Important provision of Regulating Act 1773
1.This act was the first step taken by the British Government to control and regulate the affairs of the East India Company in India
2. The political and administrative functions of the Company were recognised first time
3. It laid the foundations of central administration in India.
4. The Governor of Bengal was designated as the ‘Governor-General of Bengal’ and an Executive Council of four members was created to provide assitance to him. Lord Warren Hastings become The first such Governor- General.
5. It made the governors of Bombay and Madras presidencies subordinate to the governor-general of Bengal. Supreme Court at Calcutta was established (1774) comprising one chief justice and three other judges.
6. It prohibited the servants of the east india Company from engaging in any private trade or business ,accepting presents or bribes from the ‘natives’. It strengthened the control of the British Government over the Company by requiring the Court of Directors (governing body of the Company) to report on its revenue, civil, and military affairs in India.
Pitt’s India Act of 1784
The important features of pitt’s india Act are as follows-
1. The commercial and political functions of the Company were distinguished. 2. This act allowed the Court of Directors to manage the commercial affairs, but created a new body, Board of Control to manage the political affairs. Like this system of double government was established.
Charter Act of 1813
The significant features are as follows:
1. The trade monopoly of the east india company was abolished in India.
it means the Indian trade was open to all British merchants and traders. However, the monopoly of the company over trade in tea and trade with China remain continued.
2. The sovereignty of the British Crown over the Company’s territories in India was asserted.
3. Christian missionaries were allowed to come to India for enlightening the people.
4. It provided for the spread of western education among the inhabitants of the British territories in India first time and it was decided that one lac rupees will be spend on indian education system.
The important provisions are as follows –
This Act was the final step towards centralisa- tion in British India. The Governor-General of Bengal now became the Governor-General of India and vested in him all civil and military powers. Thus, the act created, for the first time, Government of India having authority over the entire territorial area possessed by the British in India. Lord William Bentick became the first Governor-General of India.
The Governor-General of India was given exclusive legislative powers for the entire British India. It ended the activities of the East India Company as a commercial body, now it became a purely administrative body.It provided that the Company’s territories in India were held by it ‘in trust for His Majesty,His heirs and successors’.
The Charter Act of 1833 attempted to introduce a system of open competi tion for selection of civil servants and stated that the Indians should not be debarred from holding any place, office and employment under the Company.
