INTRODUCTION 
    There are different forms of power sharing like horizontal power sharing, vertical power sharing, social power sharing, coalition, etc. In large countries like India for success of democracy power sharing becomes essential. In vertical power sharing we include the power sharing among union government, state government and local self government this is generally referred to federalism.It is also a convinient method to run the administration of the country successfully. This chapter deals with various aspects of federalism and some important concepts related to it.

what is federlism?    
    Belgium    
    One of the key changes made in the Constitution of Belgium was to reduce the power of the Central Government and to give these powers to the regional governments. 
    Regional governments existed in Belgium even earlier. They had their roles and powers. But all these powers were given to these governments and could be withdrawn by the Central Government.
    The change that took place in 1993 was that the regional governments were given constitutional powers that were no longer dependent on the central government. Thus, Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal form of government, 
    Sri Lanka
    Continues to be, for all practical purposes, a unitary system where the national government has all the powers. Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system.     
    Federalism
    Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.

Usually, a federation has two levels of government :–  
    (1)    The government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
    (2)    The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the 
day-to-day administering of their state.
    Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.    
    Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Features of Federalism
    (1)    There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government. 
    (2)    ‘Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
    (3)    The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
    (4)    The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government. (i.e. central and state) 
    (5)    Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
    (6)    Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
    (7)    The federal system thus has dual objectives: 
        (a) To safeguard and promote unity of the country,
        (b) While at the same time accommodate regional diversity. 

    Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism: 
    (1)    Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.
    (2)    They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.An ideal federal system has both aspects : mutual trust and agreement to live together.

The exact balance of power between the central and the state government varies from one federation to another.

This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed.
    There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.     
    First Route
    The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignity and retaining identity they can increase their security. This type of ‘coming together’ federations include USA, Switzerland and Australia. 
    In this first category of federations, all the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong 
    vis-a-vis the federal government.
    Second Route
    The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. 
    India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. 
    In this second category, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the States. 
    Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.Some units are granted special powers.

 

INTRODUCTION 
    There are different forms of power sharing like horizontal power sharing, vertical power sharing, social power sharing, coalition, etc. In large countries like India for success of democracy power sharing becomes essential. In vertical power sharing we include the power sharing among union government, state government and local self government this is generally referred to federalism.It is also a convinient method to run the administration of the country successfully. This chapter deals with various aspects of federalism and some important concepts related to it.

what is federlism?    
    Belgium    
    One of the key changes made in the Constitution of Belgium was to reduce the power of the Central Government and to give these powers to the regional governments. 
    Regional governments existed in Belgium even earlier. They had their roles and powers. But all these powers were given to these governments and could be withdrawn by the Central Government.
    The change that took place in 1993 was that the regional governments were given constitutional powers that were no longer dependent on the central government. Thus, Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal form of government, 
    Sri Lanka
    Continues to be, for all practical purposes, a unitary system where the national government has all the powers. Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system.     
    Federalism
    Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.

Usually, a federation has two levels of government :–  
    (1)    The government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
    (2)    The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the 
day-to-day administering of their state.
    Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.    
    Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Features of Federalism
    (1)    There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government. 
    (2)    ‘Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
    (3)    The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
    (4)    The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government. (i.e. central and state) 
    (5)    Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
    (6)    Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
    (7)    The federal system thus has dual objectives: 
        (a) To safeguard and promote unity of the country,
        (b) While at the same time accommodate regional diversity. 

    Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism: 
    (1)    Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.
    (2)    They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.An ideal federal system has both aspects : mutual trust and agreement to live together.

The exact balance of power between the central and the state government varies from one federation to another.

This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed.
    There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.     
    First Route
    The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignity and retaining identity they can increase their security. This type of ‘coming together’ federations include USA, Switzerland and Australia. 
    In this first category of federations, all the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong 
    vis-a-vis the federal government.
    Second Route
    The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. 
    India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. 
    In this second category, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the States. 
    Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.Some units are granted special powers.

 

INTRODUCTION 
    There are different forms of power sharing like horizontal power sharing, vertical power sharing, social power sharing, coalition, etc. In large countries like India for success of democracy power sharing becomes essential. In vertical power sharing we include the power sharing among union government, state government and local self government this is generally referred to federalism.It is also a convinient method to run the administration of the country successfully. This chapter deals with various aspects of federalism and some important concepts related to it.

what is federlism?    
    Belgium    
    One of the key changes made in the Constitution of Belgium was to reduce the power of the Central Government and to give these powers to the regional governments. 
    Regional governments existed in Belgium even earlier. They had their roles and powers. But all these powers were given to these governments and could be withdrawn by the Central Government.
    The change that took place in 1993 was that the regional governments were given constitutional powers that were no longer dependent on the central government. Thus, Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal form of government, 
    Sri Lanka
    Continues to be, for all practical purposes, a unitary system where the national government has all the powers. Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system.     
    Federalism
    Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.

