Indian Polity GK Notes

Constitution, fundamental rights, Parliament, judiciary, amendments and governance.

60 topics1380 MCQs868 previous-year questions175 quizzesUpdated 25 October 2026

Indian Polity Questions Indian Polity Quizzes

Indian Polity covers how India is governed under its Constitution. The syllabus runs from the Making of the Constitution and the Preamble through Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties, then the President and Vice-President, Parliament, the Supreme Court and High Courts, Emergency Provisions, Panchayati Raj and Municipalities, and the Election Commission. Later topics take up the Schedules of the Constitution, Centre–State Relations, Constitutional Amendment and the Basic Structure, and Landmark Supreme Court Judgments.

Polity appears in almost every general awareness paper: SSC CGL, CHSL and MTS, Railway NTPC and Group D, UPSC Prelims, state PSC exams and, in a lighter form, bank exams. The questions are mostly factual one-liners: which Article deals with a right, which Schedule lists the languages, who appoints a Governor, which amendment added the word secular, or which case laid down the basic structure doctrine. Definitions of terms like writ, ordinance and money bill also come up.

On this GK24 page the topics are listed in syllabus order, so you can read the notes one by one and keep track of what is done. Each topic has its own practice MCQs, and the previous-year questions under it are tagged with the exam and year, which shows how a topic has actually been asked. When you finish a block of topics, take the mixed quiz sets to revise across the whole subject.

