A commission under the Presidentship of W. Mackworth Young to study the effects of hemp (marijuana) in the province of Bengal, later expanded to cover all over India, was formed in 1893, and the commission submitted its report in 1894.

Formed by the Government of Madras, British India, in response to a bill that was introduced in the Madras Legislative Council in 1890, by Sir Sankaran Nair, a Madras High Court Lawyer. The Commission was to enquire into the matrilineal customs among the Hindus of Malabar District and explore the possibility of introducing changes in marriage, inheritance and family organisation through legislation. The response of the Madras Government to the commission's report was to pass the Malabar Marriage Act, 1896.

Better known as Nehru Report. It was a report of memorandum outlining a proposed new Dominion Constitution for India. It was prepared by a committee of the All Parties Conference Chaired by Motilal Nehru with Jawaharlal Nehru as Secretary. There were nine members in the Committee which included two Muslims.

A commission formed under the Chairmanship of Sir Cyril Radcliffe to demarcate the boundary line between India and Pakistan upon partition. Thus the boundary is known as "Radcliffe Line".

A commission headed by Sir Michael Ernest Sadler and functioned between 1917-1919 to study and report on the state of Indian education.

A commission appointed by the British Parliament, headed by Sir John Simon, which arrived in India in 1927 to study constitutional reforms in India. Two major events are associated with this commission: (1) Clement Atlee who was a member of this committee, later became the PM of Britain and oversaw the grant of independence to India. (2) Lala Lajpat Rai, the well known freedom fighter, who protested against the Commission on 30th October 1928 at Lahore, was assaulted grievously by the local police only to succumb later on 17th November 1928.

Chaired by Lord William Hunter, this commission was formed to inquire into the disturbances in Bombay, Delhi and Punjab, more specifically the Jalianwala Bagh massacre.

This commission was formed under Sir Richard Strachey to study the famine that occurred in Bengal in 1843 and Bihar in 1873-1874 .

The first Administrative Reforms Commission was established on 5.1.1966 headed by Morarji Desai, MP (later when he became Deputy PM, K.Hanumanthiah MP took over) to study and submit its report on Public Administration System.
The second Administrative Reforms Commission was constituted on 31.8.2005, as a Commission of Inquiry, under the Chairmanship of Veerappa Moily, for preparing a detailed blue print for revamping the Public Administration System.

It was set up in August 1948 under the Department of Scientific Research which was followed with the establishment of Department of Atomic Energy in August 1954. In 1958, the Atomic Energy Commission was brought under the Department of Atomic Energy and Dr.Homi J Bhabha was made its first Chairman. Now for this commission, the Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy is the ex-officio Chairman, with a Secretary and 8 members which includes the Minister of State.
The Department of Atomic Energy is directly under the charge/control of the Prime Minister. The Commission has so far has the following as Chairman:
(1) Homi J Bhabha ... 1948 .. 1966; (2) Vikram Sarabhai ... 1966..1971; (3) H N Sethna ... 1972..1983; (4) Raja Ramanna ... 1983..1987; (5) M R Srinivasan ... 1987..1990; (6) P K Iyengar ... 1990..1993; (7) R Chidambaram ... 1993..2000; (8) Anil Kakodkar ... 2000..2009; (9) Dr.Srikumar Banerjee ... 2009..2012; (10) Dr.Ratan Kumar Sinha ... 2012 ...2015., (11) Sekhar Basu ...2015 ..... (FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS SEE CHAPTER "IMPORTANT INDIAN GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES AND SECTION "SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY & EARTH SCIENCES ").

Established in February 1964 on the recommendations of the "Committee on Prevention of Corruption" headed by K.Santhanam, to address the governmental corruption.
Nittoor Srinivasa Rao was the first Chief Vigilance Commissioner. It is an autonomous body, headquartered in New Delhi.  The present Chief Vigilance Commissioner, as of August 2017, is K.V.Chowdhary .

