Parts, Schedules and Important Articles of the Indian Constitution Notes for UPSC: Complete Revision Tables with Sources, Seventh Schedule Lists and Memory Tricks
Komal Gupta
UPSC Exam Expert & Content Editor
In this note
- 1.Why Learn the Structure of the Constitution?
- 2.Basic Facts About the Constitution
- 3.Parts of the Constitution
- 4.The Twelve Schedules
- 5.Seventh Schedule: The Three Lists
- 6.Most Important Articles for the Prelims
- 7.Sources of the Indian Constitution
- 8.Mains Angle and Memory Tricks
- 9.Previous-Year Style Practice
- 10.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
PDF Notes: Parts, Schedules and Important Articles of the Indian Constitution Notes for UPSC: Complete Revision Tables with Sources, Seventh Schedule Lists and Memory Tricks
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The Indian Constitution is the longest written constitution in the world, and it is organised in Parts, Articles and Schedules. If you can recall which Part or Schedule covers a topic, and the numbers of the most important Articles, you can answer a huge number of UPSC Prelims questions directly, and you can also write precise answers in the Mains by quoting the correct Articles. These notes provide the part-wise table of the Constitution, the twelve Schedules, a list of the most important Articles, the sources from which the Constitution was borrowed and the key facts, designed for fast revision and easy memory, along with the memory tricks and sample questions.
Why Learn the Structure of the Constitution?
UPSC asks "Which Schedule deals with the anti-defection law?", "Under which Part are the Panchayats mentioned?" and "Which Article gives the Right to Education?" These are direct questions where only a clear table helps. The structure also helps to organise your answers in the Mains: you can say "Under Part IX of the Constitution..." and show that you understand the constitutional design. Use the tables here with our notes on the Preamble and Salient Features of the Indian Constitution, the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties.
Basic Facts About the Constitution
- The Constituent Assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to prepare the Constitution. It was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950.
- The original Constitution had a Preamble, 395 Articles, 22 Parts and 8 Schedules. Today it has more than 450 Articles in 25 Parts and 12 Schedules, after the amendments.
- The Drafting Committee was chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, and Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Constituent Assembly.
Parts of the Constitution
| Part | Subject | Articles |
|---|---|---|
| I | The Union and its territory | 1 to 4 |
| II | Citizenship | 5 to 11 |
| III | Fundamental Rights | 12 to 35 |
| IV | Directive Principles of State Policy | 36 to 51 |
| IV-A | Fundamental Duties | 51A |
| V | The Union (President, Parliament, Union Judiciary, CAG) | 52 to 151 |
| VI | The States (Governor, Legislature, High Courts) | 152 to 237 |
| VIII | The Union Territories | 239 to 242 |
| IX | The Panchayats | 243 to 243O |
| IX-A | The Municipalities | 243P to 243ZG |
| IX-B | The Co-operative Societies | 243ZH to 243ZT |
| X | The Scheduled and Tribal Areas | 244 to 244A |
| XI | Relations between the Union and the States | 245 to 263 |
| XII | Finance, property, contracts and suits | 264 to 300A |
| XIII | Trade, commerce and intercourse | 301 to 307 |
| XIV | Services under the Union and the States, Public Service Commissions | 308 to 323 |
| XIV-A | Tribunals | 323A to 323B |
| XV | Elections | 324 to 329A |
| XVI | Special provisions for the SC, ST, OBC and the Anglo-Indians | 330 to 342A |
| XVII | Official languages | 343 to 351 |
| XVIII | Emergency provisions | 352 to 360 |
| XIX | Miscellaneous | 361 to 367 |
| XX | Amendment of the Constitution | 368 |
| XXI | Temporary, transitional and special provisions | 369 to 392 |
| XXII | Short title, commencement and repeals | 393 to 395 |
Part VII (the states in Part B of the First Schedule) was repealed by the 7th Amendment in 1956. Part XIII also deals with the freedom of trade, and the Part XVII deals with the languages, including the official language of the Union (Hindi in Devanagari script).
The Twelve Schedules
| Schedule | Subject |
|---|---|
| First | List of the States and the Union Territories, and their territories |
| Second | Emoluments of the President, Governors, Speakers, Judges and the CAG |
| Third | Forms of oaths and affirmations |
| Fourth | Allocation of the seats in the Rajya Sabha |
| Fifth | Administration and control of the Scheduled Areas and the Scheduled Tribes (in states other than the four north-eastern states) |
| Sixth | Administration of the tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram |
| Seventh | Division of powers: Union List, State List and Concurrent List |
| Eighth | The 22 recognised languages |
| Ninth | Land reform and other laws kept out of the judicial review (added by the 1st Amendment, 1951) |
| Tenth | Anti-defection law (52nd Amendment, 1985) |
| Eleventh | The 29 functions of the Panchayats (73rd Amendment, 1992) |
| Twelfth | The 18 functions of the Municipalities (74th Amendment, 1992) |
Memory trick for the Schedules: Make your own one-word tag for each Schedule: First = States, Second = Salaries, Third = Oaths, Fourth = Rajya Sabha seats, Fifth and Sixth = Tribal areas, Seventh = Lists, Eighth = Languages, Ninth = Land laws, Tenth = Defection, Eleventh = Panchayats, Twelfth = Municipalities.
