1. Regulating Act of 1773

♤ It designated the Governor of Bengal as Governor General of Bengal. It created an executive council of four members to assist him. Lord Warren Hastings became the first Governor General of Bengal.

♤ The governors of Bombay and Madras were made subordinate to the Governor-General of Bengal. This started a tendency towards ‘centralization’ of power, which continued up till the Charter Act, 1833.*

♤ A Supreme Court was established as the Apex Court at Calcutta in 1774, comprising one Chief Justice and three other judges*.

♤ It strengthened the control of British government over the Company by requiring the Court of Directors (governing body of the Company) to report on its revenue, civil and military affairs in India. It prohibited company officials from engaging in private trade and from accepting gifts from Indians.

♤ It has constitutional importance as it laid the principles of central administration in India.*