Centre-State Relations Questions and Answers

Answer: A

The correct match is (i)-(a), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(c), (iv)-(d).

Article 371-C makes special provision for Manipur (a committee of members from the Hill Areas). Article 371-I concerns Goa (a Legislative Assembly of at least thirty members). Article 371-D provides for equitable opportunities in public employment and education in Andhra Pradesh, and now Telangana. Article 371-J gives special provision for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region of Karnataka.

Each of the other options shifts the states by one or more places and so misplaces every pairing.

Answer: C

The incorrect statement is that Central law will prevail over State law on a subject in List II.

Under Article 246, the State Legislature has exclusive power over the State List (List II). Parliament cannot ordinarily legislate on those subjects, except in special situations such as Articles 249, 250 and 252, so a Central law does not as a rule override a State law within List II.

The other statements describe Article 254. On a Concurrent List subject the Central law prevails over an inconsistent State law; a repugnant State law prevails in that State if it has received the President's assent; and the proviso lets Parliament later add to, amend, vary or repeal such a State law.

Answer: A

The temporary power was provided for five years.

Article 369 gave Parliament power, for five years from the commencement of the Constitution, to make laws on certain State List matters, such as trade and commerce in and production of cotton and woollen textiles, foodstuffs and some other goods, as if they were in the Concurrent List. Any such law ceased to have effect at the end of that period, except as to things done before.

Ten, fifteen and twenty years do not appear in Article 369.

Answer: D

The Chairman of the Fourteenth Finance Commission was Dr. Y.V. Reddy.

The former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India headed the commission constituted in 2013, whose award covered 2015-2020. It raised the states' share of the divisible pool of central taxes from 32 to 42 percent.

Vijay Kelkar chaired the Thirteenth Finance Commission, C. Rangarajan the Twelfth, and A.M. Khusro the Eleventh.

Answer: D

The Criminal procedure code is not in the State List.

Criminal law and criminal procedure, including everything in the Code of Criminal Procedure, are entries 1 and 2 of the Concurrent List in the Seventh Schedule, so both Parliament and the state legislatures can legislate on them.

Public order (entry 1), police (entry 2) and prisons (entry 4) are all in the State List, which is why law and order is a state subject.

Answer: C

The Sarkaria Commission was appointed in 1983.

The Government of India set up the commission in June 1983, chaired by Justice R.S. Sarkaria, a retired Supreme Court judge, to examine centre-state relations. It submitted its report in 1987 (published 1988) with 247 recommendations, including restraint in the use of Article 356.

1973 is the year of the Anandpur Sahib Resolution on state autonomy, and 1975 of the Emergency; the commission's report, not its appointment, dates from the late 1980s, so 1985 is also wrong.

Answer: B

The list system for the distribution of legislative powers began with the Montagu-Chelmsford Act of 1919, which separated central and provincial lists, option B.

The Minto-Morley Act of 1909 did not do this, and the 1935 Act refined the system by adding a concurrent list.

The Government of India Act, 1919 (Montagu-Chelmsford reforms) introduced dyarchy in the provinces and divided subjects into central and provincial lists, which is the beginning of the list system. The 1935 Act then added the Concurrent List, and the 1909 Act only enlarged the councils.

Answer: D

Assertion [A] is wrong and reason [R] is true. The zonal councils were set up by the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 and are statutory bodies, not constitutional bodies; the Constitution does not mention them.

They were a consequence of the reorganisation of states on a linguistic basis, to promote co-operation between neighbouring states, so [R] is correct. Options that accept [A] are therefore wrong.

There are five zonal councils (Northern, Central, Eastern, Western and Southern) and the Home Minister of India is the chairman of each; they only give advice, and they are not provided for in the Constitution.

Answer: A

The correct matching is Article 257(A) with the 42nd Amendment Act (5), Article 131 with the Supreme Court (3), Article 245(1) with State Jurisdiction (4) and Article 275 with Grants-in-aid (1), the code 5 3 4 1.

Article 257A, since omitted, was inserted by the 42nd Amendment; Article 131 gives the Supreme Court original jurisdiction in disputes between governments; Article 245 deals with the territorial extent of laws of Parliament and the states; and Article 275 provides grants-in-aid to states in need.

Answer: A

[A] is true and [R] is false. Parliament has exclusive power to make laws on any matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List or the State List (residuary power, Article 248).

The three lists, Union, State and Concurrent, are in the Seventh Schedule and not the Eighth Schedule, which lists the languages, so [R] is false. Hence option A.

Article 248 and Entry 97 of the Union List give Parliament the residuary power, and the Eighth Schedule lists the languages recognised by the Constitution.