1.1. Regulating Act of 1773

This was the first step taken by the British government to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company. It led to the foundation of central administration in India.

Features

• It designated the Governor of Bengal as the Governor General of Bengal and created an Executive council of four to assist him. The first such Governor–General was Lord Warren Hastings.
• It made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the governor–general of Bengal, unlike earlier when three presidencies were independent of one another.
• It provided for the establishment of a Supreme Court at Calcutta ( 1774)comprising one Chief Justice and three other judges.
• It prohibited the servants of the company from engaging in any private trade or accepting presents or bribes from the natives.
• It strengthened the control of the British government over the company by requiring the Court of Directors to report on its revenue, and civil, and military affairs in India.

1. 2. Pitts India Act of 1784-Governor General Warren Hasting

• It distinguished between the commercial and political functions of the company.
• Court of Directors to manage commercial affairs and created to new body Board of Control to manage political affairs, establishing a system of double government.
• It empowered the Board of Control to supervise and direct all operations of the civil and military government or revenues of the British possession in India.
• Company’s territories in India for the first time called the British possession in India and the British Government was given supreme control over company affairs and its administration in India.

1. 3. Charter Act of 1813- Governor General Lord Minto I

• It ended the monopoly of East India Company in India, the company’s monopoly in trade with China and trade in tea with India was kept intact.
• This act regulated the company’s territorial revenues and commercial profits. It was asked to keep its territorial and commercial accounts separate.
• The company‘s dividend was fixed at 10.5% per annum.
• There was also a provision that the company should invest 1 lac every year in the education of Indians.
• It empowered the Local Governments in India to impose taxes on persons and to punish those who did not pay.
• The company rule was extended for another 20 years.
• This act was to grant permission to the missionaries to come to India and engage in religious proselytization.

1. 4. Charter Act of 1833-Governor General Lord William Bentick

• It made the Governor General of Bengal the Governor–General of India and vested in him all civil-military powers. Lord William Bentick was the first governor–general of India.
• The Governor General of India was given exclusive legislative powers for the entire British India thus depriving the governor of Bombay and Madras of their legislative powers. Laws made under earlier acts were called Regulations while laws made under this act were called Acts.
• It ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body, which became a purely administrative body
• This act attempted to introduce open competition in the selection of civil services but was negated after opposition from the Court of Directors.
• The Governor–General’s government was called the Government of India and the council was called the Indian Council.
• The Indian Law Commission was established to codify all Indian laws. The first Law Commission had Lord Macaulay as its chairman.
• The Governor–General in Council had the authority to amend, repeal or alter any law in British Indian territories. The Governor–General council was to have four members again.
• The act also directed the Governor–General in council to adopt measures to mitigate the state of slavery.
• It laid down regulations for establishment of Christian establishment in India and the number of Bishops was made 3.

1. 5. Charter Act of 1853 Governor General – Lord Dalhousie

This act was passed when Lord Dalhousie was Governor–General of India.

• It separated for the first time legislative and executive functions of the Governor General Council. It provided for the addition of six new members called legislative councilors to the council, it established a separate Governor General legislative council which came to be known as the Central Legislative Council.
• Introduced an open competition system for the selection and recruitment of civil servants. Macaulay committee (the Committee on the Indian Civil Services) was appointed in 1854.
• Introduced local representation in the Central legislative council, of the six new legislative members of the Governor-General Council four were appointed by the local(provincial ) governments of Madras, Bombay, Bengal and Agra.
• The number of Board of Directors was reduced from 24 to 18 out of which 6 people were to be nominated by the British Crown. This served as the foundation of the modern parliamentary form of government.

2. CROWN RULE

2.1. Government of India Act 1858- Lord Canning

• Also known as the Act for the Good Government of India, abolished the East India Company and transferred the powers of government, territories and revenues to the British crown. This act was enacted in the wake of the Revolt of 1857.
• It changed the designation of the Governor–General of India to that of the Viceroy of India, The Viceroy was the direct representative of the British Crown in India. Lord Canning became the first Viceroy of India.
• It ended the system of double government by abolishing the Board of Control and Court of Directors.
• It created a new office Secretary of State for India, vested with complete authority and control over Indian administration. The Secretary of State was a member of the British Cabinet and was responsible to the British Parliament.
• It established a 15-member council of India to assist the Secretary of State for India. The council was an advisory body. The Secretary of state was made the chairman of the council.

2.2. Indian Council Act of  1861-Lord Canning

• It made the beginning of representative institutions by associating Indians with the law-making process. It thus provided that the Viceroy should nominate some Indians as non-official members of his expanded council, in 1862 Lord Canning the then Viceroy nominated three Indians to his legislative council- Raja of Benaras, Maharaja of Patiala and Sir Dinkar Rao.
• It initiated the process of decentralization by restoring the legislative powers to the Bombay and Madras presidencies
• It provided for the establishment of new legislative councils for Bengal, North–Western Frontier provinces and Punjab.
• It gave recognition to the’ Portfolio’ system introduced by Lord Canning in 1859 in this a member of the viceroy’s council was made in – charge of one or more departments of the government and was authorized to issue final orders on behalf of the council on matters of his department.
• It empowered the Viceroy to issue ordinances, without the concurrence of the legislative council, during an emergency. The life of such an ordinance is six months.
• For executive functions of the council, a fifth member was added. Now there were five members for home, military, law, revenue and finance.
• For legislative purposes, the Governor-General‘s council was enlarged. Now there were to be between 6 to 12 additional members. ( nominated by Governor–General)
• They were appointed for 2 years. Their functions were confined to legislative measures.
• Any bill related to public revenue or debt, military, religion or foreign affairs could not be passed without the Governor-General‘s assent.
• The Viceroy had the power to overrule the council.
• The Governor–General also had the power to promulgate ordinances without the council’s concurrence.
• The act restored the legislative powers of the Governor in Councils of the presidencies of Madras and Bombay.
• The legislative council of Calcutta had extensive power to pass laws for the whole of British India.

