MCQs on Basics of Indian Constitution for Govt. Exams

• The idea of DPSPs was borrowed from the Irish Constitution of 1937 by the framers of the Indian Constitution.
• Part IV of the Constitution from Articles 36 to 51 mentions the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs).

• Rajendra Prasad
  • Committee on the Rules of Procedure
  • Steering Committee
  • Finance and Staff Committee
  • Ad hoc Committee on the National Flag
• Jawaharlal Nehru
  • States Committee
  • Union Powers Committee
  • Union Constitution Committee
• Credential Committee - Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar.
• House Committee - B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya.
• Order of Business Committee - K.M. Munsi.
• Committee on the Functions of the Constituent Assembly - G.V. Mavalankar.
• Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights, Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas - Vallabhbhai Patel.
• Minorities Sub-Committee - H.C. Mookherjee.
• Fundamental Rights Sub-Committee - J.B. Kripalani.
• Drafting Committee - B.R. Ambedkar.

• Article 39-A included in Part 4 of the Indian Constitution.
• It provides an idea of equal justice and free legal aid for all citizens.
• Part 4 of the Indian Constitution deals with the Directive Principles of State Policy.

• Part IX of the Indian Constitution talks about the Panchayats.
• The 73rd Amendment (1992) provided the Constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in India.
• The Constitutional status was provided through the insertion of Article 243 to Part IX of the Indian Constitution.
• The act came into force with effect from in 1993, which has a 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all states having a population of over 20 lakh.
• The three-tier system of Panchayati Raj consists of:

1. Village-level Panchayats
2. Block-level Panchayats
3. District-level Panchayats.

• The President of India referred to the Ayodhya issue to the Supreme Court under Article 143.
• The first Ayodhya dispute dates back to 1858.
• The President comes in Article 52 to 78 Part V.
• The President is De Jure Head of the Government.
• The Prime Minister is a De Facto head of Government.

Article 72of the Indian Constitution gives the President the power of pardoning.

• Pardon: means completely absolving the person of the crime and letting him go free.
• Under Article 72, the President of India can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment.
• There are five different types of pardoning which are mandated by law: Pardon, Commutation, Reprieve, Respite and Remission.

Article 73: The extent of the executive power of the Union.

Article 74: This article provides for a Council of Ministers which shall aid the President in the exercise of his functions.

Article 76: Article 76 deal with the Attorney General of India.

Article 77: Conduct of business of the Government of India.

• Article 360 empowers the President to declare a financial emergency.
• The president under Article 360 of the constitution has the power to declare a financial emergency if he is satisfied that the financial stability or the credit of India or any part of its territory is threatened.
• His satisfaction is subject to judicial review.
• Such a proclamation has to be approved by a simple majority in both houses.
• If Lok Sabha is dissolved Rajya Sabha can approve it but Lok Sabha has to approve too within 30 days of the first sitting after it's been reconstituted.
• It has to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament and ceases to operate at the expiration of two months unless meanwhile approved by the resolution of Houses.

• President can revoke this proclamation anytime; this doesn’t need parliament’s approval.
• During the operation of a financial emergency, the executive authority of the union extends to giving of directions to any state to observe certain specified canons of financial propriety and such other directions that the President may find necessary.
• The directions may include reduction of salaries or allowance of those serving a state, of all those in connection with the affairs of the union including judges of the high court and Supreme Court.
• There has been no occasion of financial emergency in India till now.

• Manabendranath Roy (M. N. Roy) was a prominent Indian philosopher of the twentieth century.
• He was known as the father of Indian communism and viewed as the first revolutionary leader of India.
• M. N. Roy was a creator of the Mexican Communist Party and the Communist Party of India (1925).
• He was also a delegate to congresses of the Communist International and Russia's aide to China.
• Democratic Party, an organisation in which he played a leading role for much of the decade of the 1940s.

• It was in 1934 that the idea of the Constituent Assembly for India was put forward for the first time by M.N.Roy.
• The Constituent Assembly of India as a sovereign body, which was formed on the recommendations of the Cabinet Mission Plan which visited India in 1946 to draft a constitution for the country.
• Based on the structure provided by the Cabinet Mission, a Constituent Assembly was constituted on 9th December 1946.
• The Constitution-making body was elected by the Provincial Legislative Assembly constituting of 389 members who included 93 from the Princely States and 296 from British India.

• Directive Principles aim at the establishment of welfare states.
  • Part IV of the Indian constitution deals with the Directive Principle of State Policy.
  • The concept of the Directive Principle of State Policy was taken from the Irish constitution.
  • Directive Principle of State Policy seeks to establish economic and social democracy in India.
  • It deals with the economic, social, and cultural rights.
  • Directive Principles are non-justiciable.
  • K. T Shah described directive principles as "a cheque on a bank payable at the convenience of the bank".
  • Dr B. R. Ambedkar called directive principles as "novel features of the Indian constitution".
• Fundamental rights are enshrined in the constitution of India in part III.
  • Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is considered as the father of fundamental rights in India.
  • The idea of fundamental rights is taken from the US constitution.
  • Fundamental rights are justiciable.
• The preamble taken from the US constitution.
  • Jawaharlal Nehru is the architect of the preamble.
  • The only date mentioned in the Preamble is 26^th November 1949.

• The legislative assembly is the lower house of the state legislature in the different states and two union territories, Delhi and Pondicherry.
• Members of a Legislative assembly are the direct representative of the people of the state as they are directly elected.
• Term of the legislative assembly is five years.
• The maximum size of the legislative assembly is not more than 500 and not less than 60.
• In the states of Goa, Mizoram and Sikkim the members of the legislative assembly can be less than 60.