Established under the Indian Railways Act of 1989 and functioning under the Ministry of Civil Aviation. This commission investigates all rail accidents in India. It is headquartered in Lucknow.

Historically, it started functioning from 1944. After independence and the creation of Ministry of Irrigation and Power, it was renamed as Central Water and Power Commission from 1952 and functioned under this ministry.
In 1974, Ministry of Agriculture and Power became two separate ministries and thus the Commission also bifurcated as Central Water Commission and Central Electricity Authority.
Now the Central Water Commission functions under Ministry of Water Resources (earlier Ministry of Irrigation). The Central Water Commission has a Chairman and three full time members, each of them assigned with specific areas related to water. It is headquartered in New Delhi and has 13 regional offices under a Chief Engineer. A training academy - National Water Academy - is located at Pune.
The objective of this Commission is to develop surface water resources, development of river basins, river valley projects, flood management, water power generation and conservation and utilization of water resources.

A statutory body established under the Electricity Supply Act of 1948 (later to be superceded by Electricity Act of 2003). The Central Electricity Authority is chaired by a Chairman and three other members.
The main task of Central Electricity Authority is (1) Advise the government on matters relating to the National Electricity Policy and formulate short term and perspective plans for the development of electricity systems. (2) Planning Regulation ... where power demand and supply gap has to be regulated. (3) Construction Regulation ... where construction of thermal, hydro, gas based power plants and power systems are regulated in the right manner.

A commission established for the purpose of enforcing the Competition Act of 2002 (replacing the earlier Monopoly and Restrictive Trade Practices Act of 1969). Functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
It was established in May 2009, headquartered at Delhi and functions with a Chairman and six members. As of August 2017, Devendra Kumar Sikri is the Chairman.
Very recent activity of this commission is the slapping a fine of Rs.52.24 Crores on 9th of February 2013, on Board of Control for Cricket in India for indulging in anti competitive practices.

A statutory body, established under the Electricity Regulatory Commission Act of 1998. It was established on 24th July 1998. with S L Rao as its first Chairman.
The major task of this commission is (1) Formulation of National Electricity Policy (2) Promotion of competition, efficiency and economy in the activities of the electricity industry (3) promotion of investment in electricity industry and (4) Regulation of Power Tariffs.
This commission functions under the Ministry of Power.

Under Article 323 A of the Constitution and Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, this tribunal was created in July 1985 with four benches at Delhi, Mumbai, Calclutta and Allahabad and later 13 more benches were created in places where High Courts are located. In addition, circuit sittings of the Tribunals are also functioning in about 19 cities in India.
These tribunals are intended for speedy disposal of disputes of Central Government Employees and other notified organizations (about 45). Armed, Paramilitary forces, Supreme Court, Parliament Secretariate, State Secretariates, and UT legislative staff not covered by these tribunals.
These tribunals are haded by a Chairman .. Sitting or retired judege of a High Court, Vice Chairman and members -- all of them enjoying the conditions of service as applicable to the judges of High Courts. The Staff and Officers employed by these Tribunals are governed by Central Administrative Tribunals Staff (Conditions of Service) Rules 1985.

Established under the provisions of Delimitation Commission Act. Its main task is to redraw the boundaries of the various assembly and lok sabha constituencies based on recent census.
It is not a permanent body. It was set up four times in the past viz: 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002.
The Commission is a powerful body and its orders cannot be challenged in a court of law.
The 2002 Commission was headed by Justice Kuldip Singh. Present elections are held under the report of this commission. Karnataka is the first state to use the new delimitations boundaries as drawn by this commission during its Assembly elections in 2002.

