Indian Polity Quiz: Day 42

Answer: (a)

• The origin of the Estimates committee can be traced to the standing finance committee set up in 1921.
• The first Estimates Committee in the post-independence era was constituted in 1950 on the recommendation of John Mathai, the then finance minister.
• Originally, it had 25 members but in 1956 its membership was raised to 30. All the thirty members are from Lok Sabha only. The Rajya Sabha has no representation in this committee. These members are elected by the Lok Sabha every year from amongst its own members, according to the principles of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote.
• A Minister shall not be elected a member of the Committee, and if a member, after the election to the Committee, is appointed a Minister, such member shall cease to be a member of the Committee from the date of such appointment..

Answer: (c)

• Article 248 provides the residuary powers to the union. This article says that Parliament has exclusive power to make any law with respect to any matter not enumerated in any one of the three lists. It is quite interesting to note that the residuary powers, in India, are given to the union, while in the United States of America and Australia these powers are assigned to the states. This reflects the leanings of the constitution-makers towards a strong center.
• Another notable thing regarding residual powers is that “the final determination as to whether a particular matter falls under the residuary power or not is that of the courts.”

Answer: (c)

73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 provides:

• All the members of panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels shall be elected directly by the people. Further, the chairperson of panchayats at the intermediate and district levels shall be elected indirectly—by and from amongst the elected members thereof. However, the chairperson of a panchayat at the village level shall be elected in such manner as the state legislature determines.
• Reservation of Seats: The act provides for the reservation of seats for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in every panchayat (i.e., at all the three levels) in a proportion of their population to the total population in the panchayat area.

Answer: (d)

• In the Berubari Union case (1960),
• In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973)
• The Preamble has been amended only once so far, in 1976, by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment.

Answer: (b)

• Census is legally backed by the Census Act, 1948, and is conducted as a compulsory exercise with compulsory disclosure of information.
• Census is conducted and maintained by the Registrar General of India and Census Commissioner of India, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Answer: (d)

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) recommends the appointment, and the president officially appoints the Solicitor General.
• There is no Constitutional provisions regarding the post of the President.

Answer: (c)

• The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) has been accorded Constitutional Status and constituted through “The Constitution (One Hundred and Second Amendment) Act, 2018” Act, whereby Article 338B has been inserted, forming a Commission for the socially and educationally backward classes. It is thus a constitutional body under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment.
• Subject to the provisions of any law made in this behalf by Parliament, the Commission shall consist of a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and three other Members and the conditions of service and tenure of office of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members so appointed shall be such as the President may by rule determine.
• The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and other Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal.
• The Commission shall, while investigating any matter or inquiring into any complaint, have all the powers of a civil court trying a suit.

Answer: (c)

• Fifth Schedule provides for the establishment of a Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) in any State having Scheduled Areas. Hence Statement 1 is correct.
• If the President so directs, there will be established a TAC in a State having Scheduled tribes but not Scheduled Areas therein, consisting of not more than twenty members of whom, three-fourths shall be the representatives of the Scheduled Tribes in the Legislative Assembly of the State. If the number of representatives of the STs in the Legislative Assembly of the State is less than the number of seats in the TAC to be filled by such representatives, the remaining seats shall be filled by other members of those Tribes. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Tribes Advisory Councils (TAC) have been constituted in Scheduled Area States of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Telangana.
• Though Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal do not have any scheduled area, they have also constituted TAC, as they have Scheduled Tribes as a significant part of their population.

Answer: (b)

• The Act provided for the appointment of a separate governor for the Bengal Presidency. It maintained that the governor of Bengal should be different from the Governor-General who was to head administration of the whole of India.
• The Law member (fourth member) became a full member with the right to vote.
• For the first time, the legislative and executive functions of the Governor-General’s council were separated. The legislative wing of the Governor-General’s Council acted as a parliament on the model of the British Parliament.

Answer: (a)

• The President holds office for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office. However, he can resign from his office at any time by addressing the resignation letter to the Vice- President. Further, he can also be removed from the office before completion of his term by the process of impeachment.

Answer: (b)

243I of the Indian Constitution prescribes that the Governor of a State shall, as soon as may be within one year from the commencement of the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year, constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats and to make recommendations to the Governor as to:

• The distribution between the State and the Panchayats of the net proceeds of the taxes, duties tolls and fees leviable by the State, which may be divided between them under this Part and the allocation between the Panchayats at all levels of their respective shares of such proceeds.

Answer: (a)

• Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be present in the House before it can transact any business.
• Quorum provisions in the Constitution can be amended by a simple majority of the two Houses of Parliament.

Answer:(c)

The Returning Officer for the elections of the President and Vice President is Secretary-General of Lok Sabha or the Secretary-General of Rajya sabha on a rotational basis, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Elections Act, 1952.

Answer: (c)

The President can remove the chairman or any other member of UPSC from the office under the following circumstances:

• If he is adjudged an insolvent (that is, has gone bankrupt);
• If he engages, during his term of office, in any paid employment outside the duties of his office; or
• If he is, in the opinion of the president, unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or body.
• In addition to these, the President can also remove the chairman or any other member of UPSC for misbehaviour. However, in this case, the president has to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for an inquiry. If the Supreme Court, after the enquiry, upholds the cause of removal and advises so, the president can remove the chairman or a member. Under the provisions of the Constitution, the advice tendered by the Supreme Court in this regard is binding on the president.

Answer: (c)

• The Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956 amended two articles Article 170 and 171. Under clause (1) of Article 171, the maximum strength of the Legislative Council of a State is fixed at one-fourth of the strength of the Legislative Assembly of that State. Although in the larger States, like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, this maximum is adequate, it leads to difficulties in the case of the smaller States. It is, therefore, proposed to alter the maximum to one-third of the strength of the Legislative Assembly.
• The Constitution of India provides for a high court for each state, the Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956 amended Articles 230, 231, and 232 stating,