UPSC Essentials : Daily subject-wise quiz | Polity and Governance MCQs on Citizenship Amendment Act, Ordinance and more (Week 74)

1. It aims to give citizenship to the target group of migrants only if they have valid travel documents.

2. The act has reduced the period of citizenship by naturalisation from 11 years to 5 years.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

— A 78-year-old Christian from Pakistan, who has been living in Goa since 2013, has become the first person from the state to get citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019.

— The CAA will benefit thousands of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014, and seek citizenship of India.

— The CAA aims to give citizenship to the target group of migrants even if they do not have valid travel documents as mandated in The Citizenship Act, 1955. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

— The CAA assumes that members of these communities who entered India were subjected to religious persecution in their home countries. The law also reduced the term of naturalisation from 11 to 5 years. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— According to the CAA Rules, immigrants from certain countries are only required to show their country of origin, religion, date of admission into India, and knowledge of an Indian language while applying for Indian citizenship.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

QUESTION 2

A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of the People —

1. shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House of the People

2. resign from the office by writing under his hand addressed to the leader of the House.

3. may be removed from his office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 and 3 only

(b) 1 only

(c) 2 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation

— According to Article 95(1), the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker if the post is vacant. The Deputy Speaker has the same general powers as the Speaker when presiding over the House. All references to the “Speaker” in the Rules are deemed to be references to the Deputy Speaker as well for the times when he or she presides.

— A member holding office as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of the People—

(a) shall vacate his office if he ceases to be a member of the House of the People; Hence, statement 1 is correct.

(b) may at any time, by writing under his hand addressed, if such member is the Speaker, to the Deputy Speaker, and if such member is the Deputy Speaker, to the Speaker, resign his office; and Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

(c) may be removed from his office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a majority of all the then members of the House. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: Constitution of India)

QUESTION 3

With reference to the Ordinance promulgated under Article 123, consider the following statements:

1. It shall cease to operate at the expiration of six weeks from the reassembly of Parliament

2. The Parliament cannot declare an ordinance as void.

3. Once promulgated, the ordinance cannot be withdrawn by the President.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 2 only

Explanation

— Article 123 of the Constitution of India provides for the power of President to promulgate Ordinances during recess of Parliament.

— If at any time, except when both Houses of Parliament are in session, the President is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action, he may promulgate such Ordinances as the circumstances appear to him to require.

— An Ordinance issued under this article shall have the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament; however, every such Ordinance—

(i) shall be brought before both Houses of Parliament and shall cease to act after the expiration of six weeks from the reassembly of Parliament; or, if before the expiration of that period resolutions rejecting it are approved by both Houses, upon the passing of the second of those resolutions; and Hence, statement 1 is correct.

(ii) may be withdrawn at any time by the President. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— If and to the extent that an Ordinance under this article provides a provision that Parliament is not competent to adopt under this Constitution, it is null and void. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: Constitution of India)

QUESTION 4

The President may at any time by order —

1. direct that the whole or any specified part of a Scheduled Area shall cease to be a Scheduled Area

2. increase the area of any Scheduled Area in a State after consultation with the Governor of that State

Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Explanation

— Scheduled Areas are those referred to in Article 244(1), which says that the provisions of the Fifth Schedule shall apply to the Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in states other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram. The Fifth Schedule provides for a range of special provisions for these areas.

— The expression “Scheduled Areas” means such areas as the President may by order declare to be Scheduled Areas.

— The President may at any time by order—

(a) direct that the whole or any specified part of a Scheduled Area shall cease to be a Scheduled Area or a part of such an area; Hence, statement 1 is correct.

(b) increase the area of any Scheduled Area in a State after consultation with the Governor of that State; Hence, statement 2 is correct.

(c) any Scheduled Area may be altered, but only by boundary correction.

(d) declare any region not previously included in any State to be, or to form part of, a Scheduled Area upon any change in a State’s boundaries, entrance into the Union, or establishment of a new State.

(e) withdraw, in regard to any State or States, any order or orders issued under this paragraph, and, in agreement with the Governor of the State in question, issue new rules redefining the Scheduled Areas.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

(Other Source: Constitution of India)

QUESTION 5

Which of the following Indian states passed a Bill to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years?

(a) Gujarat

(b) Rajasthan

(c) Assam

(d) Himachal Pradesh

Explanation

— The Himachal Pradesh Assembly passed a Bill to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years.

— The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Himachal Pradesh Amendment) Bill, 2024, was passed by voice vote. The Bill amended the Prohibition of Child Marriage (PCM) Act, which was passed by Parliament in 2006.

— The minister also highlighted that early marriage and motherhood often severely impact the health of women. According to the ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’ provided with the Bill, “The early marriages…act as a hindrance not only in the progress of their (women’s) career but also in their physical development.”

— Section 2(a) of the PCM Act defines a “child” as someone “who, if male, has not completed twenty-one years of age, and if a female, has not completed eighteen years of age”. The Himachal Bill eliminates this distinction on the basis of age between “males” and “females”. It defines a “child” as “a male or female who has not completed twenty-one years of age”.

— The Bill also amends Section 2(b) of the PCM Act, which defines “child marriage” as “a marriage to which either of the contracting parties is a child”. The Bill has added a clause giving it an overriding effect over “anything contrary or inconsistent therewith contained in any other law…including any custom or usage or practice governing the parties”.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

Previous Daily Subject-Wise-Quiz

Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 73)

Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 73)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 73)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 73)

Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 71)

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