General Awareness / General Knowledge (GK) Questions and Answers

Answer: D

Correct answer: Article 72

Article 72 gives the President the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites and remissions of punishment, and to suspend, remit or commute sentences. It extends to three classes of case: punishments by court martial, offences against laws made under Union executive power, and all sentences of death. The last is exclusive - a Governor’s corresponding power under Article 161 does not cover death sentences. The five terms are distinct. A pardon removes both conviction and sentence; a commutation substitutes a lighter form of punishment; a remission reduces the period without changing its character; a respite awards a lesser sentence because of special circumstances such as pregnancy; and a reprieve is a temporary stay, usually to allow a further appeal. The President acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The exercise of the power is not immune from judicial review, though the courts will not sit in appeal over it. Article 74 concerns ministerial advice, Article 61 impeachment and Article 123 ordinances.

Answer: C

The requirement that candidates file an affidavit about their spouse and dependents was first enforced at the Himachal Pradesh assembly elections of 2003.

It followed the Supreme Court's ruling that voters have a right under Article 19(1)(a) to know a candidate's assets, liabilities, education and criminal record.

Answer: B

The United States has a federal government - powers divided by a written constitution between the centre and fifty states, each with its own government, and neither able to alter the division alone.

China, Cuba and France are unitary states, where the central government creates and may abolish the subordinate units.

Answer: B

The Congress officially accepted the socialistic pattern of society at the Avadi session of 1955, near Madras.

The resolution committed the party to a society in which the principal means of production are under social ownership, and it shaped the Second Five Year Plan and the Industrial Policy Resolution of 1956.

Answer: C

The twelve-digit unique identification number is branded Aadhaar, meaning 'foundation'.

It is issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, set up in 2009, and links each resident to their biometric and demographic data. Over 1.3 billion numbers have been issued.

Answer: B

Correct answer: The 44th Amendment

The 44th Amendment of 1978 removed the right to property from Part III. Article 19(1)(f) and Article 31 were repealed, and the right was re-enacted as Article 300-A in Part XII: no person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law. The change matters because it altered the remedy rather than abolishing the right. As an ordinary constitutional right it can be enforced through a High Court under Article 226, but no longer directly in the Supreme Court under Article 32, and it can be limited by ordinary legislation. The purpose was to remove the obstacle that property litigation had placed in the way of land reform and nationalisation, which had generated a long series of constitutional amendments and court battles through the 1950s and 1960s. The same amendment, passed by the Janata government after the Emergency, also restored much that the 42nd Amendment had changed, tightened the emergency provisions, and made Articles 20 and 21 non-suspendable.

Answer: A

The Drafting Committee had seven members, with Dr B.R. Ambedkar as chairman.

The others were Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar, K.M. Munshi, Mohammad Saadulla, N. Madhava Rau and T.T. Krishnamachari. It was appointed on 29 August 1947.

Answer: B

The advantage of a unitary system is a strong state.

All authority rests with one central government, so policy is uniform, decisions are quick and there is no conflict of jurisdiction. The cost is less local autonomy and less adaptability to regional differences.

Answer: A

Correct answer: The Vice President of India

The Vice President of India is ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, under Article 64, and presides over its sittings. This makes the office structurally different from the Lok Sabha’s. The Speaker is elected from among the members of that House; the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha is not a member of it at all. In his absence the Deputy Chairman, who is a member and is elected by the House, presides. The Vice President has no other regular function, but acts as President when that office falls vacant, and did so when V. V. Giri stepped in after Zakir Husain’s death in 1969. He is elected by an electoral college of the members of both Houses of Parliament - unlike the President, whose electoral college also includes the state assemblies. He may be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by a majority of all its members and agreed to by the Lok Sabha; while such a resolution is under consideration, he does not preside.

Answer: B

Correct answer: 2 years, 11 months and 18 days

The Constituent Assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days - from its first sitting on 9 December 1946 to the adoption of the Constitution on 26 November 1949. It held eleven sessions across 165 days. The length reflects the scale of the task. The Assembly worked through more than a dozen committees, the most important being the Drafting Committee under Dr Ambedkar, and considered over 2,000 amendments to the draft. It also had to absorb the disruption of partition, which removed a large part of its membership. The result is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country, originally 395 articles in 22 parts with 8 schedules. The Assembly did not confine itself to drafting: it also served as the provisional Parliament of India until the first general election in 1951–52, and ratified India’s membership of the Commonwealth and adopted the national flag and anthem.