Article 360 (Financial Emergency) has never been invoked in Indian constitutional history, reflecting fiscal prudence, federal balance, and preference for cooperative mechanisms over emergency powers.
- True
- False
Answer: True
Article 360 non-invocation: (a) Constitutional provision: President may proclaim Financial Emergency if financial stability/credit of India threatened, (b) Historical record: Never invoked since Constitution adoption (1950), (c) Reasons for non-invocation: (i) Fiscal prudence: Union/States managed fiscal challenges through cooperative mechanisms (Finance Commission, GST Council), not Emergency powers, (ii) Federal balance: Preference for negotiated solutions over unilateral Union control, (iii) Political consensus: Avoiding Emergency powers except for genuine existential threats, (d) Alternative mechanisms: (i) Finance Commission: Regular mediation of fiscal claims, (ii) FRBM Acts: Fiscal discipline frameworks for Union/States, (iii) GST Council: Cooperative fiscal federalism for indirect taxation, (e) Illustrates calibrated federalism: Preference for cooperative, negotiated solutions over emergency powers; Financial Emergency as last resort, not first response, to fiscal challenges.