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Indian PolityMediumAsked in: SSC GD Constable · 31 May 2026, Shift 3

Which Prime Minister is the only one to have received both India's Bharat Ratna and Pakistan's Nishan-e-Pakistan awards?

  1. A.Atal Bihari Vajpayee
  2. B.Morarji Desai
  3. C.P. V. Narasimha Rao
  4. D.Lal Bahadur Shastri

Correct answer

B. Morarji Desai

Explanation

The correct answer is Morarji Desai. Pakistan conferred its highest civilian award, the Nishan-e-Pakistan, on Morarji Desai in 1990, and India awarded him the Bharat Ratna in 1991. He is the only Prime Minister to have received the highest civilian honours of both countries. As Prime Minister from 1977 to 1979, heading the Janata Party government, he was India's first non-Congress Prime Minister, and at 81 the oldest person to take the office.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee received the Bharat Ratna in 2015 and is remembered for the Lahore bus journey of 1999, but he was not given the Nishan-e-Pakistan. P.V. Narasimha Rao received the Bharat Ratna in 2024. Lal Bahadur Shastri received it posthumously in 1966, the year he signed the Tashkent Declaration with Pakistan. The pairing of a peace gesture with Pakistan and a national award is what makes the distractors plausible, but only Morarji Desai holds both awards.

Read the full article: Prime Minister and Council of Ministers: Notes, Articles and PYQs

Practice Questions

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Q1.Indian PolityAsked in: SSC GD Constable · 13 Feb 2025, Shift 1Easy

Article 74 of the Constitution elaborates on which of the following?

  1. A.Appointment of Chief Justice by President
  2. B.Appointment of Vice President by President
  3. C.Council of Ministers to aid and advise President
  4. D.Appointment of Chairman of Finance Commission
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 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.

Q3.Indian PolityAsked in: SSC CGL · 9 Sep 2024, Shift 3Medium

Article 77 of the Indian Constitution deals with the ________.

  1. A.term of office of the Vice-President
  2. B.Vice-President of India
  3. C.oath of office by the Vice-President
  4. D.conduct of business of the Government of India
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 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.

Q4.Indian PolityAsked in: RRB JE · 27 May 2019, Shift 3Medium

Which of the following is dealt in Article 78 of the Constitution?

  1. A.President's power to send advisory messages to the Parliament
  2. B.Emergency powers of the President
  3. C.President's power to get information from the Council of Ministers
  4. D.Prime Minister's duty regarding keeping the President informed about the government's decisions and policies
Show answer
Correct answer: D. 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…

Q5.Indian PolityAsked in: SSC CHSL · 21 Nov 2025, Shift 1Easy

For how long a person can serve as a minister without being a member of either House of Parliament of India?

  1. A.6 consecutive months
  2. B.3 consecutive months
  3. C.12 consecutive months
  4. D.2 consecutive month
Show answer
Correct answer: A. 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.