Indian Polity Mixed Quiz: Set 49

The correct answer is B, the Election Commission of India. Article 324 vests the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of all elections to Parliament, to the state legislatures and to the offices of President and Vice-President in the Election Commission. Option A is wrong because the President only appoints the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners; the President does not conduct elections. Option C is wrong because Parliament makes election law, such as the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951, but does not conduct elections. Option D is wrong because the Supreme Court hears election disputes concerning the President and Vice-President under Article 71, while election petitions about parliamentary and assembly seats go first to the High Courts; courts do not supervise the polls.

The correct answer is B, Article 93. Article 93 of the Constitution provides that the House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker, and that whenever either office becomes vacant the House shall choose another member to fill it. The election is held on a date fixed by the President and is decided by a simple majority of those present and voting. Option A is wrong because Article 89 is the matching provision for the Rajya Sabha, which deals with the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council of States, and the Vice-President is the ex officio Chairman there. Option C is wrong because Article 97 only charges the salaries and allowances of these presiding officers on the Consolidated Fund of India. Option D is wrong because Article 100 covers voting in the Houses, the casting vote of the presiding officer and the quorum of one-tenth of the total membership.

The correct answer is B, qualified veto. A qualified veto is one that the legislature can override only by a special higher majority, such as two-thirds; it belongs to the American President and not to the Indian one, because when the Indian President returns a bill a simple majority in both Houses is enough to compel assent. Option A is wrong because the absolute veto is available: the President may withhold assent and the bill then dies, as happened with the PEPSU Appropriation Bill of 1954. Option C is wrong because the suspensive veto, the power to return a bill for reconsideration, is available for every bill except a Money Bill. Option D is wrong because the pocket veto is available, no time limit for assent being prescribed by Article 111.

The correct answer is B, Mandal Commission. The Second Backward Classes Commission, headed by B. P. Mandal, recommended 27 per cent reservation for Other Backward Classes in central government services and public undertakings. It was appointed in 1979 and submitted its report in 1980, listed 3,743 castes as backward and put the share of the OBCs in the population at about 52 per cent. The quota was fixed at 27 per cent so that total reservation would stay within the 50 per cent ceiling the courts had indicated. The recommendation was put into effect in 1990, and the Supreme Court upheld it in the Indra Sawhney case of 1992. A is wrong because the Sarkaria Commission of 1983 examined Centre-State relations. C is wrong because the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee of 1957 suggested the three-tier panchayati raj system. D is wrong because the Kothari Commission of 1964-66 dealt with education. Exam tip: Mandal Commission 1979, report 1980, 27 per cent OBC quota, upheld in Indra Sawhney 1992.

The correct answer is B. Article 100(1) provides that the Speaker or the person acting as Speaker shall not vote in the first instance, but shall have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes. The purpose is to keep the chair above party contest while still giving the House a way out of a deadlock. Option A is wrong because voting in the first instance on every question is what an ordinary member does, and the chair is deliberately denied that right. Option C is wrong because the Speaker role in Money Bills is a different one altogether: under Article 110(4) the Speaker certifies whether a Bill is a Money Bill, and that certificate is final and cannot be questioned in any court. Option D is wrong because the Speaker is a full member of the House and does vote in two situations, namely a casting vote under Article 100 and a first-instance vote on a resolution for the Speaker own removal under Article 96.

The correct answer is B, the Ninety-ninth Amendment Act, passed in 2014, which inserted Articles 124A, 124B and 124C to create the National Judicial Appointments Commission and to let Parliament regulate the procedure for appointments by law. It was brought into force in April 2015 along with the NJAC Act, 2014, and struck down by a Constitution Bench the same year. Option A is wrong because the Ninety-seventh Amendment dealt with co-operative societies and added Part IXB. Option C is wrong because the One Hundred and First Amendment introduced the Goods and Services Tax. Option D is wrong because the Forty-second Amendment of 1976 was the wide-ranging "mini constitution" amendment that added words to the Preamble and the Fundamental Duties, and had nothing to do with judicial appointments.

The correct answer is C, Article 17. Article 17 abolishes untouchability and forbids its practice in any form, and declares that the enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability shall be an offence punishable by law. Parliament gave effect to it through the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955. The right is absolute, available against the State and against private persons alike. Option A is wrong because Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth and allows special provisions for women, children and backward classes. Option B is wrong because Article 16 guarantees equality of opportunity in matters of public employment and permits reservation for backward classes. Option D is wrong because Article 18 abolishes titles, except military and academic distinctions, and this is the article under which the status of awards such as the Bharat Ratna is discussed.

