Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is September 2020.

• Rajya Sabha passed the Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 on 10 February 2021.
• The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on September 23, 2020.
• The Bill aims to provide for the regulation, operation and planning of Major Ports in India and to vest the administration, control and management of such ports upon the Boards of Major Port Authorities.

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 N. K. Singh.

• N. K. Singh is the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission.

Additional Information

• 15th Finance Commission
  • The Finance Commission (FC) is a constitutional body, that determines the method and formula for distributing the tax proceeds between the Centre and states, and among the states as per the constitutional arrangement and present requirements.
  • Under Article 280 of the Constitution, the President of India is required to constitute a Finance Commission at an interval of five years or earlier.
  • The 15th Finance Commission was constituted by the President of India, under the chairmanship of NK Singh.
  • Its recommendations will cover a period of five years from the year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
  • Grants Devolution Criteria
    • Population:
      • The population of a State represents the needs of the State to undertake expenditure for providing services to its residents.
      • It is also a simple and transparent indicator that has a significant equalising impact.
    • Area:
      • The larger the area, the greater is the expenditure requirement for providing comparable services.
    • Forest and Ecology:
      • By taking into account the share of the dense forest of each state in the aggregate dense forest of all the states, the share on these criteria is determined.
    • Income Distance:
      • Income distance is the distance of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of a particular state from the state with the highest GSDP.
      • To maintain interstate equity, the states with lower per capita income would be given a higher share.
    • Demographic Performance:
      • It rewards efforts made by states in controlling their population.
      • This criterion has been computed by using the reciprocal of the total fertility ratio of each state, scaled by 1971 population data.
    • Tax Effort:
      • This criterion has been used to reward states with higher tax collection efficiency.

The correct answer is option 4.

Key Points

• The parliamentary system of government
  • The parliamentary system is based on the principle of cooperation and coordination between the legislative and executive organs while the presidential system is based on the doctrine of separation of powers between the two organs.
• The features of parliamentary government in India are:
  • Presence of nominal and real executives
  • Majority party rule
  • Collective responsibility of the executive to the legislature. i.e., the Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha. So, option 4 is the correct answer.
  • Membership of the ministers in the legislature.

The correct answer is Hardeep Singh Puri.

• Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri introduced the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2021 in the Rajya Sabha on 8 February 2021.
• It will replace the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 which was promulgated by President Ram Nath Kovind on 30th December 2020.
• The 2011 Act was valid till December 31, 2020.
• The Ordinance extended the deadline to December 31, 2023.