UPSC Essentials : Daily subject-wise quiz | Polity and Governance MCQs on EVM, parliamentary sessions and more (Week 53)

1. The Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL) presented the first EVM prototype before political parties in 1980.

2. The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine was first used in a pilot in one Assembly constituency of Kerala.

3. Since 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the VVPAT has been used with EVMs in all elections.

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 Prime Minister’s duties concerning furnishing information to the President, consider the following statements:

1. To submit for the consideration of the Council of Ministers if the President so requires.

2. To furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union.

3. To communicate to the President all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union.

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. Indian Parliament has fixed calendar of sittings.

1. The Constitution specifies that six months should not elapse between two parliamentary sessions.

2. The speaker of the Lok Sabha determines the date and duration of parliamentary sessions.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

QUESTION 4

Consider the following:

He was the first non-Congress PM to serve a full term. In his term, India successfully conducted three nuclear weapon tests in Pokhran. During this term, he launched initiatives such as the Golden Quadrilateral highway network, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, and Kisan credit cards. In his term, the Delhi-Lahore Bus service was started.

The above-mentioned lines refer to:

(a) Charan Singh

(b) Morarji Desai

(c) Inder Kumar Gujral

(d) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

QUESTION 5

Which of the following motions of the Parliament depend upon or relate to other motion or follow upon some proceedings in the House?

(a) Subsidiary Motions

(b) Substantive Motions

(c) Substitute Motions

(d) Closure Motion

ANSWERS TO THE MCQs

1. (a)

FYI:

— The Electronics Corporation of India (ECIL), a public-sector undertaking, presented the first EVM prototype before political parties on August 6, 1980. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

— On May 19, 1982, the pilot was held in 50 polling stations in Kerala’s Parur Assembly constituency.

— On the recommendation of a Technical Expert Committee (TEC) appointed to examine EVMs, the EC in April 1990 decided to use EVMs.

— In 1998, EVMs were used in 16 Assembly elections, including in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

— The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine, the second part of the EVM, was first used in a pilot in one Assembly constituency of Nagaland in 2013. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.

— Since the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the VVPAT has been used with EVMs in all elections. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

2. (c)

FYI:

— Article 78 of the Constitution of India provides for duties of Prime Minister as respects the furnishing of information to the President, etc.

— It shall be the duty of the Prime Minister:

(a) to communicate to the President all decisions of the Council of Ministers relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation;

(b) to furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for legislation as the President may call for; and

(c) if the President so requires, to submit for the consideration of the Council of Ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a Minister but which has not been considered by the Council.

Therefore, option (c) is the correct answer.

(Source: Constitution of India)

3. (a)

FYI:

— India’s Parliament has no fixed calendar of sittings. In 1955, a Lok Sabha committee had proposed a timetable for parliamentary sessions. It recommended that the Budget session of Parliament begin on February 1 and go on till May 7, and the Monsoon session start on July 15 and end on September 15. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

— The government determines the date and duration of parliamentary sessions. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs takes this decision. It currently has ten Ministers, including those for Defence, Home, Finance, Agriculture, Tribal Affairs, Parliamentary Affairs, and Information and Broadcasting. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.

— The Constitution specifies that six months should not elapse between two parliamentary sessions. This provision is a colonial legacy. The framers of the Constitution borrowed it from the Government of India Act of 1935. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

— Dr. B R Ambedkar argued that the central parliament was convened solely to collect taxes, and that the once-a-year gathering allowed the government to evade examination by the legislature. The interval between sessions was decreased to six months by the Constituent Assembly.

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

4. (d)

FYI:

— Atal Bihari Vajpayee, three-time Prime Minister of India and a founding member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, was born on December 25, 1924. Vajpayee, a poet-politician known for his oratory, was instrumental in bringing the BJP greater political acceptability in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the benefits of which the party is reaping today.

— He was the first non-Congress PM to serve a full term. During this term, he launched initiatives such as the Golden Quadrilateral highway network, the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, and Kisan credit cards.

— In May 1998, during Vajpayee’s second term in office, India successfully conducted three nuclear weapon tests in Pokhran. These tests, codenamed Operation Shakti (literally, “strength”), would cement India’s capability to deploy nuclear weapons, fulfilling one of the BJP’s key campaign promises.

— He worked tirelessly to repair India’s relationship with Pakistan. Whether through the Lahore Bus Yatra, the Agra Summit following the Kargil War, or backchannel negotiations with Musharraf following the 2001 coup,

— In his time, he spoke with eloquence and panache within and without the chambers of Parliament — even those who did not agree with his politics often admired him as a wordsmith.

Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

5. (a)

FYI:

— Motions can be classified under the following categories, namely:—

(i) Substantive Motions;

(ii) Substitute Motions; and

(iii) Subsidiary Motions.

— A substantive motion is a self-contained, independent proposal submitted for the approval of the House and drafted in such a way as to be capable of expressing a decision of the House, e.g. all resolutions are substantive motions.

— Motions moved in substitution of the original motion for taking into consideration a policy or situation or statement or any other matter are called substitute motions.

— Subsidiary Motions depend upon or relate to other motion or follow upon some proceedings in the House. They by themselves have no meaning and are not capable of stating the decision of the House without reference to the original motion or proceedings of the House.

— Subsidiary motions can be further divided into:—

(1) Ancillary Motions;

(2) Superseding Motions; and

(3) Amendments

Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.

(Source: sansad.in)

Previous Daily Subject-Wise-Quiz

Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 52)

Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 52)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment, Geography, Science and Technology (Week 52)

Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 52)

Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 52)

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