Important National Commissions You Must Know

Introduction

Important National Commissions you must know before appearing for any competitive examination. These commissions are formed for a very specific purpose of implementation of specific laws. In this article we will try to list out such 20 must know National Commissions for you.

List of Commissions

1. Agricultural Prices Commission
2. Central Vigilance Commission
3. Central Water Commission
4. Competition Commission of India
5. Digital Communications Commission
6. Election Commission
7. Finance Commission
8. Khadi and Village Industries Commission
9. Law Commission of India
10. National Commission for Backward Classes
11. National Commission for Minorities
12. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
13. National Commission for Scheduled Castes
14. National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
15. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India
16. National Statistical Commission
17. Pay Commission
18. The Atomic Energy Commission
19. Union Public Service Commission
20. University Grants Commission of India

Commissions

1. Agricultural Prices Commission[1]

It was founded in the year 1965. Earlier called Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, is a decentralized agency that recommends Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) of crops to the Government of India’s Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare. It also motivates farmers/cultivators in the use of latest technology for optimizing resource use as well as increase productivity. It is currently headed by Prof. Vijay Paul Sharma as it chairman.

2. Central Vigilance Commission[2]

This Commission was founded on February 11, 1964. It is an apex Indian governmental body addresses governmental corruption and also advises Central Government organizations’ authorities on plan/execution/review/reform of their vigilance work. Sanjay Kothari was recently appointed as the head of this commission as central vigilance commissioner.

3. Central Water Commission

   [3]

This commission was established in the year 1945 to manage schemes for control, conservation, and utilization of water resources throughout the country. S. K. Haldar currently serves as its chairman.

4. Competition Commission of India[4]

It is a statutory body established under the Competition Act 2002 on October 14, 2003 for the purpose of preventing any activity that adversely affects competition in India, such as unfair trade practices. It became fully functional in May 2009 with Dhanendra Kumar as its first Chairman. Currently, Ashok Kumar Gupta, a 1981 Batch IAS officer is serving as its Chairperson since November 2018.

5. Digital Communications Commission[5]

This commission earlier known as Telecom Commission was set up by the Government of India on 11th April, 1989 with administrative and financial powers of the Government of India to deal with various aspects of Telecommunications. The Government on 22nd October 2018, has re-designated the ‘Telecom Commission’ as the ‘Digital Communications Commission’. It is headed by Shri Anshu Prakash.

6. Election Commission[6]

It is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country. Part XV of the Indian constitution deals with elections and establishes a commission for these matters.

The Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950. Article 324 to 329 of the constitution deals with powers, function, tenure, eligibility, etc of the commission and the member. Currently, Sunil Arora is the chief election commissioner of India.

7. Finance Commission[7]

Finance Commission is constituted by the President under article 280 of the Constitution, mainly to give its recommendations on the distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States and amongst the States themselves. Two distinctive features of the Commission’s work involve redressing the vertical imbalances between the taxation powers and expenditure responsibilities of the centre and the States respectively and equalization of all public services across the States. It was founded on November 22, 1951, and currently headed by N. K. Singh as its chairman.

8. Khadi and Village Industries Commission[8]

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body of the Indian Constitution. It comes under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. It was established by Khadi and Village Industries Act, 1956. It has been amended twice, in 1965 and 2006. It is one of the important constitutional, statutory and quasi-judicial bodies of India. Sh. Vinai Kumar Saxena is currently its chairman.

9. Law Commission of India[9]

It is an executive body that works for legal reform and advises the Ministry of Law and Justice founded in the year 1834. Its major function is to work for legal reforms. The Commission is established for a fixed tenure and works as an advisory body to the Ministry of Law and Justice. Its membership primarily comprises legal experts. Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan, a former judge of the Supreme Court was appointed Chairman of the 21st Law Commission.

10. National Commission for Backward Classes[10]

The Commission is a constitutional body under Article 338B of the Indian Constitution under India’s Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The Commission considers inclusions/exclusions of backward communities to/from the list of backward classes and was founded on August 14, 1993. Bhagwan Lal Sahni is its serving chairman,

11. National Commission for Minorities

    [11]

This commission has been set up by the Union Government in the year 1992 for safeguarding the constitutional and legal rights, and redress the grievances of people belonging to minority communities. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains have been notified as minority communities by the Union Government. Currently, the post of chairman is vacant and sh. Atif Rasheed is serving as its vice-chairman.

12. National Commission for Protection of Child Rights[12]

This Commission is a statutory body established in 2007 under an act of Parliament, the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005. It works towards achieving a child rights-centric approach in all the laws, programmes, policies and administrative mechanisms in India. It functions under the Ministry of Women & Child Development of the central government. Priyank Kanoongo is the current chairman of the Commission.

