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India
Women in decision-making positions
44%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (1,375,914 elected women)
Head of State is a woman
President: Droupadi Murmu
15%
Parliamentarians are women
7%
Ministers are women

Government organization

India is a federal republic with three spheres of government: federal, state or union territory, and local.

One tier of central government, one tier of intermediate government, and one of three tiers of local government.
Central government
  • Head of State: The President is elected by an electoral college, consisting of the elected members of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States.
  • Head of Government:  The Prime Minister is appointed by the President.
  • Legislative body: Parliament is a bicameral legislature , with an upper house (the Council of States) and a lower house (the House of the People).The Council of States consists of 12 members nominated by the President and not more than 238 representatives of the States and the Union territories. The House of the People consists of not more than 530 members directly elected by voters and not more than twenty members to represent the Union territories.
  • Executive body:  The Council of Ministers consists of the Prime Minister and ministers appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
State government
  • Legislative body: The state legislature is either bicameral (with an upper house (the state council) and a lower house (the state assembly)) or a unicameral legislative assembly. The union territory legislative assembly is the unicameral legislature of the union territory. Members of the state legislature/ union territory legislative assembly are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The council of ministers, led by the chief minister, and the state governor comprise the executive of the state/union territory. The state governor is appointed by the President. The chief minister is appointed by the state governor; the other ministers are appointed by the state governor on the advice of the chief minister.
Local government
  • Organization: India is organized into one, two, or three tiers of local government. According to the Panchayat system, rural areas are organized into one, two, or three tiers of local government: an upper tier of 632 district-level local government units, and intermediate tier of 6,672 block or equivalent level local government units, and a lower tier of 255,466 village-level local government units.
  • Urban areas are organized into one tier of local government consisting of the 4,657 municipalities (which includes municipalities, municipal corporations, municipal councils, municipal boards, and nagar panchayat.)
  • Autonomies: Local government is endowed with the autonomy for making acts related to the health, safety, education, comfort, convenience, and social/economic/cultural well-being of the inhabitants, entering into contracts, and acquiring and disposing of property.
  • Ministerial oversight: The Ministry of Panchayati Raj (rural) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (urban) are responsible for federal government oversight of local government.

Overview of local government

Local government composition
Municipalities (nagar)

Deliberative body: The municipal corporation (mahanagar nigam) in large municipalities, the municipal council (nagar palika) in small municipalities, or the nagar panchayat (in places transitioning from rural to urban) consists of elected members and nominated members having special knowledge or experience in municipal administration. A mayor (in municipal corporations)/ president (in municipal councils)/ chairperson (in nagar panchayats) is elected by and from the deliberative body to preside over it; the mayor/ president/ chairperson is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The chief executive officer is the executive at the municipal level of government.

District Panchayats

Deliberative body: The district council (zilla parishad) is composed of 50-75 total members, including elected members, the representatives from Parliament and the respective state legislature, and the chairpersons of the block councils. A president is elected by and from the council to preside over it; the president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The chief executive officer is the executive at the district level of government.

Intermediate Panchayats

Deliberative body: The block council (panchayat samiti) is composed of elected members, representatives from the Parliament and the respective state legislature, members of the respective district councils of the block, and chairpersons of the village councils. A chairperson is elected by and from the council to preside over it; the chairperson is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The chief executive officer is the executive at the block level of government.

Gram Panchayats

Deliberative body: The village council (gram panchayat) is composed of elected members. A president is either directly elected by voters or elected by and from the council to preside over it; the president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The chief executive officer is the executive at the village level of government.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for deliberative bodies: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post) 

  • Voters cast their vote for a candidate of their choice, and the candidate who receives the most votes is declared elected.

Sources: The Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 (amended through 2020), article 64; Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (amended through 2017), articles 151 and 179; Goa Panchayat Raj Act and Rules (Election Procedure), 1996, articles 56

Quotas

Gender quotas: Reserved seats

  • At least 1/3 of the seats reserved for members of scheduled castes and tribes must be reserved for women. At least 1/3 of the total council seats (including the number of seats reserved for women belonging to the castes and tribes) must be reserved for women; seats may be allotted by rotation to different council constituencies.
  • At least 1/3 of the total number of chairperson’s office members amongst local councils must be reserved for women; seats may be allotted by rotation.
  • Regarding rural local governments (3 tiers of the Panchayat system), 21 states have adopted a stronger quota system with ½ of seats being reserved for women. These states are: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
  • Regarding urban local governments, at least five states  have also reserved ½ of seats for women. These are, at least : Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and Tripura.

Additional quotas: Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

  • Local deliberative body seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes based on the proportion of the scheduled castes and tribes within the population of a local government unit; council seats are allotted by rotation to different constituencies within the local government unit.
  • In urban areas, seats of mayors/ council chairpersons are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes according to state law.
  • In rural areas, seats of council chairpersons/ presidents are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the Panchayats at each level based on the total population of the scheduled castes and tribes within the local government unit; reserved seats are allotted by rotation to different Panchayats at each level.

Source: Constitution of India, 1949 (amended through 2020), articles 243D and 243T; state legislation

Term of elections
  • Term length: 5 years
  • Last local elections: varies by state/union territory: 2015-2021
  • Next local elections: varies by state/union territory: 2022-2026
Electoral management body

Election Commission of India

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Constitution of India, 1949 (amended through 2020);
  • Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009 (amended through 2018);
  • City of Panaji Corporation Act, 2002 (amended through 2006);
  • Andhra Pradesh Municipal Corporations Act, 1994 (amended through 2012);
  • Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act, 1994 (amended through 2017);
  • Goa Panchayat Raj Act and Rules, 1994 (amended through 2010);
  • Himachal Pradesh Municipal Act, 1994 (amended through 2013);
  • Himachal Pradesh Municipal Corporation Act, 1994 (amended through 2013);
  • Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (amended through 2015);
  • Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 (amended through 2018);
  • Goa Municipalities Act, 1968 (amended through 2010);
  • Andhra Pradesh Municipalities Act, 1965 (amended through 2020);
  • Maharashtra Municipal Councils, Nagar Panchayats and Industrial Townships Act, 1965 (amended through 2016);
  • Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 (amended through 2020);
  • Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Acts, 1961 (amended through 2015);
  • Maharashtra Village Panchayats Act, 1959 (amended in 2014);
  • Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949 (amended through 2014).
Constitutional provisions on local government

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in India. According to Article 243W of the Constitution of 1949 (amended through 2020), “the Legislature of a State may, by law, endow the Municipalities with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as institutions of self-government and such law may contain provisions for the devolution of powers and responsibilities upon Municipalities, subject to such conditions as may be specified therein, with respect to- (i) the preparation of plans for economic development and social justice; (ii) the performance of functions and the implementation of schemes as may be entrusted to them including those in relation to the matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule.” According to Articles 40 and 243B of the Constitution, “the State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government. There shall be constituted in every State, Panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels in accordance with the provisions of this Part […] Panchayats at the intermediate level may not be constituted in a State having a population not exceeding twenty lakhs.”

Legislative provisions on local government

The state legislatures/union territory legislative assemblies are responsible for establishing the legal framework on local government. The key piece of legislation which regulates local government is the municipalities act and/or the panchayat raj act of the respective state/union territory, which provides for the establishment of the municipalities, districts, blocks, and villages.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2021.