Central Government MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Central Government - Download Free PDF

The incorrect statement is The legislative approval is needed for its revocation.Key Points

Declaration of National Emergency (Article 352):

• Grounds for Emergency: The President can declare a national emergency when India’s security or a part of it is threatened by:

  • War

  • External Aggression

  • Armed Rebellion

  • The President may declare an emergency even before the actual occurrence of these threats if imminent danger is perceived.

• Types of National Emergency:

  • External Emergency: Declared due to war or external aggression.

  • Internal Emergency: Declared due to armed rebellion.

Proclamation Details:

• A national emergency can apply to the entire country or just a part of it (as per the 42nd Amendment Act of 1976).

• The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 replaced "internal disturbance" with "armed rebellion" as a ground for declaring an emergency, making it more specific.

Cabinet Recommendation:

• The President can proclaim a national emergency only after receiving a written recommendation from the cabinet (introduced by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978), ensuring cabinet concurrence and not just the Prime Minister’s advice.

Judicial Review:

• The 38th Amendment Act of 1975 had made emergency declarations immune from judicial review, but this provision was deleted by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978.

• The Minerva Mills Case (1980) upheld that the proclamation could be challenged in court if found to be malafide or based on irrelevant facts.

Parliamentary Approval and Duration:

• Approval: The emergency must be approved by both Houses of Parliament within one month (reduced from two months by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978).

• •  

    This means that a national emergency can be proclaimed only on the decision of the executive for the first month of its proclamation. But, before the expiry of 1 month, the executive must take legislative approval for its further continuation with an Absolute majority + 2/3rd of members present and voting.

    Hence, statements 1 and 2 are CORRECT.

    If Lok Sabha is dissolved, the proclamation survives until 30 days after the first sitting of the reconstituted Lok Sabha, as long as Rajya Sabha approves it.

  • Hence, statement 3 is CORRECT.

• Duration: If approved, the emergency continues for six months and can be extended with Parliamentary approval for another six months, and so on.

  • A special majority is required for approval or extension (introduced by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978).

Revocation of Proclamation:

• The President can revoke a national emergency at any time by issuing a subsequent proclamation without needing Parliamentary approval.

• Hence, statement 4 is INCORRECT.

• If the Lok Sabha disapproves the emergency, the President must revoke it.

• A special sitting of Lok Sabha can be called within 14 days to consider disapproving the proclamation if one-tenth of the members give a written notice.

Effects of National Emergency:

1. Effect on Centre-State Relations:

   • The Centre gains control over state governments, allowing the Centre to direct the state governments on any matter (not just specified matters).

   • Legislative: Parliament can make laws on state subjects, overriding state legislatures.

   • Financial: The President can modify the financial distribution between the Centre and states, reducing or canceling financial transfers from the Centre to states.

2. Effect on the Life of Lok Sabha and State Assemblies:

   • The term of the Lok Sabha can be extended beyond five years, up to one year at a time during the emergency, but not beyond six months after the emergency ends.

   • Similarly, state legislative assemblies can have their terms extended by one year each time, subject to a maximum of six months after the emergency.

3. Effect on Fundamental Rights:

   • Article 358: Automatically suspends Fundamental Rights under Article 19 (related to freedom of speech, assembly, etc.) during a national emergency declared due to war or external aggression.

     • 44th Amendment Act of 1978: Restricted the suspension of Article 19 to emergencies declared due to war or external aggression only, and not on the grounds of armed rebellion.

   • Article 359: Allows the suspension of the right to move the court for the enforcement of fundamental rights (except Articles 20 and 21) during an emergency.

     • 44th Amendment Act of 1978: Ensures that Articles 20 (protection against ex-post facto laws) and 21 (right to life and personal liberty) remain enforceable even during an emergency.

Special Provisions:

• Article 358: Suspension of Fundamental Rights under Article 19 during emergencies declared due to war or external aggression. Any law or executive action inconsistent with Article 19 is protected from being challenged.

• Article 359: Suspension of enforcement of specified Fundamental Rights, allowing laws or executive actions inconsistent with those rights. The suspension can only apply to rights specified in the Presidential order.

The Correct answer is 3-4-2-1

Key Points

•  
• The Preamble has been amended only once so far, in 1976, by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act.
• The Forty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978

The correct answer is Six years.

Key PointsRajya Sabha:

• Article 80 of the constitution prescribes a maximum strength of 250 members of the Rajya Sabha,
• Of which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are the representatives of the Member States and the Union Territories.
• The members nominated by the President shall be persons who have special knowledge or practical experience in respect of subjects such as literature, science, arts, and social service.
• The current strength of Rajya Sabha is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of Member States and Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry, and 12 are nominated by the President.
• Rajya members are elected for a term of 6 years.
• The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution provides for the allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha.