Under Art.324 of the Indian Constitution the Election Commission was established on 25.1.1950 to conduct and supervise all the elections to be held in India, specifically to Parliament, Vice President and the local elections through the state election commissions.
The Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners are appointed by the President. Initially there was only one Election Commissioner. From 1.10.1993, two additional commissioners were appointed on a permanent basis.
The first Election Commission was Sukumar Sen from 1950 to 1958. 
The tenure of the Election Commissioners are for 6 years or up to 65 years of age, whichever is earlier. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from his office by an impeachment motion by the Parliament with 2/3 majority in Lok and Rajya Sabha.
The Election Commissioners are paid the salaries and allowances on par with the Judges of the Supreme Court of India. The services of the Election Commissioners are governed by "Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (conditions of service) Rules of 1992.                                      The present (August 2017) Chief Election Commissioner is Achal Kumar Jyoti  and assisted by the Two Election Commissioners. 

Under Art.280 of the Constitution, this commission was established on 22nd November 1951 and its functions are governed by the Finance Commission Act of 1951.
It was mainly intended to define the financial relations between the Centre and the State. As changes have occurred in the Indian Economy, the scope of Finance Commission has also changed to cover wide range of financial recommendations.
Functioning of the FC is regulated by the Finance Commission (Miscelleaneous Provisions) Act of 1951. The tenure of the commission is for the period specified in the order of appointment by the President. The commission functions under the Finance Ministry.
The first Finance Commissioner was K C Neogi from 1952 to 1957 and the present 13th Finance Commissioner is Vijay Kelkar who will remain till 2015. Y.Venugopal Reddy is the 14th Finance Commissioner for the period 2015-2020.

Established in 1953 under the provisions of the Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act of 1952. Normally has a Chairman and two/four members.
It is the chief regulator of "forwards" (an economical term for buying and selling of an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed upon today) and "futures" (an economical term for a contract to buy specific quantities of a commodity or financial instrument at a specified price with delivery set at a specified price with delivery set at a specified time in the future). Currently, the commission allows commodity trading in 21 exchanges (stock) in India.
It is headquartered in Mumbai. 

It is located in Hyderabad. It is a scientific body appointed by the government and is responsible for all activities related with Earth Science - seismology, magnetism, meterology, geodesy (applied mathematics and earth Sciences), volcanology, oceanography, hydrology and tectonophysics.

It was set up in March 1949 to advise the government about the matters related to all issues of UNESCO. It has five sub commissions to deal with education, science, culture, communications, social sciences and natural sciences. Members are well known experts from the respective fields.
150th anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekanands and 100th anniversary of Amrita Shergil (Punjabi Painter) are the recent activities of this commission.
This commission functions under the Ministry of Human Resources Development.

A commission formed in 1945 in accordance with the provisions of Indian Drugs & Cosmetics Act of 1940. It is an autonomous institution under Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and sets standards for all drugs that are manufactured, sold and consumed in India.
Chairman of this Commission is normally the Secretary of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.

It was set up in December 2004 and functions under the Ministry of Finance.
It was set up to enhance and facilitate investment in India.
Makes recommendations to the government on policies and procedures to facilitate investment, recommends projects, and investment proposals that should be fast tracked and promotes India as an investment destination.
Mr.Ratan Tata is the current Chairman.

The tribunal was formed under Indian Income Tax Act of 1941 and continues to function even after the enactment of Income Tax Act of 1961, the sections 252 to 255 laying down the constitution and functions of the tribunal.
The tribunal had initially three benches at Delhi, Kolkatta and Mumbai. Now it has 25 benches covering almost all places where highcourts are located.
The tribunal comprises of a Judicial Member who has for atleast ten years held a judicial office or has been a member of the Central Legal Services in Group A service or any higher post for atleast 3 years or an advocate who has been practicing for 10 years or more. There will also be an Accountant Member, who should have an experience of 10 years practice as a registered Chartered Accountant or an officer of Indian Revenue Service who has held the post the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax or above for atleast 3 years. At present any of the member found to be senior, can be the President of the Tribunal.
The tribunal is headed by a President, a senior Vice President and Vice President and certain number of members. These appointments are made by High Level Selection Boad headed by a sitting Supreme Court Judge nominated by the Chief Justice of India, Secretary of Ministry of Law and the President of the Tribunal. There tenure is permanent upto the age of 62 years.

