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]

(a) Is free to choose his minister only from among members of either House of the Parliament
(b) Can choose his cabinet after consulting the President of India.
(c) Has full discretion in the choice of persons who are to serve as ministers in his cabinet
(d) Has only limited power in the choice of his cabinet colleagues because of the discretionary powers vested the President of India

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.

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]

(a) Boycott
(b) Gherao
(c) Bandh
(d) Hartal

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?

(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation
(c) A is true but R is false
(d) A is false but R is true

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.

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

(a) he will not be able to vote in his favour in the event of a no-confidence motion
(b) he will not be able to speak on the budget in the Lower House
(c) he can make statements only in the Upper House
(d) he was to become a member of the Lower House within six months after being sworn in

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.

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]

(a) 1991 Census
(b) 1981 Census
(c) 1971 Census
(d) 1961 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 India	1. Secrecy of information
B. Judges of Supreme Court	2. Faithful Discharge of duties
C. Members of Parliament	3. Faith and Allegiance to the Constitution of India
D. Minister for the Union	4. Upholding the Constitution and the law

Codes:

	A	B	C	D
(a)	3	4	1	2
(b)	4	3	2	1
(c)	3	4	2	1
(d)	4	3	1	2

Correct Answer: (c)

Solution:

Functionaries	Oaths or Affirmations
President	Under 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 Union	1. 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 Parliament	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 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]

(a) Non-alignment
(b) Peaceful Co-existence
(c) Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty
(d) Mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs

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]

(a) A Money Bill can be tabled in either House of Parliament
(b) The Speaker of Lok Sabha is the final authority to decide whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not
(c) The Rajya Sabha must return a Money Bill passed by the Lok Sabha and send it for consideration within 14 days
(d) The President cannot return a Money Bill to the Lok Sabha for reconsideration

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.

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

(a) decorum
(b) crossing the floor
(c) interpellation
(d) yielding the floor

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?

(a) 1 & 2
(b) 1 & 3
(c) 2, 3 & 4
(d) 3 & 4

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].

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