2.3. Indian Council Act 1892-Lord Dufferin

• Introduced by Richard Assheton Cross. It increased the number of additional (non-official) members in the central and provincial legislative councils but maintained the official majority in them.
• It increased the functions of legislative councils and gave them the power to discuss the budget and address questions to the executive.
• It provided for the nomination of some non–official members of the(a) central legislative council by the viceroy on the recommendation of the provincial legislative councils and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and (b) that of the provincial legislative councils by the Governors on the recommendations of the district boards, municipalities, universities, trade association and chambers.

2.4. Government of India Act 1909- Lord Minto

• Also known as Morley- Minto reforms (Lord Morley was then Secretary of State for India and Lord Minto was then Viceroy of India).
• It increased the size of legislative councils, in the Central Legislative Council the number was raised from 16 to 60 and in Provisional legislative councils the number was not uniform.
• It retained an official majority in the central Legislative council but allowed the Provincial legislative council to have a non-official majority.
• It enlarged the deliberative functions of the legislative councils at both levels, members were allowed to ask supplementary questions, and move resolutions on the budget.
• It provided for the first time for the association of Indians with the executive council of the Viceroy and Governors. Satyendra Prasad Sinha first Indian to join the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
• It introduced a system of communal representation for Muslims by accepting the concept of a ‘separate electorate’, under this Muslim members were to be elected by Muslim voters only. Lord Minto came to be known as the Father of the Communal Electorate.
• It also provides for the separate representation of presidential corporations, chambers of commerce, universities and zamindars.

2.5. Government of India Act 1919-Lord Chelmsford

• Also known as Montagu – Chelmsford reform( Montagu was Secretary of State for India and Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India)
• It demarcated central and provincial subjects. The central and provincial legislature were authorized to make laws on their respective list of subjects. However, the structure of government continued to be centralized and unitary.
• Provisional subjects are further divided into two parts – transferred and reserved. Transferred subjects were to be administered by the governor with the aid of ministers responsible to the legislative council. The reserved subjects were to be administered by the governor and his executive council without being responsible to the legislative council, this dual scheme was Dyarchy. It introduced bicameralism and direct election in the country.
• It required three out of six members of the viceroy’s executive council ( other than the commander-in-chief) to be Indian.
• It extended the principle of communal representation by providing an electorate for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo Indians and Europeans.
• It granted franchises to a limited number of people based on property, tax or education.
• It created a new office of the High Commissioner for India in London and transferred some of the functions hitherto performed by the Secretary of State for India.
• It provides for the establishment of a public service commission. Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926.
• It separated for the first time the central budget and provincial budget and authorised the provincial legislature to enact their budgets.
• It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to inquire into and report on its working after ten years of its coming into force.

2.6. Government of India Act 1935- Lord Linlithgow

• It provided for the establishment of an All India Federation consisting of provinces and princely states as units. The act divided the power between the centre and units into three lists –

1 )Federal list for a centre with 59  items

2 )Provincial list for provinces with 54 items

3 )Concurrent list for both with 36 items

Residuary powers given to the Viceroy

• It abolished Dyarchy in provinces, and established provincial autonomy responsible government in the provinces that the governor to act with the advice of ministers responsible to provincial legislature.
• Dyarchy in the centre introduced.
• It introduced bicameralism in six out of eleven provinces –Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Madras, Assam and United provinces.
• It further extended the principle of communal representation by providing depressed classes, women, and labour.
• It abolished the Council of India, established by the Government of India Act 1858. The Secretary of State for India was provided with a team of advisors.
• It extended franchise, ten per cent of the population got voting rights.
• It provided for the establishment of the Reserve Bank of India to control the currency and credit of the country.
• It provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Commission but also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint Public Service Commission.
• It provided for the establishment of a Federal court which was set in 1937.

2.7. Indian Independence Act of 1947- Lord Mountbatten

On June 3, 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the Viceroy of India, put forth the partition plan, known as the Mountbatten Plan, the plan was accepted by Congress and the Muslim League. Immediate effect was given to the plan by enacting the Indian Independence Act of 1947.

• It ended British rule in India and declared India as an independent sovereign state on August 15, 1947.
• It provided for the partition of India and the creation of two independent dominions of India and Pakistan with the right to cede from the British Commonwealth.
• It abolished the office of Viceroy and provided, for each dominion, a Governor General, who was to be appointed by the British king on the advice of the dominion cabinet. His Majesty.
• The government in Britain was to have no responsibility concerning the Government of India or Pakistan.
• It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of the two dominions to frame and adopt any constitution for their respective nations and to repeal any act of the British Parliament, including the Independence Act itself.
• It empowered the Constituent Assemblies of both dominions to legislate for their respective territories till new constitutions were drafted.
• It abolished the office of the Secretary of State for India and transferred its functions to the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs.
• It proclaimed the lapse of British paramountcy over the Indian princely states and treaty relations with tribal areas from 15 August 1947.
• It granted freedom to the Indian princely state either to join the Dominion of India or the Dominion of Pakistan or to remain independent.
• It provided for the government of each of the dominions and the provinces through the Government of India Act 1935, till the new constitution was framed.
• It deprived the British Monarch of the right to veto bills or ask for reservation of certain bills for his approval. But this right was reserved for the Governor-General.
• It designated the Governor–General of India and the provincial governors as Constitutional (nominal) heads. They were made to act on the advice of the respective council of ministers in all matters.
• It dropped the title of Emperor of India from the royal titles of the King of England.
• It discontinued the appointment of civil services and reservation of the post by the Secretary of State for India.