Topic-wise notes

1
Making of the Constitution
The Constituent Assembly: how it was formed, its committees, the Drafting Committee, key dates and the sources the Constitution borrowed from.
33 MCQs29 previous-year questions
2
Preamble
The Preamble word by word: its text, the nature of the State, the four objectives, their sources, the 42nd Amendment and the court cases on its status.
28 MCQs24 previous-year questions
3
Fundamental Rights
Part III article by article: the six rights, the five writs, rights only for citizens, what happens in an emergency, and the amendments and cases that shaped them.
63 MCQs60 previous-year questions
4
Directive Principles of State Policy
Part IV Article by Article: the goals the State must pursue, the Gandhian and socialist principles, how they differ from rights and the cases that balanced the two.
34 MCQs34 previous-year questions
5
Fundamental Duties
Article 51A: all 11 duties, the 42nd and 86th Amendments, the Swaran Singh and Verma committees, and the traps exams set.
32 MCQs32 previous-year questions
6
President and Vice-President
Election, qualifications, impeachment, vetoes, pardons and ordinances of the President, and the Vice-President's role as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
40 MCQs40 previous-year questions
7
Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
Articles 74 to 78: how the Prime Minister is appointed, the 15% cap, collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha, the Cabinet, and records of past Prime Ministers.
28 MCQs28 previous-year questions
8
Parliament
The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha: strength, terms, the Speaker, sessions, quorum, money bills, joint sittings, the Budget, committees and the anti-defection law.
46 MCQs46 previous-year questions
9
Supreme Court and High Courts
The Supreme Court and High Courts: composition, appointment and removal of judges, the kinds of jurisdiction, key Articles and landmark facts.
42 MCQs42 previous-year questions
10
Emergency Provisions
National Emergency, President's Rule and Financial Emergency: grounds, approvals, time limits, effects on rights and federalism, and the three proclamations.
27 MCQs27 previous-year questions
11
Governor and the State Executive
Articles 153 to 167: appointment, term and powers of the Governor, his discretion, and the Chief Minister, Council of Ministers and Advocate General of a State.
35 MCQs27 previous-year questions
12
State Legislature
Articles 168 to 212: the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, their strength, tenure and composition, presiding officers, Money Bills and the Governor's assent.
23 MCQs12 previous-year questions
13
Panchayati Raj and Municipalities
The 73rd and 74th Amendments, Parts IX and IXA, Articles 243 to 243-ZG, the Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules, reservation, tenure and the State Election Commission.
40 MCQs33 previous-year questions
14
Constitutional Amendment and the Basic Structure
Article 368 and the three kinds of amendment, ratification by the states, the growth of the basic structure doctrine, and the amendments most asked in exams.
28 MCQs17 previous-year questions
15
Election Commission and Elections
Articles 324 to 329, the appointment, tenure and removal of the Election Commission, the Representation of the People Acts, the Model Code of Conduct, EVMs, VVPAT and NOTA, with the facts exams ask.
36 MCQs28 previous-year questions
16
Citizenship
Articles 5 to 11, the Citizenship Act of 1955, the five ways of acquiring and three ways of losing Indian citizenship, OCI and the amendments, with the facts SSC, Railway and State exams ask.
20 MCQs11 previous-year questions
17
The Union and Its Territory
Articles 1 to 4 of the Constitution: India as a Union of States, admission and formation of new States, the Berubari opinion and the reorganisation of States, with the facts SSC, Railway, State and UPSC exams ask.
19 MCQs8 previous-year questions
18
Centre–State Relations
Legislative, administrative and financial relations between the Union and the States under Parts XI and XII, the Seventh Schedule, Articles 245 to 293 and the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions, with the facts SSC, Railway, State and UPSC exams ask.
28 MCQs19 previous-year questions
19
Schedules of the Constitution
All twelve Schedules of the Indian Constitution with their subject matter, linked articles and the amendments that added the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Schedules, with the facts SSC, Railway, Banking and State exams ask.
32 MCQs22 previous-year questions
20
Constitutional and Statutory Bodies
The difference between constitutional, statutory and executive bodies in India, with the article or Act behind each of the Election Commission, CAG, Finance Commission, NHRC, CVC, Lokpal and NITI Aayog, as SSC, Railway, Banking and State exams ask it.
34 MCQs23 previous-year questions
21
Writs and Judicial Review
The five writs, Articles 32 and 226, the limits on each writ and the judgments that made judicial review part of the basic structure, with the facts exams ask.
34 MCQs25 previous-year questions
22
CAG and the Attorney General
Articles 148 to 151 and Article 76: how the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Attorney General are appointed, removed and paid, what each audits or advises on, and the differences exams ask about.
31 MCQs23 previous-year questions
23
UPSC and State Public Service Commissions
Articles 315 to 323: how the Union and State Public Service Commissions are appointed, removed and funded, what they advise on, and the differences exams ask about.
19 MCQs11 previous-year questions
24
Official Language and Special Provisions
Articles 343 to 351 on the official language of the Union and the states, the Eighth Schedule and its amendments, and the Part XXI special provisions from Article 371 to 371J.
26 MCQs16 previous-year questions
25
Important Articles of the Constitution
A part-wise list of the article numbers examiners ask: Articles 1 to 51A on rights and duties, 52 to 151 on the Union, 153 to 237 on the states, and 266 to 368 on finance, emergency and amendment.
19 MCQs9 previous-year questions
26
Sources and Salient Features of the Constitution
The making of the Constitution, the features borrowed from the Act of 1935 and from Britain, America, Ireland, Canada, Australia and others, and the salient features exams ask about.
30 MCQs20 previous-year questions
27
President's Powers: Veto, Ordinance and Pardon
The President's executive, legislative, financial and judicial powers: the four kinds of veto under Article 111, the ordinance power under Article 123 and the pardoning power under Article 72.
19 MCQs7 previous-year questions
28
Speaker and Parliamentary Committees
Election, removal and powers of the Lok Sabha Speaker under Articles 93 to 97 and 100, and the financial and standing committees of Parliament with their exact membership.
34 MCQs22 previous-year questions
29
Legislative Procedure and Types of Bills
How a Bill becomes an Act in Parliament: the three readings, ordinary, Money, Financial and Constitution Amendment Bills, joint sittings, the President's assent and the lapsing of Bills.
23 MCQs11 previous-year questions
30
Parliamentary Devices: Question Hour, Zero Hour and Motions
Question Hour and its four kinds of questions, Zero Hour, adjournment, no-confidence, censure and cut motions, calling attention, Rule 377, point of order, quorum and the guillotine, with the exact numbers examiners ask.
17 MCQs5 previous-year questions
31
Financial Procedure in Parliament
The Budget and the funds of India, Articles 112 to 117, charged and voted expenditure, demands for grants, cut motions, the guillotine, money bills, and the committees that audit spending.
15 MCQs5 previous-year questions
32
Anti-Defection Law (Tenth Schedule)
The Tenth Schedule added by the 52nd Amendment: the grounds of defection, the whip, the merger exemption, the Speaker's role, and the judgments from Kihoto Hollohan onwards.
