Civics Polity

Indian Polity and Governance

1,708 Questions

Indian Polity and Governance outlines the constitutional framework, administrative structure, and political system of India. This page provides practice questions on executive appointments, the role of councils of ministers, and disaster management. These topics are fundamental for civil services and state level exams.

President and GovernorCouncil of MinistersState administrationDisaster managementConstitutional appointmentsLegislature

Indian Polity and Governance Questions

Multiple choice

The Prime Minister in India will have to resign when

  1. the Rajya Sabha passes a vote of no confidence against him

  2. the President loses his faith in him

  3. the Lok Sabha turns down his budget proposals

  4. the Cabinet is dissatisfied with some of his policies
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Under the parliamentary system in India, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers are collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. If the Lok Sabha rejects a key government policy such as the budget, it indicates a loss of majority support, forcing a resignation.

Multiple choice

The Parliament of India consists of

  1. LS and RS

  2. LS and President

  3. LS, RS and President

  4. LS, RS, President and Prime Minister
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Under Article 79 of the Indian Constitution, the Parliament of the Union consists of the President and the two Houses: the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).

Multiple choice

If the President of India wants to resign from his office he may resign by writing to

  1. the Prime Minister of India

  2. the Chief Justice of India

  3. the Speaker of the Lok Sabha

  4. the Vice-President of India
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Under Article 56(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, the President must address their resignation letter to the Vice-President of India. The Vice-President then communicates this to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Multiple choice

The Governor of a state can use his discretion for

  1. appointing the Chief Minister, when no party has a clear majority

  2. dissolving the lower chamber before the expiry of its term

  3. appointing the Advocate General of the State

  4. issuing ordinances
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Governor acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers, but has discretionary power when no party secures a clear majority in the Legislative Assembly. This allows the Governor to decide which leader is most likely to command a majority and form a stable government.

Multiple choice

Which one of the following appointments is not made by the President of India?

  1. The Prime Minister

  2. The Chief Justice

  3. The Vice-President

  4. The Chiefs of the Staff of the Armed forces
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The Vice-President of India is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament, not appointed by the President. The other positions listed are all presidential appointments.

Multiple choice

Kejriwal studied for a degree in

Directions: Read the passage below and answer the question given underneath. 

Arvin Kejriwal is a politician from India and a former civil servant. He also served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi and is also the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Kejriwal graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur and then went on to work for the Indian Revenue Service as a Joint Commissioner in the Income Tax Department. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006, which recognised his involvement in a grass-roots movement which made use of the Right to Information Act in a campaign against corruption. He then went on to resign from the Indian Revenue Service and donated all the award money to fund and found the Public Cause Research Foundation which is a non-governmental organisation.
Starting in 2012, he launched the Aam Aadmi Party. In the 2013, he ousted incumbent Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the Delhi Legislative Assembly election of that year. He took office as Delhi’s Chief Minister on December 28, 2013, but resigned 49 days later on February 14, 2014. He states that he resigned because of his government’s inability to pass the anti-corruption legislation he had proposed. This was due to the lack of support from other political parties, chiefly Congress and Bhartiya Janata Pary (BJP).
He was born on August 6, 1968 in Siwani, Bhiwani district in the state of Haryana to a middle class family. He was the first of three children by parents Gobind Ram Kejriwal and Gita Devi. His father was an electrical engineer by trade who graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology in Mesra. Because of his father’s job, the family moved many times throughout Kejriwal’s childhood. Much of his childhood was spent in North India, specifically in the towns of Sonipat, Ghaziabad and Hisar. He was educated at Campus School, located in Hisar and then went to a Christian missionary school in Sonipat. He attended and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur. Afterwards, he was employed by Tata Steel in 1989 and worked in Jamshedpur. In 1992, he resigned from his position and took time to study for the Civil Services Examination. He then spent time in Kolkata studying at the Ramakrishna Mission as well as the Nehru Yuva Kendra.

  1. electrical engineering

  2. mechanical engineering

  3. civil service

  4. accounting
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation
  1. Incorrect – He did not study electrical engineering, but mechanical engineering. His father studied electrical engineering.
    2. Correct – He earned a degree in mechanical engineering.
    3. Incorrect – He studied for the Civil Service Exam, but he did not earn a degree in Civil Service, but in mechanical engineering.
    1. Incorrect – He did not earn a degree in accounting, but in mechanical engineering.
Multiple choice

Why did Kejriwal resign from his post in Tata Steel?

Directions: Read the passage below and answer the question given underneath. 

Arvin Kejriwal is a politician from India and a former civil servant. He also served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi and is also the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party.
Kejriwal graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur and then went on to work for the Indian Revenue Service as a Joint Commissioner in the Income Tax Department. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006, which recognised his involvement in a grass-roots movement which made use of the Right to Information Act in a campaign against corruption. He then went on to resign from the Indian Revenue Service and donated all the award money to fund and found the Public Cause Research Foundation which is a non-governmental organisation.
Starting in 2012, he launched the Aam Aadmi Party. In the 2013, he ousted incumbent Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the Delhi Legislative Assembly election of that year. He took office as Delhi’s Chief Minister on December 28, 2013, but resigned 49 days later on February 14, 2014. He states that he resigned because of his government’s inability to pass the anti-corruption legislation he had proposed. This was due to the lack of support from other political parties, chiefly Congress and Bhartiya Janata Pary (BJP).
He was born on August 6, 1968 in Siwani, Bhiwani district in the state of Haryana to a middle class family. He was the first of three children by parents Gobind Ram Kejriwal and Gita Devi. His father was an electrical engineer by trade who graduated from the Birla Institute of Technology in Mesra. Because of his father’s job, the family moved many times throughout Kejriwal’s childhood. Much of his childhood was spent in North India, specifically in the towns of Sonipat, Ghaziabad and Hisar. He was educated at Campus School, located in Hisar and then went to a Christian missionary school in Sonipat. He attended and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur. Afterwards, he was employed by Tata Steel in 1989 and worked in Jamshedpur. In 1992, he resigned from his position and took time to study for the Civil Services Examination. He then spent time in Kolkata studying at the Ramakrishna Mission as well as the Nehru Yuva Kendra.

  1. He wanted to contest in the Delhi Chief Minister Elections

  2. He decided to study in Kolkata and at the Nehru Yuva Kendra

  3. He wanted time to study for the Civil Services Examinations

  4. He wanted to campaign against corruption
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation
  1. Incorrect – He left Tata Steel in 1992 and then ran in the Delhi elections in 2013. Hence, this is incorrect.
    2. Incorrect – He did spend time doing this after leaving his post, but he immediately studied for the Civil Services test after leaving.
    3. Correct – He took time to study for the Civil Services examination.
    1. Incorrect – He may have done this, but the passage doesn’t state it. It does state that he studied for the Civil Services Examinations.
Multiple choice

The Governor of a state is appointed by

  1. the Chief Minister of the State

  2. the President of India

  3. the Prime Minister

  4. the Chief Justice of India
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Governor of a state in India is appointed by the President of India by warrant under his hand and seal.

Multiple choice

The Governor of a State has the power to reserve a bill for the consideration of the President when the feels that the bill

  1. is against the interests of the opposition parties

  2. enhances the prestige and position of the Ruling Party in the State only

  3. indicates entirely a new policy which was not followed by the previous governments

  4. undermines authority of the high court or the Central Government
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Under Article 200 of the Indian Constitution, a Governor may reserve a bill for the President's consideration if the bill, in the Governor's opinion, derogates from the powers of the High Court or endangers the constitutional position of the state or central government.