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Which Act separated the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General's Council for the first time?

  1. A.Charter Act, 1793
  2. B.Charter Act, 1813
  3. C.Charter Act, 1833
  4. D.Charter Act, 1853

Correct answer

D. Charter Act, 1853

Explanation

The correct answer is D, the Charter Act of 1853. It added six new members to the Governor-General's Council for legislative purposes, so that law-making was carried on by a separate body which began to behave like a small parliament, with its own rules of business, and which is therefore regarded as the beginning of the Indian Legislative Council. Option A, the Charter Act of 1793, is wrong because it gave the Governor-General power to override his Council but kept the two functions together. Option B, the Charter Act of 1813, is wrong because it dealt with the trade monopoly, missionaries and education. Option C, the Charter Act of 1833, is wrong because, although it added a law member and a Law Commission, the legislative work still belonged to the same Council; the separation came twenty years later.

Read the full article: Company Rule Acts 1773 to 1853: Provisions and PYQs

Practice Questions

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Q1.Indian HistoryAsked in: Delhi · 6 Sept 2019, shift 3Easy

Warren Hastings became the first Governor General of Bengal in ______.

  1. A.1772
  2. B.1778
  3. C.1775
  4. D.1773
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 1773

The Regulating Act of 1773 changed the designation of the Governor of Bengal to Governor-General of Bengal and created an Executive Council of four members to assist him, and Warren Hastings, who had been Governor of Bengal since 1772, became the first holder of the new office.

Q2.Indian HistoryEasy

Which Act of the British Parliament created the office of the Governor-General of Bengal?

  1. A.Regulating Act, 1773
  2. B.Pitt's India Act, 1784
  3. C.Charter Act, 1813
  4. D.Charter Act, 1833
Show answer
Correct answer: A. Regulating Act, 1773

It was the first attempt by the British Parliament to regulate the affairs of the East India Company: it redesignated the Governor of Bengal as the Governor-General of Bengal, gave him a Council of four, made Bombay and Madras subordinate to him and provided for a Supreme Court at Calcutta.

Q3.Indian HistoryMedium

The Board of Control, which supervised the civil, military and revenue affairs of the Company's Indian territories, was set up by which Act?

  1. A.Regulating Act, 1773
  2. B.Amending Act, 1781
  3. C.Pitt's India Act, 1784
  4. D.Charter Act, 1793
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Pitt's India Act, 1784

The Act separated the commercial and the political functions of the East India Company, leaving trade to the Court of Directors and placing civil, military and revenue administration under a newly created Board of Control answerable to Parliament.

Q4.Indian HistoryMedium

Which Act ended the East India Company's monopoly of trade with India, leaving it only the tea trade and the trade with China?

  1. A.Charter Act, 1793
  2. B.Charter Act, 1813
  3. C.Charter Act, 1833
  4. D.Charter Act, 1853
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Charter Act, 1813

Pressed by British manufacturers who wanted a free market in India, Parliament threw Indian trade open to all British subjects and allowed the Company to keep only the tea trade and the trade with China.

Q5.Indian HistoryMedium

The Governor-General of Bengal was made the Governor-General of India by which Act?

  1. A.Regulating Act, 1773
  2. B.Charter Act, 1813
  3. C.Charter Act, 1833
  4. D.Charter Act, 1853
Show answer
Correct answer: C. Charter Act, 1833

This Act was the final step in centralising British administration in India: it vested all civil and military powers in the Governor-General of India, took away the legislative powers of the Bombay and Madras governments, and made the East India Company a purely administrative agency holding its territories in trust…