How are the legislative powers divided …

Legislative powers are divided between the Union and state governments by the Constitution of India. The Constitution divided various areas of government jurisdiction into three lists.

1. The Union List containing areas like Defence, Foreign Affairs, Currency and Communications. These subjects are under the jurisdiction of the Union Government and only Parliament can pass laws on these subjects.
2. The State List containing subjects like Police, Social Services, Health etc. which are under the jurisdiction of the state governments. Only state legislatures can pass laws on these subjects.
3. The Concurrent List which contains items like Criminal Law, Forests, Population control in which both Parliament and state legislatures can pass laws. In case of any conflict between Union and state laws, the law passed by Parliament will prevail.