Important Committees and Commissions in India 

A commission is a group of people entrusted by the government to implement a specific task or objective. It can either be long-term or specified to carry out a short-term objective. Long-term commissions are called permanent commissions. Those commissions mandated to carry out a specific task are called ad-hoc commissions. This is an important part of polity preparation for IAS Exam.

This article gives the list of Committees and Commissions in India that can be used by IAS aspirants in their UPSC  preparation in general and in IAS Mains Polity for prelims and GS-II papers preparation in particular.

List of Committees & Commissions in  India for IAS

Some commissions are permanent while others are temporary. The latter kind are constituted for a single purpose only and are discontinued once their purpose is fulfilled and their report is submitted to the government.

The list of important Permanent Commissions is given in the table below:

List of Commissions	Purpose of Commissions	Year of Establishment
Central Information Commission (CIC)	To receive and inquire into complaints from aggrieved persons	2005
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)	To address and probe offences by Central Government officers, officers of societies, corporation and local authority under the Central Government	1964
Atomic Energy Commission of India	To look after atomic energy activities in India	1958
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)	To give meaningful real income levels to farmers, and to help farmers adopt new technology for increased productivity	1965
National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC)	To consider inclusions in and exclusions from the lists of communities notified as backward for the purpose of job reservations and tenders needful advice to the Central Government on such matters	1993
National Commission on Cattle	To recommend ways to improve cattle condition in India	2002
National Commission for Women (NCW)	To protect and promote the interests of women in India	1992
Competition Commission of India (CCI)	To enforce ‘The Competition Act, 2002’ all over India	2003
Telecom Commission	To deal with various aspects of telecommunications	1989
National Statistical Commission (NCS)	To reduce the problems faced by statistical agencies with regard to the collection of data	2005
Election Commission (ECI)	To administer the election process all over India	1950
Law Commission	To reform the law for promoting justice in society	1834
Chief Labour Commissioner	To enforce labour laws and other labour-related issues	1945
Finance Commission (FCI)	To define the financial relations between the centre and the states	1951
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)	To protect and promote human rights	1993
University Grants Commission (UGC)	To provide recognition to universities in India, disburse funds and maintain standards in university education	1956
National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST)	To protect and develop the condition of STs in India	2004
National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector	To address the issues faced by enterprises in the unorganised sector	2004
National Forest Commission	To review and assess the existing forest policy	2003
Electronics Commission	To deal with the various aspects of the electronics industry	1971
Central Water Commission (CWC)	To manage schemes for control, conservation and utilisation of water resources throughout the country	1945
Commission for Additional Sources of Energy	To formulate and implement policies and programmes for the development of new and renewable energy, and also conduct R&D in this area	1981
National Flood Commission (Rashtriya Barh Ayog)	To evolve a coordinated, integrated and scientific approach to the flood control problems in the country	1976
Indo-Bangladesh Joint Rivers Commission (JRC)	To maintain liaison in order to ensure the most effective joint effort in maximizing the benefits from common river systems between India and Bangladesh	1972
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)	To plan, promote, organise, facilitate and assist in the establishment and development of khadi and village industries in rural areas	1957
Staff Selection Commission (SSC)	To recruit staff for various posts in the Ministries and Departments of the Union Government	1976
Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)	To give recommendations regarding the public administration system of India	1966
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)	Conduct examinations for appointment to the services of the Union Direct recruitment by selection through interviews. Appointment of officers on promotion/deputation/ absorption and more	1926

This list of important permanent commissions will help candidates in UPSC 2020 too which they may check in the linked article.

The list of important Ad-Hoc Commissions is given in the table below:

List of Commissions	Purpose of Commissions	Year of Establishment
States Reorganisation Commission	To recommend the reorganization of state boundaries	1955
Kothari Commission	For educational reforms	1964
Kapur Commission	To inquire into Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination	1966
Khosla Commission	To re-investigate the death of Subhas Chandra Bose	1970
Mandal Commission	To consider seat reservations and quotas for people to redress caste discrimination	1980
Sarkaria Commission	To examine centre-state relations	1983
Mukherjee Commission	To re-investigate the death of Subhas Chandra Bose	1959
Nanavati Commission	To inquire into the anti-Sikh riots of 1984	2000
Narendran Commission	To examine the representation of Backward Classes in the State public services	2000
National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution	To suggest changes in electoral laws	2000
Nanavati-Shah Commission	To inquire into the Godhra incident and the communal riots that ensued in 2002	2002
Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities (Ranganath Misra Commission)	To look into the issues of linguistic and religious minorities in India	2004
U.C. Banerjee Commission	To inquire into the Godhra incident and the communal riots that ensued in 2002	2002
Srikrishna Commission	To investigate the cause of the 1992 Bombay riots	2002
Thakkar Commission	To probe the assassination of Indira Gandhi	1984
Phukan Commission	To inquire into corruption allegations in the wake of the Tehelka tapes controversy	2003
Upendra Commission	To probe the alleged rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama Devi	2004
M.M. Punchhi Commission	To examine centre-state relations	2007
Shah Commission	To probe the excesses committed during the emergency (1975-77)	1977
Kalelkar Commission	To promote and uplift the society’s deprived sections	1953
Liberhan Commission	To probe the Babri Masjid demolition	1992