Answer: (c)

• ‘Permanent residents’ included people who were hereditary State subjects as in 1927, when J&K was a princely state prior to its accession to the Indian Dominion in 1947. Article 35A, which was introduced through the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954 issued by the President under Article 370, demarcated permanent residents with exclusive right to purchase land, seek State government employment and other benefits in education and health care. The others, called ‘non-permanent residents’, were not privy to these privileges

Answer: (d)

The term ‘special session’ is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution or in the rulebooks of the two Houses of Parliament. There are no specific guidelines on how or when such a session can be convened.

Answer: (a)

• The official language committee is a statutory committee constituted under Section 4 in the Official Language Act, 1963. Its duty is to review the progress made in the use of Hindi for the official purposes of the Union and submit a report to the President. The Act makes it obligatory for the President to issue directions “in accordance with the whole or any part of the report” (Section 4(4)). It can thus be seen that the committee’s recommendations are required to be acted upon.
• The Committee is chaired by the Union Home Minister.
• Article 343 of the Constitution declares that Hindi in Devanagari script shall be the official language of the Union.
• Parliament enacted the official languages Act in 1963, providing for the continuance of English indefinitely as official language along with Hindi for the official purposes of the Union and for transaction of business in Parliament.

Answer: (d)

• In India’s cabinet form of government, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha. The rules of Lok Sabha provide the mechanism of a no-confidence motion to test whether the Council of Ministers continues to enjoy the confidence of the House.
• Twenty-seven no-confidence motions have been moved so far. None of these motions has been successful.
• Article 75(3) of our Constitution embodies this rule by specifying that the Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
• This motion was firstly moved by Acharya J B Kripalani in 1963.

Answer: (b)

• Article 163(1) of the Constitution says, “there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions”.
• Neither Article 163 nor Article 164 (“Other provisions as to Ministers”), sub clause (1) of which says
• The post of Deputy CM is understood as being equivalent in rank to that of Cabinet Minister (in the state). The Deputy CM enjoys the same pay and perks as a cabinet minister.

Answer: (a)

• Gram Panchayats have the power to generate their own source of revenue and depends on the grants provided by the State Government as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission.

Answer: (b)

• The Private Member Bill is a bill introduced by a Member of Parliament (MP), who is not a minister. MPs sitting in the Opposition mostly bring Private Member Bills in the house.
• The Union Territories of Puducherry, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi have representation in the Rajya Sabha, while other UTs are unrepresented. In these three UTs, elected members of the Legislative Assembly form the electoral college for electing the MP for Rajya Sabha from their places.

Answer: (c)

• Article 200 of the Constitution provides certain options for the Governor to exercise when a Bill reaches him from the Assembly. The provision concerned makes it clear that a Bill can be reserved for the consideration of the President only if the Governor forms an opinion that the Bill would endanger the position of the High Court by whittling away its powers. The Constitution does not mention any other type of Bill which is required to be reserved for the consideration of the President.
• The fact that the Constitution does not mention the grounds on which a Governor may withhold assent to a Bill shows that this power should be exercised by the Governor extremely sparingly and after very careful consideration of the consequences of such action.

Answer: (d)

• CAG submits his audit reports relating to the accounts of the Centre to President ( and state to the governor), who shall, in turn, place them before both the Houses of the Parliament (state legislature).
• He compiles and maintains the accounts of state governments. In 1976, he was relieved of his responsibilities with regard to the compilation and maintenance of accounts of the Central Government.
• CAG can be removed by the president on same grounds and in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Answer: (b)

• In pursuance of the provision of Article 350-B of the Constitution, the office of the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities was created in 1957.
• At the Central level, the Commissioner falls under the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Hence, he submits the annual reports or other reports to the President through the Union Minority Affairs Minister.

Answer: (c)

Statement 1 is correct:

21 years is the minimum age for contesting elections to panchayats.

Statement 2 is incorrect:

• State Election Commissioner of any State is appointed by the Governor of the concerned State.
• State Election Commissioner shall not be removed from the office except in the manner and on the grounds prescribed for the removal of a High court judge.

Statement 3 is correct:

• The Governor of a State shall, after every five years, constitute a finance commission to review the financial position of the panchayats.
• The State legislature may provide for the composition of the commission, the required qualifications of its members and the manner of their selection.

Answer: (d)

Answer: (d)

Answer: (a).

• Article 81 of the Indian Constitution provides for the Composition of the House of the People.