Set up in 1953 under Art.340 of the Constitution, it was the first Backward Classes Commission to identify all socially and educationally backward classes which require upliftment other than SC/STs.

A one man commission set up in 1966, headed by Justice Jivan Lal Kapur of the Supreme Court, to inquire into the conspiracy in the murder of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

A commission appointed by the Central Government under the Chairmanship of Prof. D S Kothari (Chairman of University Grants Commission) with 17 members which included some academicians from UK, USA, Russia, France and Japan, to review and report on the educational system in India and suggest ways for improvement.

A commission appointed by the Government, headed by High Court Judge M S Liberhan, formed on 16th December 1992, to inquire into the demolition of Babri Masjid on 6th December 1992 at Ayodhya in UP.

Established in 1979 by the Janata Party Government under PM Morarji Desai with a term of reference to "identify the socially and educationally backward communities".
The Commission was headed by MP Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal. Its objective was to consider the question of seat reservations and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination and used elevel social, economic educational indicators to determine backwardness.
The Commission submitted its report in 1980 which also raised some controversies and protests from the student communities for some time.

A commission set up by the central Government for a report on centre state relationships with a focus on NE States. This commission was appointed recently after the demise of Justice Sarkaria.

A commission set up to review and report on the Criminal Justice System, headed by Justice V.S.Malimath. One of the major outcome of this report is the prison reforms.

A commission appointed in 1999 by the Government, headed by Justice Manoj Mukherjee (retired judge of the Supreme Court) to inquire into the controversy surrounding the disappearance/death of Nethaji Subash Chandra Bose in 1945. It was the third commission on this issue. The earlier two were Shah Nawaz Committee (1956 .. appointed by Jawaharlal Nehru) and the Khosla Commission (Justice G D Khosla) of 1970. None of these reports have been conclusive.

A commission appointed by the government to probe the 1984 Sikh riots in Delhi and other places after the assassination of Smt Indira Gandhi. The Commission was headed by Justice G T Nanavati.

An inquiry commission set up in February 2000 to study and report on the adequacy or otherwise of representation of Backward Classes in the state public services. It submitted its report in November 2001.

A statutory body established on 14th August 1993 under the provisions of National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. The Commission was the outcome of the direction of the Supreme Court in the Mandal Case judgement.
The commission consists of a Chairman (Judge of Supreme/High Court) and three members and a Secretary. The members are chosen from among people who have special knowledge in matters relating to backward classes. The Secretary will be a person who is or has been a Secretary in the Government. The term is three years. 

Functions under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Originally set up on 22.11.2003 and reconstituted on 16.3.2005 and started functioning from 6.2.2006. Has a Chairman, Member and Member Secretary.
Its terms of reference are : (1) To specify the economic interventions required for raising the living standards of Denotified, Nomadic and Semi Nomadic Tribes. (2) To recommend measures to utilize the existing channelling agencies set up for the economic development of SC/STs and OBCs for extending an economic development package to these groups, keeping in view their specific requirements, and (3) To identify programmes required for their education, development and health.

Set up under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 to look into the development of five notified minority communities ... Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians.
The Commission has the following functions : (1) Evaluate the progress of the development of minorities in the States and Uts. (2) Monitor the working of the safeguards provided in the Constitution, laws enacted by the Centre and the States. (3) Make recommendations for the effective implementation of safeguards for the protection of minorities. (4) Look into specific complaints regarding deprivation of rights and safeguards of the minorities.
The Commission is also vested with certain powers viz: (1) Summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining him on oath. (2) Requiring the discovery and production of any document. (3) Receiving evidence on affidavit. (4) Requisitioning any public record or copy thereof from any court or office. (5) Issuing Commissions for the examination of witnesses and documents.
The Commission is currently Chaired by Wajahat Habibullah and has Dr.H.T.Sangliana (former DGP, Karnataka) as Vice Chairman with four other members.

