General Studies II · Subtopic
Federal issues and challenges
Official syllabus
Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal structure, devolution of powers and finances up to local levels and challenges therein.
UPSC CSE 2026 notification
What this covers
Identify federal tensions and mechanisms of cooperation without treating every policy disagreement as a constitutional dispute.
Key ideas
- Coordination
- Inter-State disagreement
- Fiscal asymmetry
- Institutional forums
- Accountability across levels