The vesting of ‘residuary’ powers in the central government by the Con

The vesting of ‘residuary’ powers in the central government by the Constitution of India indicates :

that India is a federal polity.
that India is neither federal nor unitary.
that India is quasi federal.
unitary character of Indian polity.
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CAPF – 2010
The vesting of ‘residuary’ powers in the central government by the Constitution of India indicates the unitary character of Indian polity.
– In a federal system, powers are divided between the central government and state governments. Residuary powers are powers not enumerated in any list.
– Giving these unenumerated powers to the central government is a feature that strengthens the centre relative to the states.
– This centralizing tendency is a characteristic of a unitary bias or unitary features within a federal or quasi-federal structure.
– While India is often described as quasi-federal (option C), the *specific indication* of vesting residuary powers in the centre points towards the strength of the union government, which is a unitary characteristic. Purely federal systems might vest residuary powers with the states (like in the USA).
Article 248 of the Indian Constitution deals with Residuary Powers of Legislation. It states that Parliament has exclusive power to make any law with respect to any matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List or State List. This is a clear constitutional provision favoring the central government, highlighting a significant deviation from strict federalism and leaning towards a unitary structure in terms of legislative authority over residual subjects.