Which constitutional amendment gave effect to the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh, under which enclaves were exchanged?

The correct answer is D, Admission of new States. Article 3 deals only with territory that is already part of India. Under it Parliament may form a new State by separating territory from a State or by uniting two or more States, increase or diminish the area of any State, and alter the boundaries or the name of any State. The admission of a new State into the Union is a separate power and belongs to Article 2, which covers territory that is not yet part of India, such as a territory being taken in from outside. Option A is wrong because the formation of new States is the first clause of Article 3 itself. Option B is wrong because altering the area of a State is expressly listed in Article 3. Option C is wrong for the same reason: alteration of boundaries is one of the five powers the Article grants. Remember the pair: Article 2 looks outward, Article 3 looks inward.

The correct answer is B, Union of States. Article 1 says that India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States, and the Drafting Committee chose that phrase with care. Dr B. R. Ambedkar told the Constituent Assembly that the word Union shows that the Indian federation is not the result of an agreement among the States and that no State has the right to secede from it. Option A is wrong because the Constitution nowhere calls India a Federation of States, even though the structure is federal in content. Option C is wrong because a confederation is a loose league of sovereign units that may leave it, which is the opposite of the Indian scheme. Option D is wrong because quasi-federal is a description used by writers such as K. C. Wheare, not the text of Article 1. Papers often test the exact words, so learn them as they stand.

The correct answer is B, Article 2. Article 2 provides that Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit. The power is meant for territory that is not part of India at present, which is why the terms are left entirely to Parliament. Option A is wrong because Article 1 only names the country and divides its territory into the territories of the States, the Union territories in the First Schedule and territories that may be acquired. Option C is wrong because Article 3 covers the internal rearrangement of existing States, their areas, boundaries and names. Option D is wrong because Article 4 merely says that laws made under Articles 2 and 3 may amend the First and Fourth Schedules and are not amendments under Article 368. A clean way to recall it is admission outside under Article 2, reorganisation inside under Article 3.

The correct answer is B, on the recommendation of the President. The proviso to Article 3 lays down two conditions. First, such a Bill may be introduced in either House only on the recommendation of the President. Second, the President must refer the Bill to the legislature of the State concerned for its views within a period specified by the President. Option A is wrong because a resolution of the State legislature is not needed at all; the State is only asked for its views, and those views do not bind Parliament, which may accept or reject them wholly or in part. Option C is wrong because no special consent of the Rajya Sabha is required; the Bill is passed by a simple majority in both Houses. Option D is wrong because the Inter-State Council under Article 263 is an advisory body with no role in creating States. Telangana in 2014 is the standard example of Parliament proceeding despite a State legislature opposing the Bill.

The correct answer is A. Article 4 states that a law made under Article 2 or Article 3 may contain provisions for amending the First Schedule, which lists the States and Union territories, and the Fourth Schedule, which allots Rajya Sabha seats, and that no such law shall be deemed to be an amendment of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368. The result is that States are created, merged or renamed by ordinary legislation passed by a simple majority. Option B is wrong because the special majority of Article 368 is reserved for amendments to the Constitution itself. Option C is wrong because ratification by the legislatures of half the States applies to federal provisions such as the election of the President or the powers of the High Courts, not to reorganisation. Option D is wrong because the Rajya Sabha cannot pass such a law by itself. This is a favourite question because it looks like an amendment but is not one.