The Directive Principles of State Policy are outlined in Part IV of the Constitution, specifically from Articles 36 to 51. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar referred to these principles as ‘unique features’ of the Indian Constitution. Granville Austin characterized the Directive Principles and the Fundamental Rights as the ‘Conscience of the Constitution’.

• Objective: It promotes the principles of social and economic democracy and envisages establishing a welfare state. 
• Utility: The Directive Principles of State Policy serve as guiding ideals for the State when creating policies and laws. 
• Importance: Together with the Fundamental Rights, the Directive Principles embody the ‘philosophy of the Constitution’ and are often referred to as the ‘soul of the constitution’.
• Source: The idea of DPSP was inspired by the Irish Constitution of 1937. 

Features of The Directive Principles

• Constitutional Instructions: The ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’ serve as constitutional guidelines or suggestions provided to the state regarding legislative, executive, and administrative matters. They represent the ideals that the State should consider while developing policies and making laws. 
• Instrument of Instructions: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar likened the Directive Principles to an Instrument of Instructions. These instructions were issued under the Government of India Act, 1935. They were issued by the British government to the Governor-General of India and Governor of provinces. Similarly, the directives under part-IV are provided by the constitution. In a similar vein, the directives found in part-IV of the constitution are provided to the legislature and the executive.
• Welfare state: Directive Principles provide a comprehensive economic, social and political programme. Their aim is to establish economic and social democracy within the nation. The ultimate goal is to achieve the lofty ideals of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity as stated in the Preamble. 
• Non-justiciable: Directive Principles are non-justiciable in nature, that is, they are not legally enforceable by the courts for their violation. Therefore, an individual cannot approach the court if the government has not implemented them. 

Reason why DPSP are non-justiciable

Here are the reasons why directive principles lack justiciability.

• Lack of resources: When India got its independence, the country did not have enough resources to implement all the directive principles. 
• Conflict with Fundamental rights: Certain directive principles could potentially infringe upon fundamental rights. To prevent this conflict between the two, it was entrusted to the State to execute these directives at a time and in a manner of its preference.
• Complexity in implementation: India is a vast and diverse country and the customs, traditions, and norms followed by different communities may stand in the way of their implementation. For example the implementation of Uniform Civil Code. 
• Sanction by the people: Our Constitution makers believed in the wisdom of the people rather than in court procedure as the ultimate sanction for the fulfilment of these principles. Over the years several directives have been implemented through legislative and executive actions of central and state governments. Example: “Right to Education” was initially a directive principle but after the country had adequate resources to provide for education of all children aged between 6 to 14 years, an amendment (86th Constitutional Amendment 2002; effective from 1 April 2010) was passed and education became a fundamental right of every child between 6 and 14 years of age.

Constitutional Provisions of Directive Principles of State Policy

Article 36: Definition of the State 

It contains the definition of State and says that the term ‘State’ in this part (Part IV) will mean the same thing as what it means in Part III (Fundamental Rights). Hence, it includes:  

1. The Government of India, 
2. The Parliament of India, 
3. The Government of each of the States, 
4. The Legislature of each of the States, 
5. All the authorities whether local or any other which are part of Indian territory or under the control of the government.

Article 37: Non Justiciable nature of DPSP

It mentions the two important characteristics of DPSP. It is not enforceable in any court of Law. But it will be the duty of the State to implement these principles. This shows that the directives provided in the constitution are fundamental in the governance of the country.

Classification of The Directive Principles

To enhance comprehension and ease of understanding of these principles, political scientist Dr. M. P. Sharma proposed categorizing them ideologically into three groups:

• Socialistic;
• Gandhian and
• Liberal-Intellectual

This classification finds no mention in the constitution. This classification is purely an interpretative construct aimed at better understanding of the nature of these principles. 

There is no specific order in which these principles are arranged regarding their importance and theoretical foundation. Some scholars criticized this approach; as noted by Srinivasan, “the formulation of the directives of state policy can hardly be seen as motivating. It is both ambiguous and redundant. The directives lack proper classification and logical organization, blending less significant issues with crucial economic and social concerns.”