Civics Polity · General Awareness

Indian Governance and Policy

932 Questions

Indian Governance and Policy covers the implementation of government schemes, public finance, and bilateral relations. It evaluates the impact of administrative and constitutional bodies in India. This subject is a mainstay in civil services and state examination prelims.

Government schemesBilateral relationsPublic financeConstitutional bodiesTrade and commerce

Indian Governance and Policy Questions

Multiple choice

Consider the following statements:

  1. Governor places reports of Central Finance Commission before State Legislature.
  2. Central Finance Commission suggests the measures to increase the Consolidated Fund of the State.

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither of 1 and 2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1: It is incorrect. Governor of a state places the recommendations of the state finance commission (and not central finance commission) constituted by him along with the action taken report before the state legislature. Statement 2: It is correct. Central finance commission suggests the measures needed to augment the consolidated fund of state to supplement the resources of the panchayats of the state.

Multiple choice

Consider the following statements:

  1. The first Municipal Corporation in India was set up at Bombay.
  2. The Rural Urban Relationship Committee recommended the merger of small town area committees with panchayati raj to avoid multiplicity.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1: It is incorrect. In 1687-88, the first Municipal Corporation in India was set up at Madras. In 1726, Municipal Corporations were set in Bombay and Calcutta. Statement 2: It is correct. Rural Urban Relation Committee was set up in 1963-66, which was headed by A. P. Jain who recommended that small town area committees should be merged with the panchayati raj institutions to avoid multiplicity in the pattern of local bodies.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. A ward committee is constituted for wards having population more than 2 lakhs.
  2. State Election Commission makes provision with respect to matters relating to municipal corporation elections.

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1: It is incorrect. A ward committee is constituted of 1 or more wards, within the territorial area of municipality having a population of 3 lakh or more. Statement 2: It is correct. Elections to the municipal corporations are conducted under the superintendence, direction and control of the State Election Commissions.

Multiple choice

Consider the following:

  1. There are 8 types of urban local governments in India.
  2. Notified Area Committee and Town Area Committee are among the types of urban local government.
  3. Pollution Control Board is a subordinate agency of the local municipal body. Which of the statements are correct?

  1. Only 1 and 2

  2. Only 2 and 3

  3. Both 1 and 3

  4. 1, 2 and 3
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1: It is correct. There are 8 types of Urban Governments. They are municipal corporation, municipality, notified area committee, town area committee, cantonment board, township, port trust and special purpose agencies. They function as autonomous bodies and deal with the functions allotted to them independently of the local urban governments (i.e. municipal corporations, municipalities, etc.). Thus they are not subordinate agencies of the local municipal bodies.

Statement 2: It is correct. They are municipal corporation, municipality, notified area committee, town area committee, cantonment board, township, port trust and special purpose agency. Statement 3: It is incorrect. Pollution Control Board is one among the special purpose agencies that are established as statutory bodies by an act of state legislature or as departments.
Multiple choice

Consider the following statements:

  1. At present, 73rd Amendment Act does not apply to the scheduled areas and the tribal areas in some states.
  2. Parliament can extend the provisions of 73rd Amendment Act to the scheduled areas and tribal areas through PESA.

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1: It is correct. The act does not apply to schedule areas of 9 states (Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh) and tribal areas in the 4 states (Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura). Statement 2: It is incorrect. Parliament can extend the provisions of 73rd Amendment Act to only the scheduled areas subjected to such exceptions and modifications as it may specify. Under this provision, the parliament has enacted provisions of panchayat, i.e. extension to schedule areas act, 1996 (PESA).

Multiple choice

Consider the following:

  1. During P. V. Narsimha Rao’s tenure, the Municipalities Bill was defeated in the Rajya Sabha.
  2. In National Front Government, the Nagarpalika Bill was lapsed due to dissolution.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1: It is incorrect. In September 1991, P. V. Narasimha Rao’s government also introduced the modified Municipalites Bill in the Lok Sabha. It finally emerged as the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 and came into force on 1st June, 1993. Statement 2: It is correct. National Front Government under V. P. Singh introduced the revised Nagarpalika Bill in the Lok Sabha again in September 1990. However, the bill was not passed and finally lapsed due to dissolution of the Lok Sabha.

Multiple choice

Consider the following statements regarding “SEWA”, which is devoted to women empowerment.

  1. It is a trade union for poor, self-employed women workers in India.
  2. It was founded in 1972 by the noted Gandhian and civil rights leader Aruna Roy.
  3. SEWA's main office is located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Which of the given statements is/are incorrect?

  1. Only 2

  2. Only 3

  3. Only 1 and 2

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Self-Employed Women's Association of India (SEWA) is a trade union for poor, self-employed women workers in India.