Usually, a federation has two levels of government :–  
    (1)    The government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
    (2)    The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the 
day-to-day administering of their state.
    Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.    
    Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Features of Federalism
    (1)    There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government. 
    (2)    ‘Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
    (3)    The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
    (4)    The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government. (i.e. central and state) 
    (5)    Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
    (6)    Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
    (7)    The federal system thus has dual objectives: 
        (a) To safeguard and promote unity of the country,
        (b) While at the same time accommodate regional diversity. 

    Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism: 
    (1)    Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.
    (2)    They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.An ideal federal system has both aspects : mutual trust and agreement to live together.

The exact balance of power between the central and the state government varies from one federation to another.

This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed.
    There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.     
    First Route
    The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignity and retaining identity they can increase their security. This type of ‘coming together’ federations include USA, Switzerland and Australia. 
    In this first category of federations, all the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong 
    vis-a-vis the federal government.
    Second Route
    The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. 
    India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. 
    In this second category, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the States. 
    Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.Some units are granted special powers.

 

INTRODUCTION 
    There are different forms of power sharing like horizontal power sharing, vertical power sharing, social power sharing, coalition, etc. In large countries like India for success of democracy power sharing becomes essential. In vertical power sharing we include the power sharing among union government, state government and local self government this is generally referred to federalism.It is also a convinient method to run the administration of the country successfully. This chapter deals with various aspects of federalism and some important concepts related to it.

what is federlism?    
    Belgium    
    One of the key changes made in the Constitution of Belgium was to reduce the power of the Central Government and to give these powers to the regional governments. 
    Regional governments existed in Belgium even earlier. They had their roles and powers. But all these powers were given to these governments and could be withdrawn by the Central Government.
    The change that took place in 1993 was that the regional governments were given constitutional powers that were no longer dependent on the central government. Thus, Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal form of government, 
    Sri Lanka
    Continues to be, for all practical purposes, a unitary system where the national government has all the powers. Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system.     
    Federalism
    Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.

Usually, a federation has two levels of government :–  
    (1)    The government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
    (2)    The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the 
day-to-day administering of their state.
    Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.    
    Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Features of Federalism
    (1)    There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government. 
    (2)    ‘Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
    (3)    The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
    (4)    The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government. (i.e. central and state) 
    (5)    Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
    (6)    Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
    (7)    The federal system thus has dual objectives: 
        (a) To safeguard and promote unity of the country,
        (b) While at the same time accommodate regional diversity. 

    Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism: 
    (1)    Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.
    (2)    They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.An ideal federal system has both aspects : mutual trust and agreement to live together.

The exact balance of power between the central and the state government varies from one federation to another.

This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed.
    There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.     
    First Route
    The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignity and retaining identity they can increase their security. This type of ‘coming together’ federations include USA, Switzerland and Australia. 
    In this first category of federations, all the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong 
    vis-a-vis the federal government.
    Second Route
    The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. 
    India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. 
    In this second category, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the States. 
    Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.Some units are granted special powers.

 

INTRODUCTION 
    There are different forms of power sharing like horizontal power sharing, vertical power sharing, social power sharing, coalition, etc. In large countries like India for success of democracy power sharing becomes essential. In vertical power sharing we include the power sharing among union government, state government and local self government this is generally referred to federalism.It is also a convinient method to run the administration of the country successfully. This chapter deals with various aspects of federalism and some important concepts related to it.

what is federlism?    
    Belgium    
    One of the key changes made in the Constitution of Belgium was to reduce the power of the Central Government and to give these powers to the regional governments. 
    Regional governments existed in Belgium even earlier. They had their roles and powers. But all these powers were given to these governments and could be withdrawn by the Central Government.
    The change that took place in 1993 was that the regional governments were given constitutional powers that were no longer dependent on the central government. Thus, Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal form of government, 
    Sri Lanka
    Continues to be, for all practical purposes, a unitary system where the national government has all the powers. Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system.     
    Federalism
    Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.

Usually, a federation has two levels of government :–  
    (1)    The government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
    (2)    The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the 
day-to-day administering of their state.
    Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.    
    Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Features of Federalism
    (1)    There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government. 
    (2)    ‘Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
    (3)    The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
    (4)    The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government. (i.e. central and state) 
    (5)    Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
    (6)    Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
    (7)    The federal system thus has dual objectives: 
        (a) To safeguard and promote unity of the country,
        (b) While at the same time accommodate regional diversity. 

    Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism: 
    (1)    Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.
    (2)    They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.An ideal federal system has both aspects : mutual trust and agreement to live together.

The exact balance of power between the central and the state government varies from one federation to another.

This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed.
    There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.     
    First Route
    The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignity and retaining identity they can increase their security. This type of ‘coming together’ federations include USA, Switzerland and Australia. 
    In this first category of federations, all the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong 
    vis-a-vis the federal government.
    Second Route
    The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. 
    India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. 
    In this second category, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the States. 
    Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.Some units are granted special powers.

