Take any two contemporary laws in India and show how the presence of their subject matter in the Concurrent List contributes to sound public policy.
India is a federal form of government and because labour is a subject in the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution, labour matters are in the jurisdiction of both central and state governments. Both central and state governments have enacted laws on labour relations and employment issues. The advantages with placing a subject in the Concurrent List is that it has national orientation and at the same time has regional flexibility. While the federal law sets standards, states can have their own local variations. Thus, competitive federalism works well. For example, labour legislation. It may not be feasible to liberalise the labour law for the whole country but states can do so if they have compelling advantages. Rajasthan government did it and was followed by the Madhya Pradesh government. Government of Rajasthan reformed three labour laws: Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, the Contract Labour Act, 1970 and the Factories Act, 1947.
It attracts investment, creates jobs and prosperity. Similarly, Umnion Legislature enacted Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. It protects land owners when they sell land for any public purpose. However, some states have resented rigidities. Tamil Nadu amended it to suit its own conditions in 2015. Thus, land acquisition being a Concurrent subject helps in making sound public policy at the national and state level.
