How does the GST framework relate to Article 246?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

For the working practitioner, Article 246 is the first reference point in any question of legislative competence, vires of a statute, or Centre–State dispute under Article 131. Desk officers drafting Union legislation must locate a supporting entry in List I or III; state law officers defending a statute invoke pith and substance and the State List. Policy researchers tracking federalism—on GST revenue, agricultural reform, or police modernisation—return repeatedly to the lists' boundaries. For UPSC and graduate study of Indian polity, Article 246 anchors the entire architecture of Union–State legislative relations and the constitutional management of a quasi-federal polity.

### Opponents

Contemporary application is constant. The Goods and Services Tax, enacted through the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016, restructured this very allocation by inserting Article 246A to create a special concurrent taxing power and establishing the GST Council under Article 279A. In 2020, Parliament's three farm laws were challenged on the ground that "agriculture" and "agricultural markets" fall under State List entries 14 and 28, illustrating live federal contestation; the laws were repealed in November 2021. The Ministry of Home Affairs and state home departments routinely negotiate the boundary of "public order" (State List Entry 1) against Union security legislation. Disputes over the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) turned on education's placement in Concurrent List Entry 25 after the 42nd Amendment.

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Example

In November 2021, the Government of India repealed three farm laws after states argued that agriculture fell under State List Entries 14 and 28, beyond Parliament's competence under Article 246.

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