Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Speaker.

Key Points

• Before sending it to the upper house, The Speaker of the Lok Sabha certifies the bill as a money bill. Hence, option 3 is correct.
• The Speaker's decision is binding on both the Houses.
• The Bill can be introduced only in Lok Sabha.
• When a Money Bill is returned to the lower house with the recommended amendments of the Rajya Sabha, the bill is open to the Lok Sabha to accept or reject any or all of the recommendations.

Important Points

• Money bills passed by the lower house are sent to the Rajya Sabha.
• The Rajya Sabha can recommend amendments.
• The Rajya Sabha can not amend money bills.

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 I, II.

Key Points

• In case of disagreement between both the houses of the Indian Parliament, there is a provision of joint sitting.
• A joint sitting can be called only on ordinary bills.
• A provision for joint sitting on Constitutional Amendment Bills is also described in Article 108.
• Hence the correct answer is I, II.

Additional Information 

• Joint Sitting of Parliament
  • The Constitution of India provides for a joint session of the Parliament. 
  • India has a bicameral Parliament.
  • To pass any bill, both the Houses (the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha) must concur. The bill has to be passed by both Houses before the President can give his/her assent.
  • The founding fathers foresaw situations where there could be a deadlock between both Houses of Parliament.
  • Therefore, they provided for a constitutional mechanism to break this deadlock, in the form of joint sittings.
  • Joint Sitting of Parliament is Summoned by the President.
  • The Speaker presides over a joint sitting.
  • In the absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha presides over it, and in his absence, the sitting is presided over by the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
  • If any of the above-mentioned people are not available, any Member of Parliament (MP) can preside over the sitting by consensus of both Houses.
  • The quorum to constitute a joint sitting: 1/10th of the total number of members of the House.
• Joint Sitting Constitutional Provision
  • Article 108 of the Indian Constitution provides for a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament.
  • Accordingly, a joint session can be summoned when: If after a bill is passed by one House and transmitted to the other House.
  • The other House rejects this bill, or The Houses do not agree on the amendments made to the bill, or More than six months elapse with the bill being received by the other House without it being passed.

• There are 22 languages that have been recognized in the eighth schedule of the Indian constitution.
• Part XVII of the Indian constitution deals with the official languages of India from articles 343 to 351.
• Originally, only 14 languages were mentioned and later, after several amendments, the other languages were added. 
• Sindhi language was added in the 8th schedule by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967.
• Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali were added by the 71st Amendment Act of 1992
• Bodo, Dongri, Maithili and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.
• In all the 22 official languages the Hindi language is spoken by most of the Indians.

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.