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

Consider the following facts.

  1. The CRPF, established in 1939, is the oldest paramilitary force of India.
  2. The ITBP functions in the northern frontiers with the aim of checking smuggling and illegal immigration.

Which of the above is/are true?

  1. 1 only

  2. 2 only

  3. Both 1 and 2

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

The Assam Rifles, established in 1835 , is the oldest paramilitary force of India. It maintains internal security under the control of the army through the conduct of counter insurgency and border security operations. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police was established in 1962. It is deployed mainly in Northern frontiers for monitoring the borders and to check smuggling and illegal immigration.

Multiple choice

Which of the following options best corrects/completes statement II?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.

Statement I: Icici Bank opened 101 rural branches across six states.
Statement II: These rural branches had offer all the basic banking services.  
Statement III: They branches were formally inaugurated in 19 districts.  
Statement IV: ICICI Bank Executive Director Rajiv Sabharwal said, ________.                

  1. should

  2. may

  3. would

  4. did
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The paragraph is about the expansion program of the ICICI bank.

Multiple choice

Which of the following options best corrects / completes statement IV?

Directions: This passage contains errors and an omission. Choose the correct option to complete the passage.

Statement I: Icici Bank opened 101 rural branches across six states.
Statement II: These rural branches had offer all the basic banking services.  
Statement III: They branches were formally inaugurated in 19 districts.  
Statement IV: ICICI Bank Executive Director Rajiv Sabharwal said, ________.                

  1. “we will continue our financial inclusion agenda in the years to come.”

  2. “we will, continue our financial inclusion agenda in the year's to come.”

  3. “We will continue our financial inclusion agenda in the years to come.”

  4. “We will continue our financial inclusion agenda in the years' to come.”
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

(3) takes care of all the punctuations correctly and uses 'years' correctly.

Multiple choice

What, according to the author, is the attitude of Indians that comes in the way of India's progress?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Apathy in addressing community matters has held us back from making progress which is otherwise within our reach. We see serious problems around us but do not try to solve them. We believe as if the problems do not exist or as if they belong to someone else. On the other hand, in the West, people approach societal problems proactively. There are several examples of our apathetic attitude. For instance, all of us are aware of the problem of drought in India. More than four decades ago, Dr. K.L.Rao, an irrigation expert, suggested the creation of a water grid connecting all the rivers in north and south India to solve this problem. Unfortunately, nothing has been done about this. The story of power shortage in Bangalore is another instance. In 1983, it was decided that a power plant would be built to meet Bangalore’s power requirements. Sadly, we have not yet started it. The Milan subway in Bombay has been in a deplorable state for the last four decades, and no action has been taken.
We Indians would do well to remember Thomas Hunter’s words that idleness travels very slowly and poverty soon overtakes it. What could be the reason for our apathy? We were ruled by foreigners for over a thousand years. So, we have always believed that public or societal issues belong to some foreign ruler and that we have no responsibility to solve them. We have got used to just executing someone else’s orders. ‘We are what we repeatedly do,’ said Aristotle. Having waited for some foreigner to tell us what to do over the last thousand years, the decision-makers in our society are not used to taking decisions on their own. They look to somebody else to take their decisions for them. Unfortunately, there is no body to look up to, and this is our tragedy.

 

  1. Failure to take decisions

  2. Lack of initiative

  3. Looking up to someone else

  4. Indifference and passivity

  5. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

All the above traits, factors contribute and come in the way of India's progress. As it takes all factors into consideration. This is the correct answer.

Multiple choice

Consider the following statement:

  1. The oldest steel plant of India is located in Jamshedpur.
  2. The steel project at Bhilai was started during the second Five-Year plan.
  3. The Mazagaon Dock Limited has the capability of manufacturing the rigs used in inshore drilling.
  4. Karnataka is the largest silk producing state in India.

Which of the above statements are correct?

  1. Statements 1 and 4

  2. Statements 1 and 2

  3. Statements 3 and 4

  4. Statements 1, 2 and 3

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Correct Answer: 1, 2 and 3

Multiple choice

What kind of picture of India does the author paint in the opening paragraph of the passage?

Directions: Answer the given question based on the following passage:

Corruption in India has become so pervasive that it has seeped into the most revered institutions. No wonder then that Justice Bharucha was compelled to remark in 2001, “about 20 per cent of the judges in the courts are corrupt; corruption among public servants has reached monstrous dimensions in India. Its tentacles have started grappling even the institutions created for the protection of public.” Even a powerful prime minister like Rajiv Gandhi admitted defeat and bemoaned that “out of every 100 crore allocated to an anti-poverty project, I know that only about Rs. 15 crore reach the people. The remainder is gobbled up by middlemen, power brokers, contractors, and the corrupt.” As much as Rs. 37,000 crore or about 1.5 to 2 per cent of the GDP surfaced as part of the Voluntary Disclosure scheme in 1997 alone. It should surprise no one that Transparency International has ranked India among the top fifty-five corrupt countries in the world.
Is corruption the sole prerogative of the politicians and the bureaucracy? I am afraid not. In fact, the biggest corruption cases have been outside the government. The Harshad Mehta scam of around Rs. 10,000 crore and Ketan Parikh’s scam of Rs. 5,000 crore put other scandals to shame. It is estimated that non-banking financial companies have swindled over 30 million small investors. The other day, it was reported that a sizeable number of software professionals in a well-known multinational had fudged their bills. This morning, I received an e-mail from an erstwhile, dismissed colleague of mine arguing why she was not all that wrong in swiping an attendance card on behalf of another colleague! The cricket match-fixing scandal is still fresh in our memories. The list goes on. It is very clear that corruption is now an accepted phenomenon in the psyche of Indians from all walks of life.

