Civics Polity · General Awareness

Indian Governance and Policy

912 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

President Pratibha Patil went on an official visit to China in 2010. Which of the following statements is/are correct?

I. China is India's 2nd largest trading partner with bilateral trade exceeding 50 billion in 2009. II. China enjoys a trade surplus with India. III. President Patil dedicated the first Indian-styled Buddhist temple in China at Luoyang.

  1. I only

  2. I and II only

  3. II and III only

  4. Ill and I only

  5. I, II and III
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

President Pratibha Patil went on a six day official visit to China from May 26 to 31, 2010. During her visit Patil held talks with her Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao on a host of issues. Chinese leaders assured Patil of China's support to India's aspirations for a permanent UNSC seat as well as its support for India's bid to get elected as a non-permanent member.

China became India's largest trading partner in 2008, with bilateral trade reaching $52 billion. Trade fell to $44 billion in 2009. In 2009, the trade imbalance tilted heavily against India. China enjoyed trade surplus of $16 billion out of the total $44 billion bilateral trade and its exports to India nearly touched $30 billion last year.

President Patil also went to Luoyang where she dedicated the first Indian-styled Buddhist temple in China built close to the famous White Horse temple complex there. Luoyang, which falls in the province of Henan.

Multiple choice

Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi Commission was in news for submitting his report on which of the following issues?

  1. Protection of heritage structures

  2. Pay revision for armed forces personnel

  3. Mining in forest areas

  4. Regulation of higher education

  5. Relations between centres and states
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi Commission for Centre-State Relations has completed its task ahead of the stipulated three year period. The Commission is set to submit its report to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram soon. The seven volume report makes wide ranging recommendations in areas of internal security, Articles 355 and 356, the financial relationship including transfer of funds between Centre and the States. The commission was constituted on April 27, 2007. The Commission has come out with a 1500 page report and supplementary volumes comprising responses of important stakeholders like political parties, state governments, central government ministries, constitutional experts and civil representatives.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements about the National Integration Council (NIC) which was/were reconstituted is/are correct?

I. President of India will be the Chairperson of the NIC. II. The NIC will have 147 members. III. The first meeting of the NIC was held in 1962.

  1. I only

  2. II only

  3. II and III only

  4. III and I only

  5. I, II and III
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The government on April 13, 2010 reconstituted the National Integration Council (NIC) which will be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The NIC has 147 members, including Union Ministers, Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the Chief Ministers of all States and Union Territories with Legislatures. Set up in the early 1960s by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the NIC held its first meeting in 1962. The council reviews matters relating to national integration and makes recommendations on such issues. The NIC aims at finding ways and means of combating the menace of communalism, casteism and regionalism. It has held 14 meetings so far, with the last one in October 2008 during the first innings of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Multiple choice

The Nepal government cancelled a contract awarded to the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited for printing

  1. currency notes

  2. postage stamps

  3. election ballots

  4. passports

  5. all the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Madhav Kumar Nepal government on April 11, 2010 annulled the contract awarded to the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited for printing Machine Readable Passport (MRP). The contract for printing four million passports at the rate of $4 per piece was given to an India company after previous tenders from the government were cancelled.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements about the Indian History Congress is/are correct?

I. It was organised in Delhi II. Professor Barpujaree Award was conferred on Satish Chandra for his book 'Medieval India' III. Hira Lal Gupta Prize for a book published by a woman historian went to Dr. Rochelle Pinto for her book 'Between Empires - Print and Politics in Goa'

  1. I only

  2. I and II only

  3. II and III only

  4. III and I only

  5. I, II and III
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The 70th annual session of the Indian History Congress (IHC) held was organised at the Delhi University on 15-17 May 2010.

Professor R. Champakalakshmi was the General President of the session.

The Professor Barpujaree Award was conferred on the veteran historian, Professor Satish Chandra, on his extensive researches in medieval India as summed up in his book Medieval India.

