The Charter Act of 1833 attempted to introduce a system of open competition for the selection of civil servants and stated that the Indians should not be debarred from holding any place, office and employment under the Company. However, this provision was negated after opposition from the Court of Directors.

The Charter Act of 1853 had separated, for the first time, the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s Council. It provided for addition of six new members, called Legislative Councilors, to the Council. In other words, it established a separate Governor-General’s Legislative Council, which came to be known as the Indian (Central) Legislative Council. This Legislative Wing of the Council functioned as a Mini-Parliament, adopting the same procedures as the British Parliament.

The Indian Councils Act of 1861 had initiated the process of decentralization, by restoring the legislative powers to the Bombay and Madras Presidencies. It, thus, reversed the centralizing tendency that started from the Regulating Act of 1773 and reached its climax under the Charter Act of 1833. This policy of legislative devolution resulted in the grant of almost complete internal autonomy to the provinces in 1937.