Established under the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions Act 2004. Its aim is to protect and safeguard the rights of minorities in India to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
The Commission is headed by a Chairman (Judge of Delhi or other High Courts) and two members of government's choice.

Established under the provisions of Child Rights Act of 2005 and started functioning from March 2007. Its aim is to ensure that all laws, policies, programmes and administrative mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Commission has allowed formation of special cells in schools to solve problems of children and examine the mental and physical torture against children, sexual and mental harassment of children etc.,
The Commission is presently headed by Stuti Narain Kekar as the Chairperson.

Also known as Ranganath Misra Commission as it was headed by former Chief Justice of India Ranganath Misra. It was constituted on 29.10.2004 to look into various issues related to linguistic and religious minorities. The Commission submitted its report in May 2007.

Under Article 21, it is a statutory body established under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010. It started functioning immediately with Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta as its first Chairman. As of now it is chaired by Justice Swatenter Kumar.
The tribunal sits mainly at Delhi and also sits at Bhopal, Pune, Kolkatta and Chennai. Some more places are under consideration.
Its main aim is to assure the citizens of India the right to a healthy environment (Art.21 of the Constitution) and expeditious disposal of cases related to environment.

Ranganath Misra was the sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India when the Commission was appointed in May 1985. to look into the anti-Sikh riots, an aftermath of the assassination of Smt.Indira Gandhi. The Commission submitted its report in August 1986.

A statutory body established in August 1994 under the National Commission for Safai Karmcharis Act 1993. The Commission's period was for 3 years.

A statutory body established with a view to provide safeguards against the exploitation of SCs and to promote and protect their social, educational, economic and cultural interests, as provided for in the Constitution.
The first Commission for SC/STs was set up in August 1978 with Bhola Paswan Shastri as its Chairman with four members. Later on, it has undergone the following changes : (1) In 1987, it was renamed as National Commission for SCs and STs and was accorded National Level Advisory Body Status. (2) The second Commission was set up in Oct 1995 with H.Hanumanthappa as its Chairman. (3) The third Commission was set up in December 1998 with Dileep Singh Bhuria as Chairman. (4) The fourth Commission was constituted in March 2002 with Dr.Bizay Sonkar Shastri as its Chairman.
After the 89th Amendment of the (Constitution 89th Amendment Act 2003) the single commission for SCs and STS got bifurcated into two separate commissions for SCs and STs.
After this development, the first National Commission for SCs was set up in 2004 with Suraj Bahn as the Chairman, the second in May 2007 with Buta Singh as Chairman and the third in October 2010 with P L Punia as Chairperson and continues.

A statutory body established through Constitution (89 th Amendment Act 2003) under Art. 338A of the Constitution. The Commission was first set up in 2004 (after bifurcation). The first Chairperson was Kunwar Singh.
The Second Commission was set up in 2007 with Urmila Singh as the Chairperson.
The Third Commission was set up in 2010 with Rameshwar Oaron as the Chairman.
The Commission (both for SCs and STs) comprises of a Chairman, Vice Chairman and three members (one lady) and remain for three years period.

A statutory body established in 1992 under National Commission for Women Act of 1992. The objective of the Commission is to represent the rights of Women in all areas.  The Commission regularly publishes a monthly newsletter "RASHTRAMAHILA" in Hindi and English.  Currently the Commission is headed by Lalitha Kumaramangalam.

Founded in 1976 under the Ministry of Agriculture to recommend to the government on increasing agricultural productivity.

This commission was set up in 2001 under the Chairmanship of Gurman Mal Lodha to suggest ways of improving the condition of cattle. The Commission submitted its report in 2002.

Constituted in November 2004, under the Chairmanship of Prof.M.S.Swaminathan. The terms of reference given to the Commission reflected the priorities listed in the Common Minimum Programme. The Commission has so far submitted five reports between 2004 and 2006.
M.S.Swaminathan continues to be the Chairman of the Commission, with two full time members and two part time members and a Member Secretary.