21 MCQs9 previous-year questions
33
Union Territories and Delhi's Special Status
Articles 239 to 241, the administrators of the Union Territories, the legislatures of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, Article 239AA and the Delhi judgments, with the facts exams ask.
14 MCQs2 previous-year questions
34
Scheduled and Tribal Areas (Fifth and Sixth Schedules)
Articles 244 and 244A, Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule, the Governor and the Tribes Advisory Council, PESA 1996, and the Autonomous District Councils of the Sixth Schedule.
29 MCQs22 previous-year questions
35
Subordinate Courts, Tribunals and Lok Adalats
Articles 233 to 237 and the district judiciary, the hierarchy of civil and criminal courts, tribunals under Articles 323A and 323B, the L. Chandra Kumar case, and Lok Adalats under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
19 MCQs9 previous-year questions
36
Lokpal, CVC and CBI
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013, the composition, term and jurisdiction of the Lokpal, the Central Vigilance Commission from the Santhanam Committee to the 2003 Act, and the CBI under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
15 MCQs4 previous-year questions
37
Political Parties and Electoral Reforms
Registration of parties under Section 29A, recognition as a national or state party, the Symbols Order of 1968, the anti-defection law and the electoral reforms from the voting age of eighteen to the electoral bond judgment.
20 MCQs9 previous-year questions
38
Inter-State Relations and Zonal Councils
Articles 261 to 263 and 301 to 307, the Inter-State Council of 1990, the five Zonal Councils under the States Reorganisation Act, the North Eastern Council and the machinery for inter-state river water disputes.
13 MCQs3 previous-year questions
39
Important Constitutional Amendments
Article 368 and the amending procedure, and what the 1st, 7th, 42nd, 44th, 52nd, 61st, 73rd, 74th, 86th, 91st, 101st, 103rd and 106th Amendments changed, with the facts exams ask.
21 MCQs11 previous-year questions
40
Landmark Supreme Court Judgments
The judgments that shaped Indian constitutional law: Kesavananda Bharati, Golaknath, Minerva Mills, Maneka Gandhi, Indra Sawhney, Vishaka, Puttaswamy and the doctrines they laid down, with the facts exams ask.
17 MCQs7 previous-year questions
41
RTI and Good Governance Laws
The Right to Information Act 2005 section by section, its timelines, exemptions and Information Commissions, with the Lokpal, CVC, Whistle Blowers and Prevention of Corruption laws that exams ask alongside it.
14 MCQs3 previous-year questions
42
Parts of the Indian Constitution
Part-wise structure of the Constitution of India with the articles each Part covers, the Parts added by amendment and the one repealed, as exams ask them.
13 MCQs3 previous-year questions
43
List of Presidents and Vice-Presidents of India
Complete list of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of India with their terms, the constitutional articles on the two offices, the acting Presidents and the firsts and records exams ask.
12 MCQs
44
List of Prime Ministers of India
Complete list of the Prime Ministers of India with their terms, the articles on the office, the acting Prime Ministers and the firsts and records competitive exams ask.
12 MCQs1 previous-year questions
45
Constitutional Posts: Oath, Resignation and Removal
Who administers the oath, to whom each constitutional post resigns and how it can be removed, with the articles, majorities and notice periods exams ask.
10 MCQs2 previous-year questions
46
Delimitation, Seat Reservation and the Women's Reservation Act
Articles 81, 82 and 170 on delimitation, the Delimitation Commissions, the freeze on seats under the 42nd, 84th and 87th Amendments, and the 106th Amendment reserving one-third seats for women.
14 MCQs3 previous-year questions
47
One Nation One Election: Constitutional Aspects
Simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies: the cycle of 1951 to 1967, Articles 83, 172, 324 and 368, the Law Commission and Kovind Committee reports, and the proposed Article 82A.
12 MCQs1 previous-year questions
48
Reservation in India: Constitutional Provisions, OBC and EWS Quotas
Articles 15, 16, 330, 335, 338B, 340 and 342A, the Mandal and Kalelkar commissions, Indra Sawhney and the fifty per cent rule, promotion quotas and the EWS reservation of 2019.
13 MCQs3 previous-year questions
49
Article 370 and the Reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir
The Instrument of Accession, what Article 370 and Article 35A provided, the presidential order and the Reorganisation Act of 2019, the two Union Territories and the Supreme Court verdict of 2023.
10 MCQs
50
New Criminal Laws: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, BNSS and BSA
The three laws of 2023 that replaced the IPC, the CrPC and the Evidence Act: how they were made, their section counts, the new offences and punishments, and the changes in procedure and evidence.
12 MCQs2 previous-year questions
51
Important Social Laws: Acts for Women, Children and Weaker Sections
The social legislation of India: dowry, domestic violence, POSH, POCSO, juvenile justice, child labour, RTE, the SC/ST atrocities Act, disability rights and food security, with their years and articles.
19 MCQs12 previous-year questions
52
Appointment of Judges: Collegium System and NJAC
Articles 124, 217 and 222, the qualifications and retirement ages of judges, the Three Judges Cases, the collegium, and how the Ninety-ninth Amendment and NJAC were struck down.
10 MCQs
53
Parliamentary Privileges
Parliamentary privileges under Articles 105 and 194 for SSC, Railway, UPSC and State exams: collective and individual privileges, breach of privilege, the Committee of Privileges and the leading court rulings.
11 MCQs1 previous-year questions
54
Public Interest Litigation and Judicial Activism
PIL and judicial activism for SSC, Railway, UPSC and State exams: Articles 32, 226, 39A and 142, locus standi, epistolary jurisdiction, the landmark cases and the limits the Supreme Court has drawn.
13 MCQs2 previous-year questions
55
Uniform Civil Code (Article 44)
Uniform Civil Code for SSC, Railway, UPSC and State exams: Article 44 and the Directive Principles, the personal laws in force, the Constituent Assembly debate, Shah Bano to Shayara Bano, Goa and Uttarakhand.
12 MCQs5 previous-year questions
56
NHRC and Other Rights Commissions: NCW, NCPCR and NCM
The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the NHRC's composition after the 2019 amendment, its powers and limits, State Commissions, and the commissions for women, children and minorities.
17 MCQs7 previous-year questions
57
Internal Security Laws: UAPA, AFSPA, NSA and the NIA
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 and its amendments, AFSPA 1958 and disturbed areas, preventive detention under the National Security Act 1980, and the National Investigation Agency.
10 MCQs
58
List of Chief Justices of India
The Chief Justices of India from H. J. Kania onwards, with Articles 124 to 128, the longest and shortest tenures, the records and the facts exams ask.
10 MCQs
59
Article 21: Right to Life and Personal Liberty
The text of Article 21, the Gopalan and Maneka Gandhi rulings, the rights read into it from livelihood to privacy, Article 21A and the death penalty doctrine, with the facts SSC, Railway, State and UPSC exams ask.
15 MCQs5 previous-year questions
60
Important Constitutional Doctrines: Pith and Substance, Eclipse and Severability
Pith and substance, colourable legislation, eclipse, severability, waiver, territorial nexus, repugnancy and basic structure, with the leading cases and articles SSC, Railway, State and UPSC exams ask.
13 MCQs2 previous-year questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Indian Polity topics are asked most in SSC CGL?