• The allocation of places is done on the basis of the population of each state.
• Representatives of States and Union Territories in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the indirect electoral system.
• The Rajya Sabha is a permanent house and does not dissolve.
• However, one-third of the members of the Rajya Sabha retire after every two years.
• The Second House in India began with the 1919 Montague-Chelmsford Report.

​Thus, the members of Rajya Sabha an elected for the term of 6 years.

Additional Information 

• The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha presides over the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in the absence of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• The Deputy Chairman is elected internally by the Rajya Sabha.
• The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions.

The correct answer is Parliament

Key Points

• Parliament
  • ​The Republic of India's highest legislative body is the Indian Parliament.
  • The Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha are the two houses that make up India's bicameral legislature (House of the People).
  • The president has full authority to call a session of either house of Parliament, prorogue it, or dissolve the Lok Sabha in his capacity as head of the legislature.
  • Only on the advice of the prime minister and his Union Council of Ministers can the president utilise these powers.

Additional Information

• The members of the Rajya Sabha are chosen by the members of all state legislative assemblies via proportional representation, whereas the members of the Lok Sabha are chosen by the Indian population directly through voting in single-member districts.
• The authorised membership of the Parliament is 543 in the Lok Sabha and 245 in the Rajya Sabha, including 12 candidates with experience in a variety of literary, artistic, scientific, and social service disciplines. In New Delhi's Sansad Bhavan, the Parliament convenes.

The correct answer is Speaker of Lok Sabha.Key Points

• The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is elected by the members of the Lok Sabha from amongst themselves.
• They are responsible for the conduct of business of the house, and they have the final say in all parliamentary debates.
• The Speaker ensures the discipline and decorum of the house and has the power to adjourn the house in case of any disturbance.
• Upon election, the Speaker has to remain impartial and renounce all political affiliations.

Additional Information

• Rule 193 (of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha) does not involve a formal motion before the Parliament House, hence no voting can take place after the discussion on matters under this rule.
• Rule 184 allows voting but rule 193 doesn't.
• Lok Sabha is the lower house of the Parliament, while Rajya Sabha is the upper house.

The correct answer is Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Key Points

• Lal Bahadur Shastri was the second Prime minister in India.
  • He served as the Prime minister of India from 1964 to 1966.
  • He was the Prime Minister of India during the Indo-Pak war in 1965.
  • His birthday also falls on 2^nd October along with Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.
  • The famous slogan "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" was raised by Lal Bahadur Shastri.
  • He signed on Tashkent Declaration along with the then-President of Pakistan Muhammad Ayub Khan on 10^th January 1966.
  • He is the first prime minister to die abroad.
  • He was honoured with the Bharat Ratna in 1966.
  • He was the first person to receive Bharat Ratna posthumously.
  • The resting place of Lal Bahadur Shastri is called Vijayghat.

Additional Information

• Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India during the Indo-China war in 1962.
• Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India during the Indo-Pak war in 1971.
• Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India when the Bhopal gas tragedy took place in 1984.

The correct answer is the Quasi-Judicial Procedure.

Important Points

• The procedure of Impeachment of the President of India is the Quasi-Judicial Procedure.
• The procedure begins with the introduction of a bill in either house of Parliament.
• The only condition for the initiation of the impeachment of the Indian president is the ‘violation of the constitution.
• None of the presidents of India has faced impeachment so far.
• A quasi-judicial body is an organ of Government other than a Court or Legislature, which affects the rights of private parties either through adjudication or rulemaking”.
• It is not mandatory that a Quasi-Judicial Body has to necessarily be an organization resembling a Court of Law.
  • For example, the Election Commission of India is also a Quasi-Judicial Body but does not have its core functions as a Court of Law.
• Some examples of Quasi-Judicial Bodies in India are the Election Commission of India, the National Green Tribunal, and the Central Information Commission (CIC).

Key Points

• Process of Impeachment of the President of India:
  • When a President is to be impeached for violation of the Constitution, the charge shall be preferred by either House of Parliament.
  • For the motion to be valid, it must be signed by at least one-fourth of the total members of the house where it is introduced
  • In the case of the Lok Sabha, this means that the motion must be signed by at least one-fourth of the total Lok Sabha members.
  • A 14-day notice is given to the President of India.
  • Then, Lok Sabha passes the impeachment charges with a two-thirds majority and sends it to Rajya Sabha.
  • Then, the Rajya Sabha investigates the charges.
  • While Rajya Sabha is investigating the charges, the President has the right to sit in the proceedings.
  • Rajya Sabha agrees to the charges and passes it with a two-thirds majority and the President is removed.

The correct answer is a simple majority of its members.

• Parliament can Amend the provision on the official language of India under the Constitution by a simple majority of its members.

