Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Election Commission.

Important Points  In India, the political parties are given ‘recognition’ by the Election Commission of India.

• Election Commission of India:
  • The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
  • The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
  • Part XV of the Indian constitution deals with elections and establishes a commission for these matters.
  • The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950.
  • Article 324 to 329 of the constitution deals with powers, function, tenure, eligibility, etc of the commission and the member.
• Articles related to Elections:

Key Points

•  Functions of ECI:
  • Election Commission of India superintendents, direct and control the entire process of conducting elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India.
  • The most important function of the commission is to decide the election schedules for the conduct of periodic and timely elections, whether general or bye-elections.
  • It prepares the electoral roll, issues Electronic Photo Identity Card (EPIC).
  • It decides on the location of polling stations, assignment of voters to the polling stations, location of counting centers, arrangements to be made in and around polling stations and counting centers, and all allied matters.
  • It grants recognition to political parties & allots election symbols to them along with settling disputes related to it.
  • The Commission also has advisory jurisdiction in the matter of post-election disqualification of sitting members of Parliament and State Legislatures.
  • It issues the Model Code of Conduct in elections for political parties and candidates so that no one indulges in unfair practice or there is no arbitrary abuse of powers by those in power.
  • It sets limits of campaign expenditure per candidate to all the political parties and also monitors the same.

The correct answer is One Chairman and two members​.

• Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission is comprised of One Chairman and two members.

Key Points

• Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2006 consists of three members including a chairperson. The chairperson should be a retired Chief Justice of a High Court.
• The other members should be:
  • A serving or retired judge of a High Court or a District Judge in the state with a minimum of seven years experience as a District judge.
  • A person having practical experience or knowledge related to human rights.
• The State Government of Rajasthan issued a Notification on January 18, 1999, for the constitution of the State Commission in accordance with the provisions of The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

• The Human Rights Commission became functional in March 2000 with the appointment of Justice Kanta Kumari Bhatnagar, as the first Chairperson with Shri R. K. Akodia, Shri B. L. Joshi, and Prof. Alamshah Khan as the members of the commission.

The correct answer is 1, 3 and 4 only.

• National Development Council was established on 6th August 1952 by the government of India.
• It acts as an advisory body of the Planning Commission.
• It was set up to:

1. Promote the overall development of the country.
2. Create common economic policies.
3. Strengthen and mobilize the efforts and resources of the country for the accomplishment of the plan.
4. Provide assistance to states related to their developmental works.

• Composition of NDC:

• The secretary of the Planning Commission is also the secretary of the National Developmental Council.
• They generally meet twice a year.

 Additional Information

• Since the inception of NITI Aayog on January 1st, 2015, the NDC has not organized meetings.

The correct answer is The British North-American Act.

Key Points

• The concept of "A Union of States in the Indian Constitution" has been derived from The British North-American Act.
• Federation with a strong Centre is what we call A Union of States in the Indian Constitution hence it is taken from the Canadian constitution i.e  The British North-American Act.

Additional Information

• Concept of Concurrent list, Article 108, Joint sitting of the two houses and Freedom of trade and commerce is taken from Australian Constitution.
• Impeachment of the president, Functions of president and vice-president, Removal of Supreme Court and High court judges, Fundamental Rights, Judicial review, Independence of the judiciary, and the Preamble of the constitution of the Indian constitution is taken from the constitution of the USA.
• Centrifugal form of federalism where the center is stronger than the states, Residuary powers vest with the center, Centre appoints the Governors at the states, Advisory jurisdiction of the supreme court of the constitution of the Indian constitution is taken from the constitution of Canada.
• Fundamental duties and ideals of justice (social, economic, and political),  expressed in the Preamble are taken from the constitution of Russia.
• Concepts of Republic and Ideals of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity (contained in the Preamble) are taken from the constitution of France.
• Fundamental Rights are suspended during Emergencies are taken from the constitution of Germany.
• The election of members of the Rajya Sabha and the Amendment of the Constitution is taken from the constitution of South Africa.
• The concept of procedure established by Law is taken from the constitution of Japan.

The correct answer is option 4.

Key Points

•  Fundamental Duties:
  • ​They were added to the constitution on the recommendation of the Sardar Swaran Singh Committee.
  • They were added by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act in 1976.
  • This amendment added a new part, namely, Part IVA to the Constitution. This new part consists of only one Article, that is, Article 51A which for the first time specified a code of ten fundamental duties of the citizens. Some of them are:
    • to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures; Hence 1 is correct.
    • to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;  Hence 2 is correct.
    • to value and preserve the rich heritage of the country’s composite culture;  Hence 3 is correct.
• To protect monuments, places and objects of artistic or historic interest which are declared to be of national importance; This is a directive principle of State Policy under Article 49. Hence 4 is not correct.