Indian Polity Quiz: Day 118

Answer: (d)

• Goa, a former Portuguese colony, inherited the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867 that is still applicable in the state even after itjoined the Indian Union in 1961 (statehood 1987).
• Recently, Delhi HC asked the Union Govt. to take steps for implementing UCC.

Uniform Civil Code (UCC) : Article 44

• Article 44: 

oUniform civil code for the citizens under Article 44 (Part 4 of Constitution) of the Constitution states that the State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.

B N Rau Committee:

• Increase in legislation dealing with personal issues in the far end of British rule forced the government to form the B N Rau Committeeto codify Hindu law in 1941. The committee, in accordance with scriptures, recommended a codified Hindu law, which would give equal rights to women.

Answer: (a)

About Central Vigilance Commissioner

• Santhanam Committee: 

oIt was set up by the Government of India (Ministry of Home Affairs) vide Resolution in 1964 on the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee.

• Composition:

oThe Commission was given statutory status by an enactment of the CVC Act, 2003 and vested with autonomy and insulation from external influences.

oAfter the enactment of the CVC Act, 2003, the Commission became a multi-member body consisting of a Central Vigilance Commissioner (Chairperson) and not more than two Vigilance Commissioners (Members).

Answer: (a)

• Art.164 (1): Provides for Tribal Affairs Ministers  in Bihar, MP and Orissa
• Art. 330:Reservation of seats for STs in Lok Sabha
• Art. 332: Reservation of seats for STs in State Legislatures
• Art. 334: 10 years period for reservation
• Art. 243: Reservation of seats in Panchayats

Art. 371: Special provisions in respect of the NE States and Sikkim

Answer: (c)

• Parliamentary privileges are special rights, immunities and exemptions enjoyed by the two Houses of Parliament, their committees and their members.
• These privileges are mentioned in Article 105 of the Indian Constitution. This Article authorise the Parliament to make laws on privileges. Parli

Answer: (a)

• There are a number of rules surrounding the act of hoisting or displaying the National Flag. These instructions are contained in the Flag Code of India 2002 and upheld by the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act,1971.

What are the rules for displaying the National Flag?

• Who is allowed to fly a national flag and on which days? Any person, organization, private or public, or educational institution (including scout camps) can hoist or display the Tricolour on all days or occasions in accordance with the dignity and honour of the National Flag.
• Choosing the flag: The flag can be as big or small as one wants but the ratio of the length to the height (width) of the National Flag shall be 3:2. So, the flag must always be a rectangle rather than a square or any other shape.
• Material of the Flag: The material of the flag can be handspun and handwoven or machine-made, cotton, polyester, wool, silk or khadi bunting.
• Damaged flag: It is against rules to display a damaged or disheveled National Flag. Moreover, no other flag or bunting shall be placed higher than or above or side by side with the National Flag.
• Is it ok to wear the Flag in a display of love for the nation? A person is forbidden by law to use the national flag as a portion of a costume or uniform.

Answer: (c)

CJI of India has said that Fundamental duties (FD) are not just pedantic, they are key to social transformation

• FD is meant to guide citizens to engineer a social transformation.
• While the constitution has granted us inalienable rights, it places upon us certain fundamental duties.
• The fundamental duties serve as a reminder to citizens that while enjoying their rights, they have also to be quite conscious of the duties they owe to their country, their society and to their fellow citizens.

About Fundamental Duties:

• The idea of Fundamental Duties is inspired by the Constitution of Russia.
• These were incorporated in Part IV-A of the Constitution by the42ndA, 1976 on the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee.
• Originally 10 in number, one more duty was added through the86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002.
• All the eleven duties are listed in Article 51-A of the Constitution (the sole Article in Part-IV-A).
• However, like the Directive Principles, the duties are also non-justiciable in nature.
• A duty is something that someone is required to do for any number of reasons, including moral or legal obligations. Rights and duties are interdependent.

Answer: (d)

• Four important features of a federal system:

Multiple levels of government: Federalism, by its very definition, requires multiple levels of government functioning within their defined territory.

Division of Power: The power is divided by the division of subjects between the entities so that the chances of conflict are reduced to a minimum.

Written Constitution: It ensures there is clarity in the respective division of power. Again, a rigid constitution ensures that this division of power is not easily disturbed.

Independent Judiciary: It acts as a dispute resolution mechanism between the different levels of government.

Answer: (b)

Supreme Court Judges

• Appointment of Chief Justice

The CJI and the Judges of the SC are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution.

Salaries, allowances, privileges, leave and pension of the judges of the SC are determined from time to time by the Parliament.

Answer: (d)

Election procedure

• Article 66 of the Constitution of India states the manner of election of the vice president.
• The vice president is elected indirectly by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament and NOT the members of state legislative assembly.
• The election is held as per the system of proportional representation using single transferable votes.
• The voting is conducted by Election Commission of India via secret ballot.
• The Electoral College for the poll will comprise 233 Rajya Sabha members, 12 nominated Rajya Sabha members and 543 Lok Sabha members.
• The Lok Sabha Secretary-General would be appointed the Returning Officer.
• Political parties CANNOT issue any whip to their MPs in the matter of voting in the Vice-Presidential election.
• The Constitution states that the vice president can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an Effective majority (majority of all the then members) and agreed by the Lok Sabha with a simple majority( Article 67(b)). But no such resolution may be moved unless at least 14 days’ notice in advance has been given.

Answer: (a)

Constitutional Provisions:

• Citizenship is listed in the Union List under the Constitution and thus is under the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament.
• The Constitution does not define the term ‘citizen’ but details of various categories of persons who are entitled to citizenship are given in Part 2 (Articles 5 to 11).

Acquisition of Indian Citizenship:

• The Citizenship Act of 1955 prescribes five ways of acquiring citizenship, viz, birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory.

Leaving Citizenship:

• RENUNCIATION, TERMINATION and DEPRIVATION

Answer: (a)

• The Hattis are a close-knit community who take their name from their traditional occupation of selling home-grown crops, vegetables, meat, and wool at small-town markets known as ‘haats’.
• Hatti men traditionally don a distinctive white headgear on ceremonial occasions.
• The Hattis live in 154 panchayat areas, and members of the community numbered 2.5 lakh in the 2011 Census. The present population of the Hattis is estimated at around 3 lakh.
• The Hatti homeland straddles the Himachal-Uttarakhand border in the basin of the Giri and Tons rivers, both tributaries of the Yamuna.
• The Hattis are governed by a traditional council called ‘khumbli’ which, like the ‘khaps’ of Haryana, decides community matters.

Answer: (d)

Qualifications to become the President of India

The qualification of being the President of India are given below:

• He/ She must be an Indian citizen
• A person must have completed the age of 35.
• A person must be qualified for election as a member of the House of the People.
• Must not hold a government (central or state) office of profit
• A person is eligible for election as President if he/she is holding the office of President or Vice-President.

Answer: (a)

Answer: (a)

The correct statement is: Under the scheme, Rs. 5 Crores per annum is directly disbursed to the District Authorities for the development related work, and not to the Member of Parliament directly. Therefore, statement (a) is incorrect.

Answer: (a)

Statement 1 is correct. The Protection of Human Rights Act of 1993 provides for the creation of National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commission. The NHRC is a statutory body established at the national level, and SHRC is established at the state level.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is appointed by the Governor of the respective state, and not by the President of India. Although the chairperson and members of a State Human Rights Commission are appointed by the governor they can only be removed by the President