The Union List is a constitutional concept and a specific provision within the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which defines the distribution of legislative powers between the Union and State Governments. Its origin lies in the need for a strong central authority in a quasi-federal structure, a concept heavily influenced by the Federal List of the Government of India Act, 1935. The list was created to solve the problem of legislative overlap and ensure the central government had the requisite powers to deal with matters of national importance, such as defense and foreign affairs, upon the Constitution's adoption in 1950.
The mechanism of the Union List is outlined in Article 246(1), which grants the Parliament of India exclusive power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in List I of the Seventh Schedule. This exclusivity means that state legislatures cannot legislate on these subjects. The list currently contains 100 subjects (originally 97), which are generally of national significance, including Defence, Foreign Affairs, Atomic Energy, Railways, Banking, and Currency. The Union List also includes the majority of the Union's taxation powers, such as customs duties and corporation tax.
The Union List is intrinsically connected to the other two lists in the Seventh Schedule: the State List (List II) and the Concurrent List (List III). Furthermore, Article 248 grants Parliament the exclusive power to legislate on subjects not enumerated in any of the three lists, known as residuary subjects, which further tilts power toward the Centre. A significant recent change occurred with the 101st Amendment Act, 2016, which introduced Article 246A for Goods and Services Tax (GST), granting both Parliament and state legislatures concurrent power to make laws on GST, while Parliament retained exclusive power for inter-state trade. This amendment removed certain taxation entries from the lists, but the fundamental principle of Parliament's exclusive domain over the remaining Union List subjects remains unchanged.