UPSC Essentials | Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 15)

Each day, we cover one new subject. Attempt today’s subject quiz on Polity and Governance to check your progress. Come back tomorrow to solve the History, Culture, and Social Issues MCQs. Don’t miss checking the answers and explanations at the end of the quiz.

QUESTION 1

With reference to the Indian Citizenship Act of 1955, consider the following statements:

1. If a person has ever held an Indian passport and has obtained a passport of another country, they are required to immediately surrender their Indian passport.

2. Persons of Indian Origin are allowed dual citizenship.

3. Kerala has consistently topped the list of states with the highest number of surrendered passports since 2014.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 2

With reference to the 103rd Amendment Act, consider the following statements:

1. It was introduced to provide up to 10 per cent reservation to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) other than backward classes, SCs, and STs in higher educational institutions and initial recruitment in government jobs.

2. It inserted Articles 15(6) and 16(6) in the Constitution of India.

3. The EWS reservation was granted based on the recommendations of the Kasturirangan Committee.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 3

Consider the following statements:

1. The advice tendered by Ministers to the President shall not be inquired into in any court.

2. The Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the Prime Minister.

3. The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People.

4. The total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed 10 per cent. 

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) Only three

(d) All four

QUESTION 4

Which of the following statements is not correct about Inter-State Council?

(a) It is a mechanism to support Centre-State and Inter-State coordination and cooperation in India.

(b) The Prime Minister is the chairman of the Council.

(c) It is Statutory Body.

(d) It inquires into and advises on disputes between states.

QUESTION 5

The concept of “Equal justice and free legal aid” is mentioned in the Constituion of India in

1. Fundamental Duties

2. Directive Principles of State Policies

3. Fundamental Rights

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 2 only

ANSWERS TO MCQs

1. (a)

FYI:

— Between 2011 and 2022, close to 70,000 Indians surrendered their passports at regional passport offices (RPOs) across the country, with eight states – Goa, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and Chandigarh – accounting for over 90 per cent of the surrendered documents.

— Under The Indian Citizenship Act of 1955, Persons of Indian Origin are not allowed dual citizenship. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— If a person has ever held an Indian passport and has obtained a passport of another country, they are required to immediately surrender their Indian passport. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— Of the 69,303 passports surrendered, Goa accounted for the highest number – 28,031, or 40.45 per cent – followed by Punjab (including the UT of Chandigarh) where 9,557 passports (13.79 per cent) were surrendered at the RPOs in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Chandigarh. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— The southern states of Kerala (3,650 surrendered passports, 5.27 per cent) and Tamil Nadu (2,946 surrendered passports, 4.25 per cent) also featured on the list of states where a substantial number of people relinquished their passport.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

2. (b)

FYI:

— The 103rd amendment was introduced to provide up to 10 per cent reservation to EWS other than backward classes, SCs, and STs in higher educational institutions and initial recruitment in government jobs. The amendment empowered state governments to provide reservation on the basis of economic backwardness. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— The 103rd Amendment inserted Articles 15(6) and 16(6) in the Constitution of India. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

Article 15 prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.

Article 16 guarantees equal opportunity in matters of public employment. The additional clauses gave Parliament the power to make special laws for EWS like it does for SCs, STs, and OBCs.

— The EWS reservation was granted based on the recommendations of a commission headed by Major General (retd) S R Sinho. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— The Sinho Commission recommended that all below-poverty-line (BPL) families within the general category as notified from time to time, and also all families whose annual family income from all sources is below the taxable limit, should be identified as EBCs (economically backward classes).

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

3. (b)

FYI:

— Article 74 of the Constitution of India states that “There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice.”

— The President may require the Council of Ministers to reconsider such advice, either generally or otherwise, and the President shall act in accordance with the advice tendered after such reconsideration.

— The question of whether any and if so what, advice was tendered by Ministers to the President shall not be inquired into in any court. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— 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 total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed fifteen per cent. of the total number of members of the House of the People. Hence, statement 4 is not correct.

— The Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— The Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of the People. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

(Source: Constitution of India)

4. (c)

FYI:

— Inter-State Council is a mechanism that was constituted “to support Centre-State and Inter-State coordination and cooperation in India”. The Council is basically meant to serve as a forum for discussions among various governments.

— The Inter-State Council was established under Article 263 of the Constitution, which states that the President may constitute such a body if a need is felt for it.

— In 1988, the Sarkaria Commission suggested the Council should exist as a permanent body, and in 1990 it came into existence through a Presidential Order.

— The Council’s major functions are to investigate and advise on disputes between states, to investigate and discuss matters in which two or more states or the Union have a shared interest, and to make recommendations for greater policy and action coordination.

— The Prime Minister is the chairman of the Council, whose members include the Chief Ministers of all states and UTs with legislative assemblies, and Administrators of other UTs. Six Ministers of Cabinet rank in the Centre’s Council of Ministers, nominated by the Prime Minister, are also its members.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

5. (d)

FYI:

— Article 39A (Part IV) of the Constitution of India provides for “Equal justice and free legal aid”.

— The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.