Indian Polity & Constitution MCQs

Notes:
A contingencies fund or contingency fund is a fund for emergencies or unexpected outflows, mainly economic crises. The Contingency Fund of India established under Article 267 (1) of the Constitution is in the nature of an imprest (money maintained for a specific purpose) which is placed at the disposal of the President to enable him/her to make advances to meet urgent unforeseen expenditure, pending authorization by the Parliament. Approval of the legislature for such expenditure and for withdrawal of an equivalent amount from the Consolidated Fund is subsequently obtained to ensure that the corpus of the Contingency Fund remains intact.

Notes:
When the Constitution took effect on January 26, 1950, the Constituent Assembly became the Provisional Parliament of India. It was “provisional” until the first elections under the new Constitution took place in 1952. It had 296 members in 1950 which increased to 313 in the following year with the inclusion of the princely states’ representatives.

Notes:
The Constitution (Seventy Forth Amendment) Act, 1992 introduced a new Part IXA in the Constitution that provides for 1/3rd seats to be reserved in municipalities for women. Similarly, the 73rd Amendment 1992 added a new Part IX to the constitution under which 1/3rd seats have to be reserved for women in panchayats.

Notes:
Article 123 of the Constitution of India grants the President certain law-making powers to promulgate ordinances when either of the two Houses of Parliament is not in session. It states that the President can issue ordinance if he is satisfied that circumstances exist which render it necessary for him to take immediate action.

Notes:
As laid down in the Constitution of India, the Audit Reports, after approval of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, are presented to the President of India or Governors of the States for laying before the Parliament or the State Legislatures as the case may be. Public Accounts Committee (PAC) takes up the Audit Report for examination. The CAG acts as the “friend, philosopher and guide” for the PAC.

Notes:
As originally enacted, the Constitution of India provided for a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and seven lower-ranking Judges – leaving it to Indian Parliament to increase this number. In the early years, a full bench of the Supreme Court sat together to hear the cases presented before them. As the work of the Court increased and cases began to accumulate, Parliament increased the number of Judges from the original eight in 1950 to eleven in 1956, fourteen in 1960, eighteen in 1978, twenty-six in 1986 and thirty one in 2008. As the number of judges has increased, they have sat in smaller Benches of two or three (referred to as a Division Bench) – coming together in larger Benches of five or more (referred to as Constitutional Bench) only when required to settle fundamental questions of law.

Notes:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion, national origin, race, color, or sex. At this time, it calls upon employers and unions to be particularly sensitive to potential discrimination or harassment against individuals who are – or are perceived to be – Muslim, Arab, Afghani, Middle Eastern or South Asian. It is a legislation enacted by the American congress end the discrimination.

Notes:
In December 1977, the Janata Government appointed a committee on Panchayati Raj institutions under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta. The committee submitted its report in August 1978 and made 132 recommendations to revive and strengthen the declining Panchayati Raj system in the country. As a result of this report, the Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal passed new legislation.

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).

Notes:
The Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita, which replaces the IPC, incorporates provisions addressing acts threatening India’s sovereignty and integrity under Section 152. It covers offenses related to armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities, or actions that endanger the sovereignty and integrity of India. This stringent law replaces the old sedition law, Section 124A of the IPC, aiming to secure national security more effectively by penalizing such activities.