The India Act (1784), which came to be known as Pitt’s India Act after British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, was passed by the British Parliament on this day. It established a dual system of authority in the British governance of India.
The East India Company retained control of trade and daily administration, but important matters were decided only in consultation with the British government. This would last till 1858, when the British crown took over the governance of India from the company.
Pitt’s India Act was meant to address the many gaps in the Regulating Act of 1773.