A statutory body set up in December 1966 to recommend changes in Labour Laws. The first Commission was headed by Justice P B Gajendragadkar, which submitted its report in August 1969. The Second Commission was set up in 2002 under the Chairmanship of Ravindra Varma.

A quasi judicial commission set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. The Commission is headed by a sitting/retired judge of Supreme Court of India. Presently it is headed by Justice D.K.Jain.

A statutory body constituted in September 1993 and is responsible for the protection and promotion of Human Rights.  It is headquartered in New Delhi and the states have their own Human Rights Commissions.  Presently the Commission is headed by former Chief Justice of India H.L.Dattu. 

Constituted on 13.6.2005 by the PM Dr.Manmohan Singh. The Commission has been assigned to advise the PM Office on policies and recommendations on issues related to education, R & D and reforms needed to make India competitive in the knowledge economy.
The Commission is headed by Dr.Sam Pitroda.

Based on the recommendations of C.Rangarajan Committee, this commission was set up in July 2006. The objective of the Commission is to reduce the problems faced by statistical agencies in the country ... Central Statistical Organization and National Sample Survey Organisation ... in relation to collection of data.

Functioning under the Min. of MSME, it was established in 2004 to act as an advisory board for matters regarding the informal sector as it accounts for nearly 93% of the total workforce.

A commission set up by the Central Government at various periods for review and revisions of salaries, allowances and perks paid to the Central Government employees. So far six Pay Commissions have been formed and the details are :
FIRST PAY COMMISSION: May 1946 .. Chairman Srinivasa Varadachariar .. The Commission based its recommendations on the basis of "living wages" proposed by Islington Commission (1912 Royal Commission on Public Services in India chaired by Lord Islington).

SECOND PAY COMMISSION : August 1957 - Chairman Jagannath Das.

THIRD PAY COMMISSION : March 1973 - Chairman Raghubir Dayal.

FOURTH PAY COMMISSION : June 1983 - Chairman P N Singhal.

FIFTH PAY COMMISSION : 1994 - Chairman Justice S.Ratnavel Pandian.

SIXTH PAY COMMISSION: July 2006 - Chairman Justice B N Sri Krishna - report effective from January 2006.

SEVENTH PAY COMMISSION : September 2013 -- Chairman Justice A.K.Mathur - report effective from January 2016. 