The correct answer is B, Sarkaria Commission. The Inter-State Council was constituted in 1990 by a presidential order acting on this commission's report on centre-state relations. Article 263 empowers the President to set up such a council to inquire into disputes between states, discuss subjects of common interest and make recommendations. The Sarkaria Commission, headed by Justice R. S. Sarkaria, was appointed in 1983 and submitted its report in 1988; it asked that the council be made a permanent body. The Prime Minister chairs it, and the chief ministers of all states, the administrators of union territories and six union ministers are its members. Option A is wrong because the Punchhi Commission came much later, in 2007, and reported in 2010. Option C is wrong because the Rajamannar Committee of 1969 was set up by the Tamil Nadu government, not the Union. Option D is wrong because the Mungerilal Commission dealt with backward class reservation in Bihar. Exam tip: Article 263 plus Sarkaria Commission gives the Inter-State Council, 1990.

The correct answer is B, the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, 1986, and Zail Singh. The bill, which would have allowed the interception of postal articles, was neither assented to nor returned by President Zail Singh, who simply kept it pending, and it lapsed; this is the standing Indian illustration of a pocket veto. Option A is wrong because the Hindu Code Bill was a matter of political controversy in the early 1950s but was not disposed of by a pocket veto. Option C is wrong because the PEPSU Appropriation Bill of 1954 is the example of an absolute veto, assent having been positively withheld. Option D is wrong because the 1991 bill on the salaries of members of Parliament is also cited as an absolute veto, assent being refused rather than withheld by inaction.

The correct answer is A, Land transfers. The Fifth Schedule lets the Governor make regulations for the peace and good government of a Scheduled Area, and it names three matters such a regulation may cover: it may prohibit or restrict the transfer of land by or among members of the Scheduled Tribes, regulate the allotment of land to them, and regulate money-lending to them. The purpose is to stop outsiders from buying up tribal land, so land alienation is the heart of the provision. A regulation of this kind needs the assent of the President, and the Governor must also report to the President every year on the administration of these areas, advised by a Tribes Advisory Council. Option B is wrong because taxation is settled by Parliament and the state legislature, not by such a regulation. Option C is wrong because freedom of speech is a fundamental right no Governor's regulation can curtail. Option D is wrong because water use is not one of the three listed matters. Exam tip: Fifth Schedule regulations cover land transfer, land allotment and money-lending.

The correct answer is B. The Public Accounts Committee has twenty-two members, fifteen elected by the Lok Sabha and seven by the Rajya Sabha, each by proportional representation through the single transferable vote, for a term of one year. Its chairperson is appointed by the Speaker from among its Lok Sabha members, and since 1967 the convention has been to appoint a member of the Opposition. The committee examines the appropriation accounts and the audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Option A is wrong because fifteen is only the Lok Sabha share of the committee, not its total strength. Option C is wrong because thirty, all drawn from the Lok Sabha, is the Estimates Committee, which has no Rajya Sabha representation at all. Option D is wrong because thirty-one, split twenty-one and ten, is the size of each Departmentally Related Standing Committee. The Committee on Public Undertakings, like the Public Accounts Committee, has twenty-two members.

The correct answer is B, N.C.E.R.T. Section 29(1) of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 says the curriculum and the evaluation procedure for elementary education shall be laid down by an academic authority notified by the appropriate government, and the Central Government notified the National Council of Educational Research and Training for the schools under it, while the states notified their own SCERTs. Section 29(2) then binds that authority to constitutional values, the all-round development of the child, learning through activity and discovery, teaching in the mother tongue as far as practicable, and continuous and comprehensive evaluation. A is wrong because the N.C.T.E. frames norms for teacher education and teacher eligibility, which the Act deals with in Section 23. C is wrong because N.I.E.P.A. works on educational planning and administration. D is wrong because N.I.O.S. runs open and distance schooling. Exam tip: in the RTE Act, Section 29 gives the academic authority, NCERT, and Section 23 the teacher qualifications through NCTE.

The correct answer is B, a Money Bill. Under Article 111 the President may return a bill for reconsideration only if it is not a Money Bill; for a Money Bill the choice is confined to giving assent or withholding it. The reason is that a Money Bill is introduced in the first place only on the President's own recommendation, so there is nothing left to reconsider. Option A is wrong because an ordinary bill is exactly the kind that may be sent back with a message. Option C is wrong because a private member's bill is an ordinary bill in this respect and can be returned. Option D is wrong because a bill passed at a joint sitting under Article 108 is likewise an ordinary bill and may be returned for reconsideration.