13. National Commission for Scheduled Castes[13]

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is a constitutional body that works to safeguard the interests of the scheduled castes in India. It seeks to offer the SC community protection from discrimination and exploitation, as well as providing facilities to uplift the SC community. Article 338 of the constitution of India deals with this commission. It was established in the year 1978. It is currently headed by Sh. Ram Shankar Katheria.

14. National Commission for Scheduled Tribes[14]

The Commission was established through the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003) oversees whether the multifarious Constitutional safeguards given to Scheduled Tribes are being implemented. It was established in the year 2004. Currently headed by Sh. Nand Kumar Sai.

15. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India[15]

It is a Statutory public body constituted on 12 October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. Former Chief Justice H.L. Dattu is currently its chairman.

16. National Statistical Commission[16]

The Commission was constituted with effect from 12th July 2006 following the decision of the Cabinet to accept the recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission, which reviewed the Indian Statistical System in 2001. It aimed evolve policies, priorities and standards in statistical matters. The NSC has four Members besides a Chairperson, each having specialization and experience in specified statistical fields. The NSC is currently headed by Prof. Bimal K. Roy who was appointed as Chairperson of the Commission on 15th July 2019 for a period of three years.

17. Pay Commission[17]

The 7th Pay Commission was formed by the UPA government on 28 February 2014. It was chaired by Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur and given a time period of 18 months to submit its report. It reviewed the principles and structure of emoluments of all central government civilian employees including defence forces in India, submitted its report on 19 November 2015. CPC’s recommendations would affect the organization, rank structure, pay, allowances and pension, of 13,86,171 armed forces personnel.

18. The Atomic Energy Commission[18]

It is a government department that is engaged in the development of nuclear power technology in India, was formed on 3rd August 1954. It is currently headed by Shri K N Vyas as its chairman.

19. Union Public Service Commission[19]

It is India’s premier central recruiting agency. It is responsible for appointments to and examinations for All India services and group A & group B of Central services and falls under the Department of Personnel and Training. It is headed by Pradeep Kumar Joshi who has been the Chairman of UPSC since August 2020.

The agency’s charter is granted by Part XIV of the Constitution of India, titled as Services Under the Union and the States. The commission is mandated by the Constitution for appointments to the services of the Union and All India Services.

20. University Grants Commission of India[20]

It is a Statutory body set up in 1956. It is charged with coordination, determination and maintenance of standards of higher education. It provides recognition to universities in India and disburses funds to such recognized universities and colleges. Previously, UGC was formed in 1946 to oversee the work of the three Central Universities of Aligarh, Banaras and, Delhi. In 1947, the Committee was entrusted with the responsibility of dealing with all the then existing Universities. Prof. D. P. Singh is currently its Chairman.

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[1] Agricultural Prices Commission, official website, available here

[2] Central Vigilance Commission, official website, available at– https://cvc.gov.in/node?qt-home_content=2

[3] Central Water Commission, official website, available at– http://cwc.gov.in/

[4] Competition Commission of India, official website, available at – https://www.cci.gov.in/

[5] Department of Telecommunication, official website, available at – https://dot.gov.in/profile

[6] Election Commission, official website, available at– https://eci.gov.in/

[7] Finance Commission, official website, available at – https://fincomindia.nic.in/

[8] Khadi and Village Industries Commission, official website, available at – https://www.kviconline.gov.in/

[9] Law Commission of India, official website, available at – https://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/welcome.html

[10] National Commission for Backward Classes, official website, available at– http://www.ncbc.nic.in/Home.aspx?ReturnUrl=/

[11] National Commission for Minorities, official website, available at– http://ncm.nic.in/homepage/homepage.php

[12] National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, official website, available at– https://www.ncpcr.gov.in/

[13] National Commission for Scheduled Castes, official website, available at– http://ncsc.nic.in/

[14] National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, official website, available at– https://ncst.nic.in/

[15] National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India, official website, available at- https://nhrc.nic.in/

[16] National Statistical Commission, official website, available at–http://mospi.nic.in/national-statistical-commission-0

[17] Pay Commission, official website, available at– https://7thpaycommissionnews.in/7th-pay-commission-official-website/

[18] The Atomic Energy Commission, official website, available at– https://dae.gov.in/

[19] Union Public Service Commission, official website, available at https://upsconline.nic.in/

[20] University Grants Commission of India, official website, available at– https://www.ugc.ac.in/

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