The planning commission was established on 15th March 1950 with the PM as the Chairman. The Commission has the PM as the ex-officio Chairman, one Deputy Chairman in Cabinet Minister Rank and members (8) from economics, industry, science, general administration etc., The commission also includes the Minister of State for Planning.
The Commission draws the five year plans for our country and so far 11 plans have been introduced. The 11th plan period is 2007-2012 and the details of the plans are:
FIRST PLAN 1951...1956: Agriculture, Improving living standards of people was the main focus of this plan. Mettur Dam, Hirakud Dam and Bakra Dam are the outcome of this plan.SECOND PLAN 1956...1961 : Industry/heavy industry was the main focus. This plan followed the "Mahalanobis model" proposed by the famous economist of India P C Mahalanobis. Atomic Energy Commission, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, steel plants at Bhilai, Durgapur and Rourkela and some hydroelectric projects are the outcome of this plan.
THIRD PLAN 1961 ...1966 : Agriculture was the main focus. However, due to Indo China War of 1962 and a war with Pakistan in 1965, the forcus shifted to defence needs. These wars also led to inflation and price stabilisation became another focus area of the commission. Despite this, importance to primary schools in rural areas, cement and fertilizers plants were the other other areas of development during this plan. Panchayat elections, state electricity Boards, State Secondary Education Boards, State Road Corporations were the other improvements.
FOURTH PLAN ... 1969...1974: Nationalization of 14 major banks, Green Revolution are the major outcome of this plana period. Industrial development took a back seat because of Indo Pak Bangladesh War of 1971. "Smiling Buddha" the first nuclear test was conducted on 18th May 1974, a step towards acceleration of nuclear program in India.
FIFTH PLAN ... 1974...1979: Employment, poverty alleviation, justice, self reliance on agriculture and defence, central government entering into power generation and transmission, widening of highways, tourism were the focus areas.
SIXTH PLAN ... 1980...1985 : Economic liberalisation and Family Planning was given the prime importance in this plan period besides other developments.
SEVENTH PLAN ... 1985...1990 : Improving industrial productivity by upgradation of technology, increase in food grains production, and generation of employment were the main focus areas.
EIGHTH PLAN ... 1992...1997 : By the later periods of Seventh Plan and during the break periods (1989..1992), it was a period of economic instability. The Foreign Exchange reserve was very low. Thus the focus was mainly on improving the economy position. Thus came the launching of economic liberalisation, Free Market Reforms, privatisation etc., This brought the economy back to a position of manageability, if not strong. Other areas which received attention was, modernisation of industries, population control, infrastructure development, energy sector development and involvement of Panchayati Raj .
NINETH PLAN ... 1997...2002: Its main objectives were speedy industrialisation, human development, full scale employment, poverty eradication, self reliance on domestic resources.
TENTH PLAN ... 2002...2007 : Improvement of GDP, Reduction of poverty ratio, Reduction in gender gaps on literacy and wages, and, introduction of 20 point programme.
ELEVENTH PLAN ... 2007...2012 : Acceleration of GDP, employment generation, reduction of educated unemployment, reduction of school drop outs, increasing the literacy percentage, reduction of infant mortality, provision of drinking water, reducing malnutrition, reducing anaemia among women, raising the sex ratio, ensuring the welfare schemes reaching the women and children, eradication of child labour, electricity connection to all villages, road connectivity to all villages with all weather roads, telephone connectivity to all villages, increasing the forest cover area and increasing the efficiency of the work force ... were the prime areas of focus of this plan.
The intervening periods between Five Year Plans were treated as Annual Plans due to reasons like war, economic conditions and lack of political stability.         TWELFTH PLAN ...2012-2017 : aims at the GDP growth rate at 8%. It is mainly focused on health. The status of the 12th Plan is in question due to the dissolution of the Planning Commission.                                                                                                                                                                      (FOR MORE DETAILS ON PLANNING COMMISSION SEE UNDER PLANNING COMMISSION IN THE CHAPTER "IMPORTANT INDIAN GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES - FINANCE AND PLANNING")

Although there is no such tribunal by this designation/name, and simply called Tribunals, it is mentioned here as such to understand the need and basis of such tribunals. Whenever such tribunals are formed, they are normally prefixed with the name of the river under dispute, for identification.
This tribunal is formed on the basis of Interstate River Water Disputes Act of 1956 as provided for in Article 262 of the Constitution, whenever the riparian states are not able to reach an amicable agreement on their own in sharing of an interstate river water.
The verdicts of the tribunal is equivalent to that of a Supreme Court verdict when pronounced in the ambit of the Interstate River Water Disputes Act. When the final verdit is ssued, accepted by the central government and notified in the official gazette, it becomes a lwa and it is binding on the states concerned for implementation.
As of now only three such tribunal verdicts - Krishna, Godavari and Narmada have been notified in the Gazette. There are certain other disputes pending verdict, pending central government acceptance or pending publication in the Gazette. For example, the verdict of the Tribunal on Cauvery Water sharing between Karnataka and Tamilnadu, pronounced in February 2007, is still pending for Gazette notification. The Supreme Court in February 2013, has directed the Central Government to notify the same before 20th February 2013.

Headed by Justice Rajinder Singh Sarkaria, this commission was set up in June 1983 to examine and report on the relationship and balance of power between state and the central government and suggest changes within the constitutional framework.
The commission submitted its report in 1988 with 247 specific recommendations.

