Indian Politics Questions and Answers

Answer: B

The first woman to hold the governorship of Rajasthan as additional charge was Prabha Rau.

When Governor S.K. Singh died in December 2009, Prabha Rau, then Governor of Himachal Pradesh, was given additional charge of Rajasthan. She was later appointed the full Governor of Rajasthan in January 2010 and died in office in April 2010.

Pratibha Patil was Rajasthan's first woman Governor, appointed in her own right in 2004, not on additional charge. Margaret Alva was also a full Governor, from 2012. Nirmala Pandey is not among the state's governors.

Answer: A

The correct sequence is Preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law.

Under Article 60, the President swears or affirms to faithfully execute the office of President, and to the best of his or her ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law, and to devote himself or herself to the service and well-being of the people of India.

The other options use the same three verbs in a different order. The order is fixed by the text of the oath, so any rearrangement is wrong. The same three verbs in this order appear in the Governor's oath under Article 159.

Answer: B

The answer is a, b and c only.

The Rules of Procedure of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly define 'Minister' as a member of the Council of Ministers, and the definition expressly includes a Minister of State and a Deputy Minister. So statements a, b and c all fall within it.

Nominated members of the House are members of the Assembly, not ministers, unless they are separately appointed to the Council of Ministers. That excludes statement d and the option including it. Options leaving out b or c are incomplete.

Answer: D

It can inquire into subjects in the State list and concurrent list (List II and List III).

Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, a State Human Rights Commission may inquire into violations of human rights only in respect of matters relatable to the entries in List II (State List) and List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule.

Matters in the Union List fall to the National Human Rights Commission. Options B and C each name only one of the two lists.

Answer: A

The first Backward Classes Commission was chaired by Kaka Kalelkar.

Appointed by the President in January 1953 under Article 340, the commission submitted its report in 1955, identifying more than 2,000 backward castes. The government did not accept its recommendations.

The second Backward Classes Commission (1979) was headed by B.P. Mandal. John Mathai was a Finance Minister, and Madhu Dandavate a Railway and later Finance Minister; neither headed this commission.

Answer: D

The institution of Lokayukta was first established in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra passed its Lokayukta and Upa-Lokayuktas Act in 1971 and was the first state to set up a functioning Lokayukta, in 1972, following the recommendation of the Administrative Reforms Commission (1966) for such ombudsmen.

Odisha passed an Act in 1970, but the institution there began working only in 1983, so the usual textbook answer for the first Lokayukta is Maharashtra. Rajasthan followed in 1973; Andhra Pradesh came later still.

Answer: C

The correct code is a-3, b-4, c-2, d-1.

• Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957): examined the working of the Community Development Programme and recommended three-tier Panchayati Raj.
• Ashok Mehta Committee (1977): suggested ways to strengthen the Panchayati Raj institutions, recommending a two-tier system.
• G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985): looked at administrative arrangements for rural development and poverty alleviation.
• L.M. Singhvi Committee (1986): recommended the revitalisation of Panchayati Raj institutions and constitutional recognition for them.

The trap code a-1, b-2, c-3, d-4 simply follows the printed order.

Answer: B

The Administrative Vigilance Division was created by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

It was set up in 1955 in the Home Ministry to provide direction and coordination for vigilance work across ministries and departments, as part of the government's anti-corruption machinery. Its functions later passed to the Central Vigilance Commission, created in 1964 on the recommendation of the Santhanam Committee.

The Ministries of trade, external affairs and defence each had internal vigilance arrangements but did not create this central division.

Answer: D

All three measures are taken as steps against corruption in the key: Direct Benefit Transfer, e-tendering in public procurement and discontinuing interviews for Group C posts, so (I), (II) and (III) is option D.

The other options leave out one or two of the measures.

Direct Benefit Transfer reduces leakage by paying subsidies straight into bank accounts, e-tendering makes public procurement transparent, and the removal of interviews for Group C and D posts in 2016 reduced the room for favouritism. Together these are the anti-corruption steps listed in the key.

Answer: B

The bodies in order of establishment are the First Administrative Reforms Commission (1966), the Rajamannar Committee (1969), the Sarkaria Commission (1983) and the Punchhi Commission (2007), option B.

The other options place the Sarkaria or Punchhi Commission before the earlier bodies.

The First Administrative Reforms Commission (headed by Morarji Desai and then K. Hanumanthaiya) was set up in 1966, the Rajamannar Committee on Centre-State relations of Tamil Nadu in 1969, the Sarkaria Commission in 1983 and the Punchhi Commission in 2007. The chronological order follows these years.