A federal structure for India was first proposed by the .

A federal structure for India was first proposed by the British government in the early 20th century, specifically during the time of the Simon Commission, which was set up in 1927. The Government of India Act of 1935 by the British Parliament eventually established a federal structure in principle, with provisions for a Federal Court. However, it should be noted that the seed for federalism in India, which came to fruition after independence with its inclusion in the Constitution of India in 1950, has been influenced by a myriad of proposals and debates over time, not attributed to a single entity or time.

Federalism is a system of government in which powers are divided between a central authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces). In India, federalism is a fundamental aspect of the country's constitutional structure. India is known as a "Union of States" which indicates that its federalism is slightly more inclined towards a stronger central government, compared to some other countries like the United States, where states have considerable autonomy.

The Constitution of India provides a dual governance structure with clearly defined powers for the central government (Union) and the state governments. This division of powers is listed in three lists: the Union List, the State List, and the Concurrent List. The Union List details the subjects on which only the central government can make laws, the State List details those under the states' purview, and the Concurrent List includes subjects where both the central and state governments can make laws. However, in the case of a conflict on a subject in the Concurrent List, the law made by the Union Government prevails.

India's federal system also includes features like a bicameral legislature at the national level, consisting of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People), where the Rajya Sabha represents the states' interests at the federal level. Moreover, the federal structure is maintained by independent judiciary with the Supreme Court at the apex, which arbitrates disputes between the central and state governments, as well as between different state governments.