From which panchayat election did Bihar reserve fifty per cent of the seats for women, becoming the first state in India to do so?
- A.2001
- B.2006
- C.2011
- D.2016
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, 2006. Bihar amended its panchayat law and held the panchayat elections of 2006 with fifty per cent of the seats, and of the posts of Mukhiya, Sarpanch, Pramukh and Adhyaksha, reserved for women, which took it well beyond the one-third floor fixed by Article 243D and made it the first state in the country to go to half.
Option A, 2001, is the year of a different landmark, the Gram Swaraj reform in Madhya Pradesh, and no fifty per cent reservation was in force in Bihar then. Option C, 2011, is wrong for Bihar although several states did raise women's reservation to half around that time, after Bihar had shown the way; the question asks for the first, so a later year cannot be the answer. Option D, 2016, is the year in which Bihar extended fifty per cent reservation for women to other areas of public employment in the state, not the panchayat reservation. The examinable sentence is simply that Bihar was the first state to reserve half the panchayat seats for women, from the 2006 elections.
Read the full article: Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies of Bihar: Tiers and Articles
Practice Questions
View allThe 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, which gave panchayati raj institutions a place in the Constitution, came into force on which date?
- A.2 October 1959
- B.24 April 1993
- C.1 June 1993
- D.26 January 1950
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The 73rd Amendment Act was passed by Parliament in 1992 and was brought into force on 24 April 1993, which is why that date is observed every year as National Panchayati Raj Day.
Read the full explanation →In Bihar, the directly elected head of a Gram Panchayat is known as the:
- A.Sarpanch
- B.Pramukh
- C.Mukhiya
- D.Adhyaksha
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Under the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006 the head of a Gram Panchayat is the Mukhiya, who is elected directly by all the voters of the panchayat area, with an Up-Mukhiya as deputy chosen by the elected ward members.
Read the full explanation →The Gram Kachahari, the village level bench that settles petty disputes in Bihar, is headed by the:
- A.Mukhiya
- B.Sarpanch
- C.Nyaya Mitra
- D.Panchayat Secretary
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The Gram Kachahari is a feature of the Bihar Panchayat Raj Act, 2006 and is a bench of the directly elected Sarpanch and the elected Panches of the panchayat area; it decides small disputes between villagers and may impose a fine in the matters the Act lists, while serious offences…
Read the full explanation →Which Article of the Constitution provides for the Gram Sabha, the body of all registered voters of a village?
- A.Article 243
- B.Article 243A
- C.Article 243D
- D.Article 243G
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Article 243A, inserted by the 73rd Amendment, says that a Gram Sabha may exercise such powers and perform such functions at the village level as the legislature of a state may by law provide, so the body is constitutional but its powers are decided by state law.
Read the full explanation →How many subjects are listed in the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution, which may be transferred to panchayats?
- A.18
- B.22
- C.29
- D.31
Show answer
The Eleventh Schedule was added by the 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 and lists 29 subjects, among them agriculture, land improvement, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, rural housing, drinking water, roads, rural electrification, poverty alleviation programmes, primary and secondary schools, markets and fairs and public distribution.
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