Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP): Articles 36 to 51 Explained

The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are the Constitution’s instructions to governments about the kind of society India should build. They are in Part IV, Articles 36 to 51, and were inspired by the Irish Constitution. Where Fundamental Rights tell the State what it cannot do, the Directive Principles tell it what it should do. Many of India’s biggest welfare laws, from free legal aid to the rural employment guarantee, trace their roots here.

Key features

• Not enforceable in court: Article 37 says no court can enforce them, but they are fundamental in the governance of the country and the State has a duty to apply them in making laws.
• Positive obligations: they ask the State to act, for example to reduce inequality or protect the environment.
• Aim of a welfare state: they set out the goals of social, economic and political justice mentioned in the Preamble.
• Used by courts to interpret laws: courts rely on them to read Fundamental Rights more widely and to uphold laws that pursue these goals.

The three broad groups

The Constitution does not group them, but they are usually studied under three heads.

Socialist principles

• Article 38: the State shall promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order based on justice, and minimise inequalities in income, status and opportunities.
• Article 39: adequate means of livelihood for all citizens, distribution of material resources to serve the common good, prevention of concentration of wealth, equal pay for equal work for men and women, protection of workers and children, and opportunities for children to develop in freedom and dignity.
• Article 39A: equal justice and free legal aid, added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976. The Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 gives it effect.
• Article 41: right to work, to education and to public assistance in unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, within the State’s economic capacity.
• Article 42: just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
• Article 43: a living wage and decent standard of life for all workers.
• Article 43A: participation of workers in the management of industries (42nd Amendment).
• Article 47: raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living, and improve public health.

Gandhian principles

• Article 40: organise village panchayats as units of self-government. The 73rd Amendment in 1992 made panchayats a constitutional institution.
• Article 43: promote cottage industries on an individual or cooperative basis in rural areas.
• Article 43B: promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning and professional management of cooperative societies (97th Amendment, 2011).
• Article 46: promote the educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections.
• Article 47: prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and drugs injurious to health, except for medicinal purposes.
• Article 48: organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern lines and prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle.

Liberal-intellectual principles

• Article 44: secure a uniform civil code for citizens throughout India. See our Uniform Civil Code explainer.
• Article 45: early childhood care and education for all children until they complete six years of age (substituted by the 86th Amendment in 2002).
• Article 48A: protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife (42nd Amendment).
• Article 49: protect monuments and places of national importance.
• Article 50: separate the judiciary from the executive in public services.
• Article 51: promote international peace and security, maintain just and honourable relations between nations, respect international law and settle disputes by arbitration.

Amendments that changed Part IV

Amendment	Year	Change
42nd	1976	Added Articles 39A, 43A and 48A and a new clause in Article 39 on children
44th	1978	Added Article 38(2) on reducing inequalities in income, status and opportunities
86th	2002	Changed Article 45 to early childhood care, and moved education for 6 to 14 year olds to Fundamental Right under Article 21A
97th	2011	Added Article 43B on cooperative societies

Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights

Point	Fundamental Rights	Directive Principles
Location	Part III, Articles 12 to 35	Part IV, Articles 36 to 51
Enforceable in court	Yes	No
Nature	Mostly limit State action	Direct the State to act
Aim	Political democracy and individual liberty	Social and economic democracy, welfare state
Source of inspiration	US Bill of Rights	Irish Constitution

The relationship between the two has been argued in court for decades. In Champakam Dorairajan (1951) the Supreme Court held that Fundamental Rights prevail if there is a conflict. In Kesavananda Bharati (1973) it upheld Article 31C, which protects laws giving effect to Articles 39(b) and (c), but said amendments cannot damage the basic structure. In Minerva Mills (1980) it struck down the 42nd Amendment’s attempt to give all Directive Principles priority over Fundamental Rights, and said the Constitution is built on a balance between Parts III and IV.

Laws and schemes that give effect to Directive Principles

• Free legal aid through the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (Article 39A)
• Panchayati Raj institutions under the 73rd Amendment (Article 40)
• MGNREGA, 2005, guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment (Articles 39 and 41)
• National Food Security Act, 2013 and midday meals (Article 47)
• Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 (Article 42)
• Minimum Wages Act, now part of the Code on Wages, 2019 (Article 43)
• Environment Protection Act, 1986 and Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (Article 48A)
• Separation of judicial magistrates from the executive under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Article 50)

Criticism

Critics say the principles are pious wishes because they cannot be enforced, that they lack a clear order of priority, and that some of them, like prohibition, clash with other goals. Defenders point out that they have guided lawmaking, given courts a way to read social justice into the Constitution, and act as a yardstick that voters can use to judge governments.

Other directives outside Part IV

Some directives appear elsewhere in the Constitution: Article 335 on claims of SCs and STs to public posts, Article 350A on instruction in the mother tongue at primary level, and Article 351 on the development of Hindi. These are also not enforceable in court.

Sources

• Constitution of India, Part IV, as amended (legislative.gov.in)
• State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan (1951); Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973); Minerva Mills v. Union of India (1980)

Last updated: 23 September 2026.