Indian Polity & Constitution MCQs

Notes:
The Secretary General is the administrative head of the Secretariat of the Lok Sabha. The post of Secretary General is of the rank of the Cabinet Secretary in the Government of India, who is the senior most civil servant to the Indian Government. The incumbent to the post is appointed by the Speaker of Lok Sabha in consultation with the Prime Minister of India and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Notes:
Normally, the Speaker does not take part in voting in the House. But in case of a tie, he exercises his right of casting vote. His casting vote would decide the issue. In such a case his vote would normally go in favour of the party to which he belongs. Further, when a resolution for the removal of the Speaker is put to vote in the House, he has the right to cast his vote.

Notes:
Article 72 of the Constitution empowers the President to grant five types of pardon to persons who have been tried and convicted of any offence : pardon, commutation, remission, respite and reprieve. Commutation denotes the substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter form. For example, a death sentence may be commuted to rigorous imprisonment, which in turn may be commuted to a simple imprisonment.

Notes:
A presidential system is a republican system of government where a head of government is also head of state and leads an executive branch that is separate from a legislative branch. The executive is elected and often titled “president” and is not responsible to the legislature and cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it.

Notes:
Article 213 of the constitution provides that Governor of the state can promulgate ordinance. The same article states that once an ordinance is passed, it should be placed before Legislative assembly of the state or where there is a legislative council, before both the houses and approved by then within six weeks of their respective dates of reassembly.

Notes:
A constituency is a particular area from where all the voters living there choose their representatives. This could for example be a panchayat ward or an area that chooses an MLA. It is the basic electoral unit into which eligible electors are organized to elect representatives to a legislative or other public body.

Notes:
In 1956, during the reorganization of Indian states, the Lakshadweep islands were organized into a separate union territory for administrative purposes. The name of this Union Territory was changed to Lakshadweep with effect from November 1, 1973.

Notes:
Article 16 of the Indian Constitution deals with equality of opportunity in matters of public employment. It states that no citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect or, any employment or office under the State.

Notes:
Article 352 of Indian constitution deals with national emergency due to war or external aggression or an armed rebellion. It states that if the president of the state is not satisfied with a grave emergency exists whereby the security of India or any part is threatened whether by war or external aggression or an armed rebellion, then he may proclaim a state of national emergency for the whole of India or a part of India.

Notes:
The Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was an Act passed by the Parliament of India in 2002, with the aim of strengthening anti-terrorism operations. It replaced the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) of 2001 and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) (1985–95).