Key Points

• Eighth Schedule and related Constitutional Provisions​
• Part XVII of the Indian constitution deals with the official languages in Articles 343 to​​ 351.
• The Constitutional provisions related to the Eighth Schedule are:
  • Article 344: Article 344(1) provides for the constitution of a Commission by the President on the expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution.
  • Article 351: It provides for the spread of the Hindi language to develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India.
• Hence option 1 is correct.

Additional Information 22 Official Languages

• The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution consists of the following 22 languages:
• Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada,  Kashmiri,  Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri,  Marathi,  Nepali,  Oriya,  Punjabi,  Sanskrit,  Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili, and  Dogri.
• Of these languages, 14 were initially included in the Constitution.
  • The Sindhi language was added by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967.
  • Konkani, Manipuri, and Nepali were included by the 71st Amendment Act of 1992.
  • Bodo, Dogri, Maithili, and Santhali were added by the 92nd Amendment Act of 2003.

The correct answer is Article 85.

Key Points

• Article 79 to Article 122 in Part V of the constitution deals with the procedures, and powers, of the Parliament.
• Article 85 deals with sessions of Parliament, its prorogation, and dissolution.
• Sessions of the Parliament:
  • ​Summoning: President summons both houses and usually there are three sessions in a year though not compulsory
    • Budget session: February to May
    • Monsoon session: July to September
    • Winter session: November to December
    • The maximum gap between two sessions should not be more than 6 months.
  • Adjournment: Suspends the work for a specific time in a sitting which may be for hours, days or weeks.
  • Adjournment Sine Die: Terminates the sitting of Parliament for an indefinite period.
  • Prorogation: President may not only terminates a session but also a session of the House. It does not affect the bills or any other business pending before the house.
  • Dissolution: Irrevocable process and only Lok Sabha is subjected to it. President decides to dissolve the house.

Additional Information

The Correct Answer is Article 56.

Key Points

• Article 52 to 78 in Part V of the Constitution deal with the Union Executive. The union executive consists of the president, the vice president, the prime minister, the council of ministers, and the Attorney General of India.
• The president (article 52) is the head of the Indian state. He is head of all  Supreme Commander of all the armed forces.
• He is the first citizen of the country and acts as the symbol of the integrity and solidarity of the nation.
• Article 38-State to secure a social order for the promotion of the welfare of the people.
• Article 36- Definition of State which is given in Article 12
• Article 56 -Term of office of President. (5 Years)

Important Points 

• Articles Related to President of India:

The correct answer is Vice President of India.

• The Vice President of India is the second-highest position in India.
  • Article 63 of the Indian Constitution states that there shall be a Vice President of India.
  • The Vice President is elected by an Electoral College of India.
  • The term of Vice President is 5 years.
  • The powers and functions of the Vice President of India are similar to that of the Vice President of America.
  • The Vice President of India is the Ex-Office Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
  • Current Vice President of India: Jagdeep Dhankhar
• Current Opposition Leader in Rajya Sabha: Mallikarjun Kharge
• Current Speaker of Lok Sabha: Om Birla (As of Mar. 2024)
• Current Prime Minister of India: Narendra Damodardas Modi (As of Mar. 2024)

The Correct Answer is Article 61.

Key Points

• Procedure for impeachment of the President: 
  • When a President is impeached for violating the Constitution, either House of Parliament must support the charge. No such charge shall be preferred until it is accepted by not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House.
  • When either House of Parliament prefers an accusation, the other House investigates or causes the charge to be investigated, with the President having the right to appear and be served during the investigation.
  • If a resolution is passed as a result of the investigation, with not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House from which the charge was investigated or caused to be investigated, declaring that the charge preferred against the President has been sustained, such resolution would have the effect of excluding the President from office as of the date on which the resolution is passed.

Additional Information

• On December 28, 1948, the Constituent Assembly debated Draft Article 50 (Article 61 of the Indian Constitution).
• The process for removing the President of India from office was outlined in the Draft Article.

Important Points

The correct answer is Article 60.​Key Points

• Article 60: Oath or affirmation by the president.
• The Oath or affirmation is given to the President by the Chief Justice of India and in his absence by the Senior-most judge of the Supreme Court.
• Oath or Affirmation by the President:- Before entering his office, the President has to make and subscribe to an oath or affirmation. In his oath, the President swears:
  • To faithfully execute the office.
  • To preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and law.
  • To devote himself to the service and well-being of the people of India.

Additional Information

• Important articles related to President:

The correct answer is Article 72. 

• Article 72 of the Indian Constitution gives the President the power of pardoning.

Key Points

• Pardon: means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free.
• Under Article 72, the President of India can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment.
• There are five different types of pardoning that are mandated by law: Pardon, Commutation, Reprieve, Respite, and Remission.

Additional Information

• Article 73: The extent of the executive power of the Union.
• Article 74: This article provides for a Council of Ministers which shall aid the President in the exercise of his functions. 
• Article 76: Article 76 deals with the Attorney General of India.
• Article 77: Conduct of business of the Government of India.