Seventh Schedule: The Three Lists
| List | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Union List | The Parliament alone can make laws (about 98 subjects) | Defence, foreign affairs, banking, railways, atomic energy, currency |
| State List | The State Legislatures make laws (about 59 subjects) | Police, public health, agriculture, land, local government, prisons |
| Concurrent List | Both Parliament and the State Legislatures can make laws (about 52 subjects) | Education, forests, marriage, criminal law, trade unions, economic planning; if there is a conflict, the Union law prevails |
Education, forests, the protection of wild animals and birds, weights and measures, and the administration of justice were shifted from the State List to the Concurrent List by the 42nd Amendment (1976). Residuary powers (subjects not in any list) belong to the Union (Article 248).
Most Important Articles for the Prelims
| Article | Subject |
|---|---|
| 1 | India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States |
| 3 | Formation of new states and the alteration of the areas, boundaries or names of the existing states |
| 14 to 18 | Right to equality (equality before law, no discrimination, equal opportunity, abolition of untouchability and titles) |
| 19 to 22 | Right to freedom (six freedoms, protection in respect of conviction, right to life and personal liberty, protection against the arrest) |
| 21A | Right to education for the children aged 6 to 14 |
| 25 to 28 | Right to freedom of religion |
| 32 | Right to Constitutional Remedies (writs by the Supreme Court) |
| 39A, 44, 48A | Free legal aid; uniform civil code; protection of the environment (Directive Principles) |
| 51A | Fundamental Duties |
| 53, 61, 72, 74, 75 | Executive power, impeachment, pardoning power, the Council of Ministers, the responsibilities of the Ministers |
| 79, 80, 81 | Parliament; the Rajya Sabha; the Lok Sabha |
| 110, 112, 123 | Money Bill; the Budget; ordinance-making power of the President |
| 124, 148, 226 | The Supreme Court; the Comptroller and Auditor General; the writ jurisdiction of the High Courts |
| 153, 163, 213 | Governors; the Council of Ministers of the state; the ordinance power of the Governor |
| 245 to 246, 263 | Extent of the laws; the distribution of the legislative powers; the Inter-State Council |
| 280, 300A | Finance Commission; the right to property (a legal right) |
| 315, 324, 326 | Public Service Commissions; the Election Commission; adult suffrage |
| 330, 335, 338, 340 | Reservation of the seats; the claims of the SC and ST to the services; the National Commission for SCs; the Commission for the OBCs |
| 352, 356, 360 | National, State and Financial emergencies |
| 368, 370, 371 | Amendment of the Constitution; the special status of J&K (now revoked); the special provisions for some states |
Sources of the Indian Constitution
| Source | Features Taken |
|---|---|
| Government of India Act, 1935 | Federal scheme, office of the Governor, the judiciary, Public Service Commissions, emergency provisions, administrative details |
| British Constitution | Parliamentary government, rule of law, the single citizenship, the cabinet system, bicameralism, writs |
| US Constitution | Fundamental Rights, independence of the judiciary, judicial review, impeachment of the President, the Vice-President as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha |
| Irish Constitution | Directive Principles, the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha, the method of the Presidential election |
| Canadian Constitution | Federation with a strong Centre, residuary powers with the Centre, the appointment of the Governors by the Centre |
| Australian Constitution | Concurrent List, freedom of trade and commerce, the joint sitting of the two Houses |
| Weimar (German) Constitution | Suspension of the Fundamental Rights during the emergency |
| USSR Constitution | Fundamental Duties and the ideal of justice in the Preamble |
| French Constitution | The republic, and the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity |
| South African Constitution | The procedure of the amendment and the election of the Rajya Sabha members |
| Japanese Constitution | The 'procedure established by law' |
Mains Angle and Memory Tricks
For the Mains, quote the Part and the Article to give a sharp answer: for instance, in a question on local governance, write "Part IX and IX-A, the 73rd and 74th Amendments, the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules". For the Prelims, use these tricks: "3-4-5": Part III is Rights, Part IV is Directive Principles, Part V is the Union. "14-18-21-32": equality, abolition of untouchability, right to life and constitutional remedies. "352-356-360": three emergencies. Revise these three times in a week, and then test yourself with a blank sheet.
Previous-Year Style Practice
- Which Part of the Constitution deals with the Panchayats? Answer: Part IX.
- Which Schedule lists the 22 languages? Answer: The Eighth Schedule.
- Under which Article can the Supreme Court issue writs? Answer: Article 32.
- Which source gave the Directive Principles? Answer: The Irish Constitution.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How many Parts and Schedules does the Constitution have?
The Constitution has 25 Parts (including the sub-parts) and 12 Schedules at present.
How many Articles were there in the original Constitution?
There were 395 Articles, 22 Parts and 8 Schedules.
Which Part deals with Fundamental Rights?
Part III (Articles 12 to 35).
Which Part deals with the Directive Principles?
Part IV (Articles 36 to 51).
Which Schedule deals with the anti-defection law?
The Tenth Schedule.
Which Schedule has the 22 languages?
The Eighth Schedule.
Which Schedule has the Union, State and Concurrent Lists?
The Seventh Schedule.
Which Article gives the right to constitutional remedies?
Article 32.
Which Article deals with the National Emergency?
Article 352.
Which Article provides for the amendment of the Constitution?
Article 368.
From which country was the idea of Directive Principles borrowed?
Ireland.
How can I learn the Articles quickly?
Learn them in groups with the Parts, use the tables and the memory tricks, and revise them weekly.
Komal Gupta
UPSC Exam Expert & Content Editor
Komal is a senior UPSC exam strategist with 8+ years of experience helping aspirants crack CSE, CDS and NDA exams. She writes in-depth notification breakdowns, exam pattern guides and preparation strategies.