Government & Administration (India & World) (Part-I)

Total Questions: 50

11. Which one of the following statements about the duties of Prime Minister is correct? [1996]

Correct Answer: (c) Has full discretion in the choice of persons who are to serve as ministers in his cabinet
Solution:PM has complete discretion to choose his ministers in the Cabinet not necessarily from the two Houses of Parliament but can also choose any other person. That person should become member of either house within 6 months from the date he enters the office.

The powers of the Prime Minister of India can be broadly categorized into the following:

• Executive powers: The Prime Minister is the head of the Union Council of Ministers and is responsible for the administration of the government. He presides over cabinet meetings and coordinates the activities of the various ministries and departments.
• Legislative powers: The Prime Minister is a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha and can participate in the proceedings of either house. He advises the President on the summoning and prorogation of the parliament sessions and dissolution of Lok Sabha.
• Diplomatic powers: The Prime Minister represents India in the international arena and conducts negotiations with foreign countries. He also receives foreign diplomats and dignitaries on behalf of the President.
• Emergency powers: In times of national emergency, the Prime Minister advises the President on the measures to be taken to protect the security of India.
• Appointment powers: The Prime Minister (and the Council of Ministers) advises the President with respect to the appointments to the higher judiciary and key administrative posts such as the Governors, the Chief Election Commissioner, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and the Attorney General of India.
• Financial powers: The Prime Minister is responsible for the overall economic and financial management of the country. His/her government presents the annual budget to the parliament and ensures it is passed.

12. Of the four forms of political protests mentioned below, which one is derived from the name of the person who used it as a political weapon for the first time? [1996]

Correct Answer: (a) Boycott
Solution:Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott was a British land agent whose ostracism by the local community in Ireland as part of a campaign for agrarian tenants' rights in 1880 gave the English language the verb to boycott, meaning "to ostracise".

13. Given below are two statements, one labelled as Assertion (A) and the other labelled as Reason (R): [1996]

Assertion (A): The word minority is not defined in the Constitution of India.

Reason (R): The Minorities Commission is not a constitutional body.

In the context of the above two statements, which one of the following is correct?

Correct Answer: (b) Both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation
Solution:Both statements are correct but do not explain the assertion. At present, the Minorities Commission has a Statutory status. 103rd Constitutional Amendment Bill provides for granting constitutional status to the Minorities Commission. The bill has not passed by the Houses of Parliament.
• The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) is an autonomous body established by the Indian government in 1992 under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992.
• The setting up of the Commission was envisaged in the Ministry of Home Affairs Resolution of 1978 for the enforcement and implementation of all the safeguards provided for the Minorities in the Constitution.
• It is responsible for advising the central and state governments on matters related to the welfare and development of minority communities in Back India.
• Initially, five religious communities, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians (Parsis), were notified as minority communities by the Union Government.
• Further, with the 2014 notification, Jains were also notified as another minority community.

14. If the Prime Minister of India belonged to the Upper House of Parliament: [1997]

Correct Answer: (a) he will not be able to vote in his favour in the event of a no-confidence motion
Solution:Because no-confidence motion can be moved only in Lok Sabha (not in RS) by the opposition.
• The concept of collective responsibility means that all members of the Council of Ministers, collectively, are accountable to the Lok Sabha (House of the People) for their actions and decisions.
• It implies that they act as a unified body and share responsibility for the government’s policies and actions. If one Minister or the government as a whole is criticised or faces a vote of no confidence, all members of the Council of Ministers are collectively answerable.
• In case a vote of No Confidence is passed the entire Council of Ministers will have to resign.

15. In the Presidential election in India, every elected member of the Legislative Assembly of a State shall have as many votes as there are multiples of one thousands in the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the State by the total number of the elected members of the Assembly. As at present (1997) the expression "population" here means the population as ascertained by the: [1997]

Correct Answer: (c) 1971 Census
Solution:The 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act initially froze the population figures at the 1971 census until the first census after 2000. The 84th Constitutional Amendment Act extended this freeze, stating that the 1971 census figures would be used for calculating the value of votes in the Presidential Election until the publication of the first census taken after 2026.

16. Match List I with List II and select the correct answer: [1997]

List-I (Functionaries) List-II (Oaths or affirmations) 
A. President of India1. Secrecy of information
B. Judges of Supreme Court2. Faithful Discharge of duties
C. Members of Parliament3. Faith and Allegiance to the Constitution of India
D. Minister for the Union4. Upholding the Constitution and the law

Codes:

ABCD
(a)3412
(b)4321
(c)3421
(d)4312
Correct Answer: (c)
Solution:
Functionaries Oaths or Affirmations
PresidentUnder Article 60, the President takes oath in the presence of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court "to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and law".
Minister for the Union1. Form of oath of office for a Minister for the Union: "I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will faithfully and conscientiously discharge my duties as a Minister for the Union"
2. Form of oath of secrecy for a Minister for the Union
Member of ParliamentI will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India and that I will faithfully discharge the duty upon which I am about to enter.
Judges of the Supreme Court"I, A.B., having been appointed Chief Justice (or a Judge) of the Supreme Court of India, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, that I will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, that I will duly and faithfully and to the best of my ability, knowledge and judgment perform the duties of my office without fear or favour, affection or ill-will and that I will uphold the Constitution and the laws."

17. Which one of the following is not a principle of "Panchsheel"? [1997]

Correct Answer: (a) Non-alignment
Solution:The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are a series of agreements between the People's Republic of China and India. They were formed in 1954. The 5 principles are called the Panchsheel, which form the basis of the Non-Aligned Movement, were laid down by Jawaharlal Nehru. Those are:
1. Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty
2. Mutual non-aggression against anyone.
3. Mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs
4. Equality and mutual benefit
5. Peaceful co-existence

18. Which one of the following statements about a Money Bill is not correct? [2000]

Correct Answer: (a) A Money Bill can be tabled in either House of Parliament
Solution:A Money bill can be introduced only in LS (not in RS) that too on the recommendation of the President.
• According to the Constitution of India, a bill is considered a Money Bill if it contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters:
• The imposition, abolition, remission, alteration, or regulation of any tax.
• The regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantee by the Government of India.
• The custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of money into or the withdrawal of money from any such fund.
• The appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
• The declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure.
• The receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or the custody or issue of such money..

19. The Speaker can ask a member of the House to stop speaking and let another member speak. This phenomenon is known as: [2000]

Correct Answer: (d) yielding the floor
Solution:Decorum means maintaining proper behaviour in the house. Interpellation means formal right of a Parliament to submit formal question to the government. Crossing the floor means to vote against the party lines. Yielding the floor means the speaker giving part of his or her speaking time to another speaker. While this practice is allowed in some legislative bodies, it is not allowed in deliberative assemblies, unless specifically authorized in the rules.

20. Consider the following statements about the Attorney General of India: [2000]

1. He is appointed by the President of India

2. He must have the same qualifications as are required for a judge of the Supreme Court

3. He must be a member of either House of Parliament

4. He can be removed by impeachment by Parliament

Which of these statements are correct?

Correct Answer: (a) 1 & 2
Solution:Under Article 76, impeachment procedure of the Attorney-General is not provided. He shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.

Though the AG is not a member of the Cabinet, he shall also have the right to speak in the Houses of Parliament or in any Committee thereof, but shall have no right to vote [Art. 88].