Is there a solution to this seemingly unsolvable problem? Is there any hope at all? Will we ever see a corruption-free society? Can we at least work towards creating a corruption-free society for our children and grandchildren? I am an optimist and I believe that every problem can be solved. It requires leadership that is inspirational, selfless and courageous. We do have a few such people in India among our politicians, bureaucrats and corporate leaders. They have to come together to fight this scourge. Let me detail a few steps needed to fight corruption.
Fairness, transparency and accountability displayed by leaders are what instil confidence in a government, a community and society. Unfortunately, in our society, the government rarely practises these attributes when it comes to the elite. Only when we practise these attributes in fighting corruption among the elite and the powerful, will we succeed in rooting it out.

 

 

  1. Of systemic failure

  2. Of gloom and doom

  3. Of a failed state

  4. Of a state at the crossroads

  5. Of despair and helplessness
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

With the prime minister and president of the country bemoaning, the picture painted is that of a failed state.

Multiple choice

Regarding the domestic savings in the country, following is correct i. financial savings are more than physical savings ii. corporate savings are equal to household savings iii. scheme for monetising gold introduced in Union Budget 2015-16 added to financial savings in the country iv. relaunch of saving instrument Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) in the fiscal year 2013-14 is aimed at boosting financial savings in the country

  1. i only

  2. i and iv only

  3. i, iii and iv only

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

 (d)

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are true, about the Woods dispatch? i. Education in Vernacular languages. ii. Westernization of Indian education. iii. Provision of education only by public institutions.

  1. Only i & iii

  2. Only ii

  3. Only iii

  4. Only i
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

 Woods Dispatch recommended to encourage private participation in the field of education. The focus was to westernize education. One university was established in each of Calcutta, Bombay & Madras on the model of London University. Also the focus was on technical education.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are true about the Sangam Age? i. Hereditary monarchy was the form of Government. ii. State was involved in foreign trade. iii. Land revenue was not charged by the state. iv. There was a separate military wing in administration.

  1. i & ii only

  2. iii & iv only

  3. i, ii, & iv only

  4. all of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

 Land revenue was the chief source of state’s income while customs duty in foreign trade was another source.

Multiple choice

Regarding development of Cooperatives, Read the following Statements: Which of the following Statements is/ are Correct? i. It is a fundamental rights to form a Cooperatives ii. It is Directive Principles of State Policy to develop Cooperatives iii. Cooperatives make up the part of the Indian Constitution iv. 96th Constitutional Amendment Act brought all the provisions made above.

  1. i & ii only

  2. i, ii & iv are correct

  3. i, ii & iii are correct

  4. i, ii, iii & iv are correct
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

 (c)

Multiple choice

Consider the following statements:

1.         Kanyakumari is the Southernmost point of India's territory and was known as Cape Comorin during British rule. 2.         Guhar Moti is the Westernmost point of the Indian administered territory.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only

  2. 2 only

  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. Indira Point in Nicobar Islands is the Southernmost point of Republic of India. It is situated on Great Nicobar Island in the Nicobar Islands, which are located in the Eastern Indian Ocean at 6°45'10″N and 93°49'36″E. This is not on the Indian mainland, but within the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Whereas, Kanyakumari is the Southernmost location of mainland India. Statement 2: It is correct. Guhar moti in Kutch near Sir Creek, Gujarat is the Westernmost inhabited village in India.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

  1. Zamindars held magisterial, army recruitment and revenue collection powers.

  2. Zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to British Rule.

  3. A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an aristocrat.

  4. All of the above

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an aristocrat, typically hereditary, holding enormous tracts of land and held control over his peasants, from whom the zamindars reserved the right to collect tax often for military purposes. Often zamindars were Indian princes who lost their sovereignty due to the British Rule. During the Mughal Empire, zamindars belonged to the nobility and formed the ruling class. Zamindars held considerable powers in their territories: magisterial, army recruitment (as lathials), revenue collection and taxation, among others.

Multiple choice

Consider the following statements:

1.         The Defence Minister is the head of the Ministry of Defence. 2.         The four Departments of Ministry of Defence are DOD, DDP, DRDO and DESW. 

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only

  2. 2 only

  3. Both 1 and 2

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

Statement 1: It is correct. The Defence Minister is the head of the Ministry of Defence. He is charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Indian armed forces and the ministry has the largest budget of the federal departments of India. However, the President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the country. Statement 2: It is correct. Ministry of Defence comprises of four Departments viz. Department of Defence (DOD), Department of Defence Production (DDP), Department of Defence Research & Development (DDR&D) (a.k.a DRDO) and Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare and also Finance Division.