Fundamental Rights, the Preamble, Parliament, the President and Vice-President, the Supreme Court, constitutional amendments and the Schedules come up again and again in SSC CGL, CHSL and MTS. Questions on Panchayati Raj, the Election Commission and constitutional bodies like the CAG and UPSC are also common. Start with these, then move to the remaining topics in syllabus order.

How many Polity questions come in SSC and Railway exams?

There is no fixed number, but in SSC CGL and CHSL the general awareness section usually carries a few Polity questions, often around three to five, and Railway NTPC and Group D ask a similar handful. UPSC Prelims asks noticeably more. Treat Polity as a scoring area because the facts do not change from year to year.

Is NCERT enough for Indian Polity in competitive exams?

For SSC, Railway and state-level exams, the Class 9 to 12 NCERT Political Science books give you the concepts, but you also need a fact-oriented source for Article numbers, Schedules, amendments and appointments, because that is what the questions test. For UPSC Prelims, NCERT is the foundation and a standard reference book on the Constitution is needed on top of it.

How should I prepare Polity for bank exams like IBPS PO and SBI PO?

Bank exams ask very little static Polity. The general awareness section leans on banking and current affairs, and Polity shows up mainly through current events such as a new Bill, a constitutional amendment or an appointment to a constitutional post. Cover the basics of Parliament, the President, the Supreme Court and recent amendments, and connect them to the news rather than studying the subject in depth.

How do I remember Article numbers and Schedules of the Constitution?

Learn Articles in groups rather than as isolated numbers: Fundamental Rights run from Article 12 to 35, Directive Principles from 36 to 51, and the President's provisions begin at Article 52. Make a one-page chart of the twelve Schedules with a keyword for each. Then solve the MCQs and previous-year questions on those topics, because recall improves fastest when you are tested on the numbers repeatedly.