Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is 2 only.

Key Points

• The first statement is not correct because it talks about the chairman as well as the deputy chairman.
  • The Vice-President of India is ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
  • Rajya Sabha also chooses from amongst its members, a Deputy Chairman.​
  • ​Hence statement 1 is not correct.
• President: Elected members of parliament (MPs from Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha).
  • Elected members of State legislative members, including that of NCT of Delhi and Pondicherry.
• Vice President: Vice President is elected indirectly, by an electoral college consisting of members of both houses of the Parliament.
  • Hence statement 2 is correct.

​​​Additional Information

• Special Powers of Rajya Sabha
  • The Upper House also has some special powers, such as:
    • Power to transfer a subject from the State List to Union List for a specified period (Article 249).
    • To create additional All-India Services (Article 312).
    • To endorse Emergency under Article 352 for a limited period when the Lok Sabha remains dissolved.

The correct answer is directly elected by the people.

Key Points

• Panchayat Samiti:
  • Panchayat Samiti is a rural local government (panchayat) body at the intermediate tehsil (taluka/Mandal) level in India.
  • It works for the villages of the tehsil that together are called a development block.
  • The members of the Panchayat Samiti are elected directly elected by the people.
  • Panchayat Samiti is related to Article 243(c) of the Indian Constitution.
  • According to  Article 243(c) - “intermediate level” means a level between the village and district levels specified by the Governor of a State by public notification to be the intermediate level for the purposes of this Part
  • It has been said to be the "panchayat of panchayats".
  • The 73rd Amendment defines the levels of Panchayati raj institution as:
    • District (or apex) level
    • Intermediate level
    • Base level
  • The Panchayat Samiti is the link between the gram panchayat (village council) and the Zila Parishad (district board).
  • The name varies across states: Mandal Parishad in Andhra Pradesh, taluka panchayat in Gujarat, and Mandal panchayat in Karnataka.

Additional Information

• The most common departments found in a panchayat Samiti are:
  • Administration
  • Finance
  • Public works (especially water and roads)
  • Agriculture
  • Health
• Each department in a panchayat Samiti has its own officer.
• Most often these are state government employees acting as extension officers, but occasionally in more revenue-rich panchayat Samiti, they may be local employees.
• A government-appointed block development officer (BDO) is the supervisor of the extension officers and executive officer to the panchayat Samiti and becomes, in effect, its administrative chief.
• The panchayat Samiti collects all the prospective plans prepared at the Gram Panchayat level and processes them for funding and implementation by evaluating them from the angles of financial constraints, social welfare, and area development.
• It also identifies and prioritizes the issues that should be addressed at the block level.

The correct answer is (A) - (2), (B) - (3), (C) - (1), (D) - (4)

Key Points

The correct answer is (A) - (3), (B) - (4), (C) - (1), (D) - (2)

Key Points

• The Constitution (61st Amendment Act), 1989, reduced the voting age for Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections from 21 years to 18 years under Article 326.  
• Article 354 concerns the elections to the Lok Sabha and the Assemblies.
• The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 was enacted from 25 June 1975 – 21 March 1977.
• 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act made two changes in the Preamble that is changed the characterization of India to "sovereign, socialist secular democratic republic" from "sovereign democratic republic.  
• It also changes the words ‘unity of the nation'  to ‘unity and integrity of the nation'.
• 38th Amendment Constitutional Amendment Act, officially known as The Constitution Act, 1975, made the declaration of The Emergency final and conclusive.
• The Constitution (44th Amendment Act), 1978 replaced the term ‘internal disturbance’ with the term ‘armed rebellion’ concerning the national emergency.
• 44th Amendment Act has made the President declare a national emergency only on the cabinet‘s written recommendation.
• 44th Amendment Act also guaranteed the fundamental rights during a national emergency by Articles 20 and 21 can not be suspended. 

Additional Information

• Under The Constitution (36th Amendment) Act, 1975, Sikkim became the 22nd state of the India Union.
• It also includes the omission of the 10th schedule.

The correct answer is Contingency Fund.

• Contingency Fund is being used by the Government of India to meet the unforeseen expenses.

Additional Information 

• Consolidated Fund of India:
  • This is the most important of all accounts of the government.
  • This fund is filled by Direct and indirect taxes Loans taken by the Indian government, Returning of loans/interests of loans to the government by anyone/agency that has taken it.
  • The government meets all its expenditure from this fund.
  • The government needs parliamentary approval to withdraw money from this fund.
  • The provision for this fund is given in Article 266 (1) of the Constitution of India.
  • Each state can have its own Consolidated Fund of the state with similar provisions.
  • The Comptroller and Auditor General of India audit these funds and reports to the relevant legislatures on their management.
• Contingency Fund of India:
  • Provision for this fund is made in Article 267 (1) of the Constitution of India.
  • Its corpus is Rs. 500 crores.
  • The Secretary of, Finance Ministry holds this fund on behalf of the President of India.
  • This fund is used to meet unexpected or unforeseen expenditure.
  • Contingency Fund is being used by the Government of India to meet the unforeseen expenses
  • Each state can have its own contingency fund.
• Public Accounts of India:
  • This is constituted under Article 266 (2) of the Constitution.
  • All other public money (other than those covered under the Consolidated Fund of India) received by or on behalf of the Indian Government are credited to this account/fund.
  • This is made up of Bank savings account of the various ministries/departments, National small savings fund, defence fund, National Investment Fund (money earned from disinvestment), National Calamity & Contingency Fund (NCCF) (for Disaster Management), Provident fund, Postal insurance, etc.