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Indian PolityMedium

The National Commission for Backward Classes was given constitutional status under which Article?

  1. A.Article 338
  2. B.Article 338A
  3. C.Article 338B
  4. D.Article 339

Correct answer

C. Article 338B

Explanation

The correct answer is C, Article 338B. The Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018 inserted Article 338B, which makes the National Commission for Backward Classes a constitutional body with the duty to investigate and monitor the safeguards provided to the socially and educationally backward classes; the same amendment added Article 342A for the central list of such classes. Option A is wrong because Article 338 provides for the National Commission for Scheduled Castes. Option B is wrong because Article 338A provides for the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, which was separated from the combined commission by the Eighty-ninth Amendment of 2003. Option D is wrong because Article 339 deals with the control of the Union over the administration of Scheduled Areas and the welfare of Scheduled Tribes, including the appointment of a commission to report on their administration.

Read the full article: Reservation in India: Articles, Commissions and Judgments

Practice Questions

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Q1.Indian PolityAsked in: SSC GD Constable · 15 Feb 2019, Shift 1Easy

The B.P. Mandal commission was set up to study the reasons of backwardness of the:

  1. A.scheduled tribes
  2. B.scheduled castes
  3. C.rural women and children
  4. D.socially and educationally backward classes
Show answer
Correct answer: D. socially and educationally backward classes

The Second Backward Classes Commission was appointed in 1979 under Article 340 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to appoint a commission to investigate the conditions of socially and educationally backward classes.

Q2.Indian PolityEasy

Which Article of the Constitution of India allows the State to reserve appointments or posts for a backward class not adequately represented in its services?

  1. A.Article 14
  2. B.Article 15(4)
  3. C.Article 16(4)
  4. D.Article 19(1)(g)
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Article 16(4)

It says that nothing in Article 16 shall prevent the State from making any provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.

Q3.Indian PolityMedium

The Constitution (One Hundred and Third Amendment) Act, 2019 inserted which clauses to provide reservation for the economically weaker sections?

  1. A.Articles 15(5) and 16(5)
  2. B.Articles 15(6) and 16(6)
  3. C.Articles 16(4A) and 16(4B)
  4. D.Articles 338A and 338B
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Articles 15(6) and 16(6)

The 103rd Amendment Act of 2019 added clause (6) to Article 15 for reservation in admission to educational institutions and clause (6) to Article 16 for reservation in appointments, in each case up to ten per cent for the economically weaker sections of citizens who are not covered by the…

Q4.Indian PolityMedium

In Indra Sawhney v. Union of India (1992), the Supreme Court directed that which group be excluded from the benefit of reservation?

  1. A.The creamy layer among the backward classes
  2. B.All government employees
  3. C.Residents of metropolitan cities
  4. D.Candidates above forty years of age
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The creamy layer among the backward classes

The nine-judge bench in Indra Sawhney upheld the twenty-seven per cent quota for the Other Backward Classes but held that the socially advanced members of those classes, described as the creamy layer, must be excluded so that the benefit reaches the genuinely backward; the same judgment laid down the fifty…

Q5.Indian PolityMedium

Article 15(4) of the Constitution, allowing special provision for backward classes, was inserted by which Constitutional Amendment Act?

  1. A.The First Amendment Act, 1951
  2. B.The Seventh Amendment Act, 1956
  3. C.The Forty-second Amendment Act, 1976
  4. D.The Ninety-third Amendment Act, 2005
Show answer
Correct answer: A. The First Amendment Act, 1951

It was passed after the Supreme Court in State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan struck down a communal order reserving seats in colleges, holding that it offended Article 15(1); Parliament answered by adding clause (4) to Article 15, which permits special provision for the advancement of socially and educationally backward…