Constitutional Provision:
Article 263 provides for an Inter State Council if at any time it appears to the President that the public interests would be served by the establishment of a Council charged with the duty of :
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inquiring into and advising upon disputes which may have arisen between States
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investigating and discussing subjects in which some or all of the States, or the Union and one or more of the States, have a common interest; or
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making recommendations upon any such subject and, in particular, recommendations for the better coordination of policy and action with respect to that subject, in shall be lawful for the President by order to establish such a Council, and to define the nature of the duties to be performed by it and its organisation and procedure
Its creation:
It was constituted based on the recommendations of Sarkaria Commission in 1990 under Article 263
Its purpose:
To bridge the trust deficit between the centre and the states
Has NITI Ayog’s Governing Council diluted its need?
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NITI Aayog’s Governing Council has a similar composition, including the prime minister, chosen cabinet ministers and chief ministers. It could also address centre-state issues
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But the ISC has constitutional backing, as against the NITI Aayog which only has an executive mandate
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This puts the states on more solid footing—an essential ingredient in building the atmosphere of cooperation needed for calibrating centre-state relations
Why in news?
ISC meeting held after 10 years. In meeting, certain very important topics were discussed e.g. Direct Benefit Transfer through Aadhar, education, internal security and most importantly GST. Discussion of such important topics signals the ushering in of cooperative federalism, wherein the centre govt. wants states to be a party in decision making rather than taking unilateral decisions and imposing it on states for mere executive actions