Indian Polity and Governance

Under Article 117 of the Constitution, Finance Bills cannot be returned by the President for reconsideration - he must accord sanction. Money Bills and other bills can be returned, but Finance Bills have this special provision.

Under Article 61(2) of the Constitution, the President submits his resignation to the Vice-President of India. This is a specific constitutional provision for the resignation process.

The President of India appoints several high officials including Chief Justice of India, Chiefs of Armed Forces, and others. However, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected by the members of the Lok Sabha from among themselves, not appointed by the President. This is a constitutional provision ensuring parliamentary democracy and legislative independence.

Article 65 of the Indian Constitution specifies that when both the President and Vice-President offices are vacant, the Chief Justice of India acts as President. The Prime Minister, Speaker of Lok Sabha, and Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha do not have this constitutional authority.

Article 67 establishes that the Vice-President is elected by an electoral college consisting of both elected and nominated members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. State legislatures do not participate in VP elections, unlike presidential elections.

Statement (i) is correct as the VP is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha per Article 64. Statement (iv) is correct as Article 65 allows the VP to officiate as President for up to 6 months. Statements (ii) and (iii) are incorrect: the VP need not be a Rajya Sabha member, and is elected only by Parliament (not state legislatures).

Article 64 of the Constitution designates the Vice-President of India as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The VP presides over Rajya Sabha proceedings and maintains order during debates.

The President is elected by an electoral college consisting of elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of Legislative Assemblies of all states. Nominated members to Parliament or state legislatures do NOT vote in Presidential elections. The election is conducted by proportional representation using the single transferable vote method.

The Attorney General of India is the only non-member who can participate in proceedings of either House of Parliament without voting rights. Under Article 76, the Attorney General has the right to speak in both Houses and their committees, but cannot vote. Other options like the Vice-President (Rajya Sabha Chair) and Chief Justice cannot participate as non-members.

The President can only be removed through impeachment, which is a quasi-judicial process detailed in Article 61. It requires a signed accusation (by at least 1/4 of members) and a 2/3 majority in both Houses. The Prime Minister, Vice-President, or Chief Justice have no direct role in removing the President.

Under Article 156, the Governor is appointed by the President and holds office during the pleasure of the President. The Governor acts as the constitutional head of the state and represents the Central government at the state level. The Prime Minister has no direct role in gubernatorial appointments.

 Chief Justice of India administers the oath of office to the President of India.

Called upon is the correct phrasal verb when formally requesting someone to perform a duty or task. 'The president called upon the leader of the party to form a Ministry' shows a formal request. Called on means to visit, called off means to cancel, and called for means to demand.

The Finance Commission is a constitutional body appointed by the President under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution. It recommends financial relations between the Centre and states.

Article 360 of the Indian Constitution deals with financial emergency. It can be declared by the President if there is a financial instability in India (or a part thereof). War/external threat is Article 352, state failure is Article 356, and armed rebellion is not a separate ground.