What is the main difference between a Cabinet Minister and a Minister of State with independent charge?

The correct answer is Council of Ministers to aid and advise President. Article 74(1) says there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at its head to aid and advise the President, who shall act in accordance with that advice. The 42nd Amendment (1976) made the advice binding, and the 44th Amendment (1978) allowed the President to send it back once for reconsideration. Article 74(2) adds that no court can inquire whether, and what, advice was given.

The other options describe appointments made under other Articles. The Chief Justice of India is appointed by the President under Article 124. The Vice-President is not appointed at all; he or she is elected by the members of both Houses of Parliament under Article 66. The chairman of the Finance Commission is appointed by the President under Article 280. Article 74 is the foundation of parliamentary government in India: it is the reason the President acts as a constitutional head while real power lies with the Council of Ministers.

The correct answer is Article 75. Article 75(1) says the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The rest of Article 75 contains the other key rules: the 15% cap on the size of the ministry (clause 1A), collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha (clause 3), the oath (clause 4), the six-month rule for non-members (clause 5) and salaries (clause 6).

The wrong options are Articles from other parts of Chapter I and II of Part V. Article 70 deals with the discharge of the President's functions in other contingencies. Article 79 says Parliament consists of the President and the two Houses. Article 85 deals with the sessions of Parliament and its prorogation and dissolution. Since Article 75 packs so many rules into one Article, questions from it come up again and again; learn its clauses rather than just the number.

The correct answer is conduct of business of the Government of India. Article 77 says all executive action of the Government of India shall be expressed to be taken in the name of the President, and that the President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the government's business and for allocating it among ministers. These are the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules and the Transaction of Business Rules, under which each ministry knows its subjects.

The three other options all concern the Vice-President, and they come from a different set of Articles: the office of Vice-President is created by Article 63, the term of office is in Article 67, and the oath is in Article 69. Examiners mix them in because the Articles are close together. Remember the sequence of the executive Articles: 74 Council of Ministers, 75 appointment and rules, 76 Attorney General, 77 conduct of business, and 78 the Prime Minister's duties towards the President.

The correct answer is Prime Minister's duty regarding keeping the President informed about the government's decisions and policies. Article 78 makes it the duty of the Prime Minister to communicate to the President all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the Union and proposals for legislation; to furnish such information about them as the President may call for; and, if the President so requires, to submit for the Council's consideration any matter on which a minister has decided but which the Council has not considered.

The other options are close enough to confuse. The President's power to send messages to Parliament is in Article 86. Emergency powers are in Part XVIII, Articles 352 to 360. Option C describes the effect of Article 78 from the President's side, but the Article is framed as a duty of the Prime Minister, which is what the question asks. Article 78 is what makes the Prime Minister the link between the President and the Council of Ministers.

The correct answer is 6 consecutive months. Article 75(5) says a minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of either House of Parliament shall, at the end of that period, cease to be a minister. So a person can be appointed a minister, or even Prime Minister, without being an MP, but must win a seat in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha within six months. P.V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister in 1991 this way and then won a Lok Sabha by-election.

The other durations are made up, and three months is the most tempting because people half-remember the "three months" in other rules. The same six-month rule applies in the States under Article 164(4): a Chief Minister or State minister who is not a member of the State legislature must become one within six months. The rule lets a government bring in talent from outside politics, but only for a limited time, after which the minister must face the voters or be chosen by a legislature.