Article 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; (f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

Source: Constitution of India, as published by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Article 39 was the heart of the socialist economic vision embedded in the DPSP. Clause (b) on distribution of material resources was the constitutional justification for the nationalisation of banks in 1969 and coal mines in 1973. The Supreme Court's initial ruling in R. C. Cooper v. Union of India (1970) restricted this, but the 25th Amendment and later the 42nd Amendment gave Parliament near-unlimited power to legislate under Article 39(b) and (c). The equal pay principle in clause (d) was later read by the Supreme Court as an aspect of the right to equality under Article 14. Clause (f) on child development became the constitutional foundation for child labour prohibition laws and the National Policy for Children.

• 25th Amendment (1971) — Inserted Article 31C giving special protection to laws giving effect to Article 39(b) and (c), shielding them from challenge under Articles 14, 19, and 31.
• 42nd Amendment (1976) — Extended Article 31C protection to all DPSP, not just Article 39(b) and (c) (though the Supreme Court later struck down this extension in Minerva Mills).

• Article 38
• Article 41
• Article 43
• Article 21

Last reviewed: 3 July 2026