Constitutions and Law

The Simon Commission, appointed in 1927 to review the Government of India Act 1919, consisted of seven members, all of whom were British.

Article 368 of the Indian Constitution grants the Parliament the power to amend the Constitution and its procedure.

The Constitution of the United States is widely recognized as the shortest written constitution in the world, consisting of only seven articles and twenty-seven amendments.

The Fundamental Duties were added to the Indian Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act in 1976, upon the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee.

Article 32 of the Indian Constitution provides the right to move the Supreme Court for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights, often called the 'Heart and Soul' of the Constitution.

The 42nd Amendment to the Indian Constitution, enacted in 1976, added the Fundamental Duties to the Constitution under Article 51A.

Article 108 of the Constitution of India provides for the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) to resolve deadlocks on bills.

Part XX of the constitution of India covered by article 368 mentions amendments of the constitution. It states that an amendment of this Constitution may be initiated only by the introduction of a Bill for the purpose in either House of Parliament, and when the Bill is passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting, it shall be presented to the President who shall give his assent to the Bill and thereupon, the Constitution shall stand amended in accordance with the terms of the Bill.

On the question whether the amending power under article 368 was absolute and unlimited, seven judges constituting a majority held that the amending power under article 368 was subject to an implied limitation. By a majority of 7 to 6, the court ruled that “Article 368 does not enable the Parliament to alter the basic structure or framework of the Constitution” without specifying what the basic structure of the Constitution was.

An entrenched clause or entrenchment clause of a basic law or constitution is a provision which makes certain amendments either more difficult or impossible, i.e. inadmissible. It may require a form of supermajority, a referendum submitted to the people, or the consent of another party. Hence, correct answer is option 2.

Since the House has the votes to override a Presidential veto, the President would be wise to compromise and make the best of the situation. 

Economic Planning is a subject listed in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution. This means both the Union and State governments have the authority to legislate on this matter.

Article 355 of the Indian Constitution imposes a duty on the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance. Article 356 relates to the imposition of President's Rule.

The question appears to combine two separate questions - one about President's rule (Article 356) and another about MAT expansion. MAT stands for Minimum Alternate Tax, a tax mechanism introduced to ensure companies paying minimum tax on declared income. The other options are incorrect expansions.