Pitt's India Act of 1784
In Shortly........
➠This Act distinguish between commercial and political functions of the Company
➠ Political affairs to be managed by newly formed Board of Control
➠ Board of Control can Supervise the operations of Govt and Revenue
➠ Pitts India Act established the Dual (Double) Government
➠ The Company territories in India were for the first time called the British Possessions in India
Given below more details about Pitt's India Act of 1784
Pitt's India Act of 1784 also called the East India Company Act, 1784 was passed by the British parliament to correc the defects of the Regulating act of 1773. This Act resulted in dual Control of British possession in India by the British Government and the Company with the final authority resting with the Government. This Act continued till 1858
Provisions of this Act
➦ Board of Control was created For Political matters and for Commercial affairs, the Court of Directors was appointed.
➦ The Board of Control took care of Civil and Military affairs. It comprises 6 people
➥ Secretary of State (Board President)
➥ Chancellor of Exchequer
➥ Four Privy Councillors
➦ In this dual system of Control, the Company was represented by the Court of Directors and the British Government by the Board of Control.
➦ This act mandated that all Civil and Military officers disclose their property in India and Britain within two months of their joining.
➦ The Governor General's Council's Strength was reduced to three members. One of the three would be Commander-in-Chief of the British crown's army in India.
➦ The Governor- General was given the right of Veto (Casting Vote)
➦ The Presidencies of Madras and Bombay became subordinate to the Bengal Presidency. In effect, Calcutta became the Capital of the possessions in India
Features of this Act
➦ This Act made a distinction between the commercial and political activities of the East India Company.
➦ For the first time the term 'British Possession in India' was used
➦ This Act gave the British government direct control over Indian Administration
➦ The Company became the subordinate to the British government unlike as in the previous Regulating act of 1773, where the government only sought to 'regulate' matters and not take over
➦ This Act established the British Crown's authority in civil and military administration of its Indian territories. Commercial activities were still a monopoly of the Company.
Drawbacks of this Act
➦ The Act was deemed a failure because there was no clarity on the boundaries between the Company's power and the Government's authority.
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