A commission headed by Justice J C Shah to divide and demarcate the boundaries for Punjab and Haryana. Considered as the second states reorganization commission.

A commission appointed by the Gujarat Government after the 2002 Godhra incident, headed by High Court Judge K G Shah. Due to certain criticism, Justice G T Nanavati replaced Judge Shah, to inquire into the incident.

This commission was founded on the recommendations of 47th Report (1967-1968) of the Estimates Committee of the Parliament, on 4th November 1975 as "Subordinate Services Commission" for conducting examinations for recruitment to lower categories of posts.
On 26th September 1977 this commission was renamed as "Staff Selection Commission".
It is headquartered in New Delhi, with seven regional offices at Allahabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkatta, Guwahati, Chennai and Bengaluru and two sub regional offices at Raipur and Chandigarh.
It takes care of the recruitment of Group "B" and Group "C" categories of staff for various Ministries/Departments of Government of India. Functions under the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions.
Its current (August 2017)Chairman is Ashim Khurana.

A Commission formed in 1953, to study and recommend the reorganization of Indian States along the linguistic lines.
The Commission was headed by Fazal Ali and had two members ..Kavalam Madhava Panikkar and H N Kunzru.
The Committee submitted its report recommending the formation of 16 states and 3 Union Territories. Most of its recommendations were implemented through STATES REORGANIZATION ACT of 1956 which came into effect from November 1956. (FOR MORE DETAILS SEE CHAPTER "STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES ... STATES REORGANIZATION HISTORY .)

A statutory body formed under Articles 315 to 323 of the Constitution of India, this commission was formed.
Historically, it has its beginning as Public Service Commission formed on October 1, 1926 under the Chairmanship of Sir Ross Barker. Then it became Federal Public Service Commission under the Government of India Act of 1935.
After independence, with a constitutional status, it became Union Public Service Commission, upon the promulgation of Constitution of India on 26th January 1950.
The Commission consists of a Chairman and 10 members. Presently (April 2017) the Commission is headed by David R.Syiemlieh . The Commission conducts recruitment examinations for Group A posts, and certain other specific Group B posts, promotion of Group B Officers to Group A and handles the disciplinary cases against Group A officers.
There are about 24 categories of services for which exams are conducted by UPSC. Few of them of are Civil Services, Combined Engineering Services, Combined Defence Services, National Defence Academy, Naval Academy, Combined Medical Services, Special Class Railway Apprentices (Mechanical) etc., (FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE "INTRO" IN UPSC OF Q & A ARCHIVE COUNTER).

Historically, University Grants Commission was recommended in 1945 and formed in 1946 to oversee the work of Aligarh, Banaras and Delhi Universities. Later it was expanded to cover all Universities in India.
After independence, University Education Commission was formed under the Chairmanship of Dr.S.Radhakrishnan, which recommended the formation of University Grants Commission on the lines of the UGC of UK. Accordingly a reconstituted UGC was inaugurated in December 1953.
It is a statutory body. It has its headquarters in Delhi and has regional centres at Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkatta, Bhopal, Guwahati and Bengaluru.
Its main objective/responsibilities are providing funds, coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of higher educational institutions.
The Accreditation of higher learning institutions are vested with following autonomous statutory institutions in their respective fields:

(1) All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).,

(2) Distance Education Council (DEC).,

(3) Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).,

(4) Bar Council of India (BCI).,

(5) National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE).,

(6) Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI).,

(7) Medical Council of India (MCI).,

(8) Indian Nursing Council (INC).,

(9) Pharmacy Council of India (PCI).,

(10) Dental Council of India(DCI).,

(11) Central Council of Homeopathy (CCH).,

(12) Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM).,

A commission headed by Judge Upendra to inquire into the custodial rape and death of Thanjgam Manorama Devi of Manipur, by the armed forces of 17 Assam Rifles on 11th July 2004.