PART IV
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY
36. Definition.—In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, “the
State” has the same meaning as in Part III.
37. Application of the principles contained in this Part.—The
provisions contained in this Part shall not be enforceable by any court, but the
principles therein laid down are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of
the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in
making laws.
38. State to secure a social order for the promotion of welfare of the
people.—1[(1)] The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by
securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice,
social, economic and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.
2
[(2) The State shall, in particular, strive to minimise the inequalities in
income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and
opportunities, not only amongst individuals but also amongst groups of people
residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.]
39. Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State.—The
State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing—
(a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an
adequate means of livelihood;
(b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of the
community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good;
(c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the
concentration of wealth and means of production to the common
detriment;
(d) that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women;
(e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and
the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced
by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or
strength;
1. Art. 38 renumbered as cl. (1) by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, s. 9 (w.e.f.
20-6-1979).
2. Ins. by s. 9, ibid. (w.e.f. 20-6-1979).
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