The Hira Lal Gupta Prize for a book published by a woman historian went to Dr. Rochelle Pinto for her book Between Empires - Print and Politics in Goa.

The IHC elected Professor Aniruddha Ray as the next General President of the Indian History Congress.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements about the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) are correct?

I. Vikram Srivastava was appointed Director General of ITBP II. 'Valour - Steadfastness and Commitment' is the motto of ITBP III. ITBP is deployed on India-China Border

  1. I only

  2. II only

  3. III only

  4. I and II

  5. I and III
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Ranjit Kumar Bhatia, an IPS officer of 1974 batch from UP cadre, was appointed Director General of ITBP in January 2010. ITBP was conceived on 24 Oct, 1962. Presently ITBP is deployed on Border Guarding Duties from Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Diphu La in Arunachal Pradesh covering 3488 km of India-China Border. 'Valour - Steadfastness and Commitment' is the motto of ITBP.

Multiple choice

Which of the following committees is concerned with disinvestment in PSU?

  1. Rangarajan Committee

  2. Chelliah Committee

  3. Khan Committee

  4. Chore Committee
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The committee headed by Dr. Rangarajan recommended disinvestment. The Chelliah Committee is concerned with tax reforms, the Khan Committee with banking sector reforms and the Chore Committee with review of cash credit.

Multiple choice

The NPE-1986 recommended that there should be

  1. no exams up to matric

  2. no terminal exams at primary level

  3. no annual exams

  4. none of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The NPE 1986 aimed to reduce the burden of examinations on young children, specifically recommending the removal of terminal examinations at the primary level to encourage continuous evaluation.

Multiple choice

Assertion (A): Before Bangalore Water Supply Case, educational institutions were excluded from the definition of an industry. Reason (R): The main purpose of such institutions is to impart education, not to run business or trade.

  1. Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).

  2. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).

  3. (A) is true, but (R) is false.

  4. (A) is false, but (R) is true.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Before Bangalore Water Supply Case, educational institutions were excluded from the definition of an industry and the main purpose of such institutions is to impart education, not to run business or trade.

Multiple choice

Assertion (A): The Supreme Court in Banwasi Seva Ashram vs. State of Uttar Pradesh permitted the government agency to acquire the forest land, ousting certain tribal dwellers to implement a power project only after they agreed to provide certain facilities approved by the Court. Reason (R): The governmental action had an environmental impact that threatened to dislocate poor forest dwellers and disrupt their lifestyle and infringing their fundamental right to life, which includes the right to livelihood.

  1. (A) is true, but (R) is false.

  2. Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).

  3. (A) is false, but (R) is true.

  4. Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is a good explanation of (A).
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The Supreme Court in Banwasi Seva Ashram vs. State of Uttar Pradesh permitted the government agency to acquire the forest land, ousting certain tribal dwellers to implement a power project only after they agreed to provide certain facilities approved by the Court because the governmental action had an environmental impact that threatened to dislocate poor forest dwellers and disrupt their lifestyle and infringing their fundamental right to life, which includes the right to livelihood.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. The National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning is under the control of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). b. ICAR has classified Indian soils on the basis of their nature and character as per the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Taxonomy. c. ICAR was established in 1956.

  1. a, b and c

  2. a and b

  3. a and c

  4. b and c

  5. only a
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as both these statements are correct.  

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. (STPI) Software Technology Parks of India have come up across 6 locations at different centres of India. b. 30 per cent of the people employed in the information technology and electronics sector are women. c. This industry has been a major foreign exchange earner in the last two or three years because of its fast growing BPO sector.

  1. a only

  2. b only

  3. c only

  4. a and c

  5. b and c
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as both statements are correct.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. The first successful textile mill in India was established in Mumbai in 1854. b. Spinning of cloth continues to be centralised in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. c. Handspun khadi provides large scale employment to weavers in their homes as a cottage industry.

  1. a, b and c

  2. a and b

  3. b and c

  4. a and c

  5. only c
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer as all statements are correct.