 

INTRODUCTION 
    There are different forms of power sharing like horizontal power sharing, vertical power sharing, social power sharing, coalition, etc. In large countries like India for success of democracy power sharing becomes essential. In vertical power sharing we include the power sharing among union government, state government and local self government this is generally referred to federalism.It is also a convinient method to run the administration of the country successfully. This chapter deals with various aspects of federalism and some important concepts related to it.

what is federlism?    
    Belgium    
    One of the key changes made in the Constitution of Belgium was to reduce the power of the Central Government and to give these powers to the regional governments. 
    Regional governments existed in Belgium even earlier. They had their roles and powers. But all these powers were given to these governments and could be withdrawn by the Central Government.
    The change that took place in 1993 was that the regional governments were given constitutional powers that were no longer dependent on the central government. Thus, Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal form of government, 
    Sri Lanka
    Continues to be, for all practical purposes, a unitary system where the national government has all the powers. Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system.     
    Federalism
    Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.

Usually, a federation has two levels of government :–  
    (1)    The government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
    (2)    The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the 
day-to-day administering of their state.
    Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.    
    Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Features of Federalism
    (1)    There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government. 
    (2)    ‘Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
    (3)    The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
    (4)    The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government. (i.e. central and state) 
    (5)    Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
    (6)    Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
    (7)    The federal system thus has dual objectives: 
        (a) To safeguard and promote unity of the country,
        (b) While at the same time accommodate regional diversity. 

    Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism: 
    (1)    Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.
    (2)    They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.An ideal federal system has both aspects : mutual trust and agreement to live together.

The exact balance of power between the central and the state government varies from one federation to another.

This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed.
    There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.     
    First Route
    The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignity and retaining identity they can increase their security. This type of ‘coming together’ federations include USA, Switzerland and Australia. 
    In this first category of federations, all the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong 
    vis-a-vis the federal government.
    Second Route
    The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. 
    India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. 
    In this second category, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the States. 
    Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.Some units are granted special powers.

 

INTRODUCTION 
    There are different forms of power sharing like horizontal power sharing, vertical power sharing, social power sharing, coalition, etc. In large countries like India for success of democracy power sharing becomes essential. In vertical power sharing we include the power sharing among union government, state government and local self government this is generally referred to federalism.It is also a convinient method to run the administration of the country successfully. This chapter deals with various aspects of federalism and some important concepts related to it.

what is federlism?    
    Belgium    
    One of the key changes made in the Constitution of Belgium was to reduce the power of the Central Government and to give these powers to the regional governments. 
    Regional governments existed in Belgium even earlier. They had their roles and powers. But all these powers were given to these governments and could be withdrawn by the Central Government.
    The change that took place in 1993 was that the regional governments were given constitutional powers that were no longer dependent on the central government. Thus, Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal form of government, 
    Sri Lanka
    Continues to be, for all practical purposes, a unitary system where the national government has all the powers. Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system.     
    Federalism
    Federalism is a system of government in which the power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country.

Usually, a federation has two levels of government :–  
    (1)    The government for the entire country that is usually responsible for a few subjects of common national interest.
    (2)    The others are governments at the level of provinces or states that look after much of the 
day-to-day administering of their state.
    Both these levels of governments enjoy their power independent of the other.    
    Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Unitary System 
    (Under the unitary system either there is only one level of government or the sub-units are subordinate to the central government.)
    The central government can pass on orders to the provincial or the local government 
    But in a federal system, the central government cannot order the state government to do something.
    State government has powers of its own for which it is not answerable to the central government. 
    Both these governments are separately answerable to the people of their respective states.

Features of Federalism
    (1)    There are two or more levels (or tiers) of government. 
    (2)    ‘Different tiers of government govern the same citizens, but each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation, taxation and administration.
    (3)    The jurisdictions of the respective levels or tiers of government are specified in the constitution. So the existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally guaranteed.
    (4)    The fundamental provisions of the constitution cannot be unilaterally changed by one level of government. Such changes require the consent of both the levels of government. (i.e. central and state) 
    (5)    Courts have the power to interpret the constitution and the powers of different levels of government. The highest court acts as an umpire if disputes arise between different levels of government in the exercise of their respective powers.
    (6)    Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to ensure its financial autonomy.
    (7)    The federal system thus has dual objectives: 
        (a) To safeguard and promote unity of the country,
        (b) While at the same time accommodate regional diversity. 

    Two aspects are crucial for the institutions and practice of federalism: 
    (1)    Governments at different levels should agree to some rules of power sharing.
    (2)    They should also trust that each would abide by its part of the agreement.An ideal federal system has both aspects : mutual trust and agreement to live together.

The exact balance of power between the central and the state government varies from one federation to another.

This balance depends mainly on the historical context in which the federation was formed.
    There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been formed.     
    First Route
    The first route involves independent States coming together on their own to form a bigger unit, so that by pooling sovereignity and retaining identity they can increase their security. This type of ‘coming together’ federations include USA, Switzerland and Australia. 
    In this first category of federations, all the constituent States usually have equal power and are strong 
    vis-a-vis the federal government.
    Second Route
    The second route is where a large country decides to divide its power between the constituent States and the national government. 
    India, Spain and Belgium are examples of this kind of ‘holding together’ federations. 
    In this second category, the central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the States. 
    Very often different constituent units of the federation have unequal powers.Some units are granted special powers.