Who among the following is authorized to make provisions with respect to the composition of Panchayats ?

The answer is B) Legislature of State. Article 243C, inserted by the 73rd Amendment in 1992, says that subject to Part IX, the Legislature of a State may by law make provision with respect to the composition of Panchayats. Local government falls under Entry 5 of the State List, so the State legislature frames the detailed structure of Panchayats.

• A) Governor of State: The Governor has no independent law-making role here. He acts on the advice of the council of ministers, and his assent to a bill is a formal step, not a source of the provision.
• C) Parliament of India: Parliament's role is limited to specific matters, such as the Fifth Schedule areas under PESA, 1996. Composition of ordinary Panchayats is not its domain.
• D) President of India: The President has no role in framing Panchayat composition. Presidential assent comes into play only in specific constitutional situations.

The core concept is the federal distribution of legislative power and the State ownership of local government. It links directly to Mains questions on decentralisation, the three-tier Panchayati Raj system, and the gap between the constitutional mandate and actual devolution of the 29 functions in the Eleventh Schedule.

Trap: Aspirants pick Parliament because PESA is a central law, or because local government sounds like a national concern. Anchor the answer in Article 243C's wording and the State List entry.