SEWA was founded in 1972 by the noted Gandhian and civil rights leader Dr. Ela Bhatt. Aruna Roy is an Indian political and social activist who founded and heads the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathana. SEWA's main office is located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and it works in several states of India.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974.
  2. India is not a member of the agency.

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both of these

  4. Neither of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization. Statement 2 is correct. China, India, and Russia are not the members of the IEA, but the organization works with its non-member countries also.

Multiple choice

Consider following statements in relation to the National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency:

  1. The mission is one of the eight missions under India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
  2. The mission aims to save about 10% of our annual energy consumption by 2015.
  3. The 'Perform, Achieve and Trade' (PAT) mechanism is one of the initiatives under the mission.

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 1 & 2

  3. Only 1 & 3

  4. 1, 2 & 3
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: Of the eight missions of the NAPCC, National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency is one of the most ambitious.

Statement 2 is wrong: The mission aims to save about 5% of our annual energy consumption by 2015, and nearly 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.
Statement 3 is correct: The most innovative and challenging new initiative to be introduced under the Mission is the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) mechanism which would assign energy efficiency improvement targets to the country's most energy-intensive industrial units, with the provision of allowing them to retain any energy-efficiency improvements in excess of their target in the form of Energy Savings Certificates, called ESCerts. Units will also be allowed to use purchased ESCerts to meet their targets.

Multiple choice

Which of the following factors were identified by the Fazal Ali Commission that need to be taken into account in any scheme for reorganisation of states?

  1. Preservation and strengthening of unity and security of the country
  2. Linguistic and cultural homogeneity
  3. Financial, economic and administrative consideration
  4. Planning and promotion of the welfare of the people in each state as well as of the nation as a whole

  1. Only 1, 2 and 3

  2. Only 2 and 3

  3. Only 2, 3 and 4

  4. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Fazal Ali Commission (States Reorganisation Commission) identified all four factors - national unity and security, linguistic and cultural homogeneity, financial and administrative considerations, and welfare planning - as essential criteria for reorganizing states in India.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. The States Reorganisation Commission under Fazal Ali out rightly rejected the idea of linguistic states.
  2. It suggested the abolition of four-fold classification of states under the original Constitution.

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both of these

  4. Neither of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1 is wrong: The States Reorganisation Commission under Fazal Ali did not out rightly reject the idea of linguistic states. Rater it broadly accepted language as the basis of reorganistion of states. It rejected the theory of 'one language-one state'. Statement 2 is correct: It suggested the abolition of four-fold classification of states under the original Constitution & creation of 16 states & 3 centrally administered territories.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. To deal with the demand for creation of states on linguistic basis, the Linguistic Provinces Committee was appointed in December 1948.
  2. This Committee was also known as JVP Committee.
  3. The Committee rejected language as the basis for reorganisation of states.

  1. Only 1 and 3

  2. Only 1 and 2

  3. Only 1

  4. All of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

To deal with the demand for creation of states on linguistic basis, the Linguistic Provinces Committee was appointed in December 1948. This Committee consisted of Jwaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel and Pattabhi Sitaramaiah, and hence, it was also known as JVP Committee. The Committee rejected language as the basis for reorganisation of states. It proposed for 'sovereignty, unity & economic prosperity' to be the criteria for creation of new states.

Multiple choice

Consider the following statements regarding the Reorganisation of States:

  1. S. K. Dhar Committee (1947) and JVP Committee (1948) supported the notion of creating new states on 'linguistic basis'.
  2. In 1953, Andhra Pradesh was formed as the first linguistic state.
  3. In its report (1955), Fazal Ali Commission broadly accepted language as the basis for reorganistion of states.

Which of these statements is/are correct?

  1. Only 2

  2. 1 and 2

  3. 2 and 3

  4. None of these statements is true
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Interpretation based question.

Statement 1 is incorrect: JVP Committee out rightly rejected the language as the basis for state reorganization. It suggested 'security, unity and economic prosperity' as the criteria for the same cause.

Statement 2 is correct. Statement 3 is correct, but a student may mark it incorrect as he may misinterpret the word 'broadly' in the statement.
Multiple choice

Consider the following statements about the Lok Adalats:

  1. Considering the high number of pendency of cases, Lok Adalats need to be given, hitherto denied, statutory status.
  2. The jurisdiction of the Lok Adalats is conferred on them by the State or district bodies.

Which of the given statements is/are true?

  1. Only 1

  2. Only 2

  3. Both 1 and 2

  4. Neither of the two is correct.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Statement 1 is wrong: Under the Legal Services Authorities Act (1987), Lok Adalats have already been given statutory status. Words 'hitherto denied' make this statement incorrect. Statement 2 is correct.