The correct answer is D, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. Syama Prasad Mookerjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and is counted as its founder member and first president. The party was launched at Delhi in October 1951 as a nationalist alternative to the Congress. Mookerjee had resigned from Nehru's cabinet in 1950 over the Nehru-Liaquat pact, and he had earlier led the Hindu Mahasabha and served as Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University. He died in 1953 in detention in Kashmir while agitating against the state's special status, after which Deendayal Upadhyaya built up the party's organisation; it was reorganised as the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980. A is wrong because K M Munshi was a Constituent Assembly member and Congress leader who later joined the Swatantra Party. B is wrong because Baldev Singh was independent India's first Defence Minister. C is wrong because Minoo Masani was a founder of the Swatantra Party. Exam tip: Bharatiya Jana Sangh 1951 with Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Swatantra Party 1959 with C Rajagopalachari and Minoo Masani.

The correct answer is A, John Mathai. The Estimates Committee was set up in 1950 on the suggestion of John Mathai, who was then the Union Finance Minister, and it consists of thirty members, all elected from the Lok Sabha; the Rajya Sabha has no representation on it. Its chairperson is appointed by the Speaker, a minister cannot be a member, and its function is to examine the Budget estimates, suggest economies and propose alternative forms of presenting the estimates, which is why it is called the continuous economy committee. Option B is wrong because the Krishna Menon Committee recommended the Committee on Public Undertakings, which was constituted in 1964. Option C is wrong because G. V. Mavalankar was the first Speaker of the Lok Sabha and is called the Father of the Lok Sabha, but the Estimates Committee is not named to his recommendation. Option D is wrong because C. D. Deshmukh, though a Finance Minister and earlier a Governor of the Reserve Bank, is not associated with the creation of this committee.

The correct answer is D, Pranab Mukherjee. The Constitution (100th Amendment) Act was passed in 2015 and received the President's assent on 31 May 2015, when Pranab Mukherjee held the office; he was President from 2012 to 2017. The amendment gave effect to the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, under which the two countries exchanged enclaves and adverse possessions, and it altered the First Schedule entries for Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura. People living in the transferred enclaves were allowed to choose their citizenship. Option A is wrong because Ram Nath Kovind became President only in 2017, two years later. Option B is wrong because Pratibha Patil's term ran from 2007 to 2012, before this amendment. Option C is wrong because A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was President from 2002 to 2007. Exam tip: the 100th Amendment of 2015 settled the India-Bangladesh land boundary and changed the First Schedule.

The correct answer is B, Article 72. It empowers the President to grant pardon, reprieve, respite, remission, suspension or commutation of punishment in cases of a sentence by court martial, offences against laws on matters within the Union's executive power, and all cases of a sentence of death. Option A is wrong because Article 61 lays down the procedure for the impeachment of the President for violation of the Constitution. Option C is wrong because Article 143 allows the President to refer a question of law or fact of public importance to the Supreme Court for its opinion, which is an advisory and not a pardoning power. Option D is wrong because Article 161 gives the matching but narrower power to a Governor, who may pardon neither a death sentence nor a court martial sentence.

The correct answer is C, 31 members. Each Departmentally Related Standing Committee has thirty-one members, of whom twenty-one are nominated by the Speaker from the Lok Sabha and ten by the Chairman from the Rajya Sabha. The system began in 1993 with seventeen such committees and was reorganised in 2004, after which twenty-four committees cover the whole of the Union Government. A minister cannot be a member, and the term is one year. These committees examine the demands for grants of their ministries, Bills referred to them, annual reports and long-term policy documents. Option A is wrong because twenty-two is the strength of the Public Accounts Committee and of the Committee on Public Undertakings. Option B is wrong because twenty-five does not correspond to any parliamentary committee and is a pure distractor. Option D is wrong because forty-five is not the size of any standing committee; the figure thirty, split twenty and ten, belongs to the Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The correct answer is B, grant a pardon in a case of a death sentence. Article 161 confines the Governor's power to offences against laws on matters to which the state's executive power extends, and it does not extend to pardoning a death sentence, which under Article 72 belongs to the President alone; a Governor also cannot touch a sentence passed by a court martial. Option A is wrong because remitting a sentence of imprisonment is squarely within the Governor's power. Option C is wrong because a respite, meaning a lighter sentence on a special ground such as pregnancy or physical disability, is also available to a Governor. Option D is wrong because commuting rigorous imprisonment to a lighter form of punishment is within the Governor's competence as well.

The correct answer is B. The chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from among the Lok Sabha members of the committee, and since 1967 the settled convention has been to appoint a member belonging to the Opposition, which strengthens the committee as an instrument of accountability. A Rajya Sabha member of the committee cannot be made chairperson. Option A is wrong because the members elect nobody to the chair; they are themselves elected to the committee by proportional representation, but the chair is filled by appointment. Option C is wrong because the Prime Minister has no role at all here, and allowing the head of the government to choose the chair of the committee that audits the government would defeat its purpose. Option D is wrong because the Deputy Speaker is the ex officio chairperson of the Committee on Private Members Bills and Resolutions, not of the Public Accounts Committee; the Speaker chairs the Business Advisory, Rules and General Purposes Committees.