• Dr. B.R Ambedkar is known as "Modern Manu of India".
• He is called by this name because he drafted the Hindu code bill.
• He is also known as the "Father of Indian constitution".
• He called "Article 32" as "Heart and soul of Indian constitution".
• He was the chairman of the "Drafting Committee".
• He was a lawyer by profession.

• Article 81: of the Constitution defines the composition of the House of the People or Lok Sabha.
• It states that the House shall not consist of more than 550 elected members of whom not more than 20 will represent Union Territories.
• Article 331: The President can nominate up to two Anglo-Indians if he/she feels the community is inadequately represented in the House.
• At present, the strength of the Lok Sabha is 543, of which 530 have been allocated to the states and the rest to the Union Territories.
• Article 311: Civil servants cannot be removed by authority below them.
• Article 25: Says "all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practise, and propagate religion subject to public order, morality and health." Further, Article 26 says that all denominations can manage their affairs in matters of religion.
• Article 352 :deals with the proclamation of an emergency due to war, external aggression or armed rebellion.

• The first hour(11 am to 12 noon) of the Lok Sabha is known as the Question Hour.
• It is an important session that is devoted to questions that Members of Parliament raise on every aspect of administration, working strategies including policies.
• The concerned Minister is obliged to answer those questions, either orally or in writing, depending on the type of question, and to plan the policies effectively in the future.

Question Hour

• The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for this. During this time, the members ask questions and the ministers usually give answers.
• The questions are of three kinds, namely, starred, unstarred and short notice.
  • A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral answer and hence supplementary questions can follow.
  • An unstarred question, on the other hand, requires a written answer and hence, supplementary questions cannot follow.
  • A short notice question is one that is asked by giving a notice of fewer than ten days. It is answered orally.
• In addition to the ministers, the questions can also be asked to the private members.

Note: Zero Hour refers to the time immediately following the question hour. It begins around 12 noon which is why it is called Zero Hour. It is considered as an Informal procedure to raise issues of importance during its time period.

• Zero Hour
  • ​Unlike the question hour, the zero-hours is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure.
  • Thus it is an informal device available to the members of the Parliament to raise matters without any prior notice.
  • The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts until the agenda for the day (i.e., regular business of the House) is taken up.
    • In other words, the time gap between the question hour and the agenda is known as zero hours.
  • It is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures and has been in existence since 1962.

• The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for Question Hour.
• During this time, the members ask questions and the ministers usually give answers

• Article 55 of the Constitution of India deals with the manner of election of the President.
• Article 51 of the Constitution of India deals with the promotion of international security and peace.
• Article 61 of the Constitution of India deals with the procedure for impeachment of the President.
• Article 65 of the Constitution of India deals with the roles of the Vice President in the absence of the President.

• The Right to Property was deleted from the list of Fundamental Rights by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978.

• 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1978 came into effect from June- September 1979.
  • This Amendment was brought by the Janata Party Government.
  • This Amendment repealed some of the changes effected by the 42^nd Amendment, omitted a few, and provided alterations.
  • Right to property was taken away from the list of Fundamental Rights and placed in a new Art. 300A as an ordinary legal right.

• 41^st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976:
  • This Amendment Act is formally known as The Constitution Act, 1976.
  • This Act changed the age of retirement of the Chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission from 60 to 62 years.
• 42^nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976:
  • This Act made fundamental changes in the constitutional structure.
  • It incorporated the words 'Socialist', 'Secular', and 'Integrity' in the Preamble.
  • Fundamental duties were added in Part IVA.
  • Directive Principles were given precedence over Fundamental Rights and any law made to this effect by the Parliament was kept beyond the scope of judicial review by the court.
• 43^rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1977:
  • This Act omitted many articles inserted by the 42^nd Amendment Act.
  • It restored the Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Courts, which had been curtailed under the 42^nd Amendment Act.

• Part IV of the Indian constitution is related to the Directive Principles of State Policy.
• Directive Principles of State Policy(Article 36 to 51):
  • Dr B.R. Ambedkar who is the father of the constitution said that the Directive Principles of State Policy is a ‘novel feature’ of our Constitution.
  • It was classified into three major segments.that are Gandhian, Socialistic, & liberal intellectual.
  • DPSP were basically introduced to establish a ‘welfare state’ in India.
  • Its vision was to promote the idea of economic & social democracy.

• Part IV A - Deals with Fundamental duties.
• Part V - Deals with duties & functions of the Prime minister, President, Vice President, etc.
• Part VI - Deals withduties & functions of Governor, State legislature, High court, etc.

• Article 51- Promotion of International Peace and Security and to maintain a just and honourable relationship between nations to foster respect for international law and treaty obligations, and to encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration.

​Note: Articles that are Bold and Underlined in the below table are the Most Important Articles from the exam point of view.

• Article 352 empowers the president to impose a national emergency.
• It can be imposed on grounds of War, External Aggression or Armed rebellion.
• A national emergency can be imposed when the entire cabinet minister gives the proposal in writing to the president.
• The proclamation of emergency must be approved by both houses within one month from the date of its issue.
• After approval, the Emergency can continue for 6 month period and can be extended to an indefinite period with the approval of parliament every 6 months.
• Article 356 deals with the President’s rule in a state.
• Article 360 deals with financial Emergencies.
• Article 370 - "Abolished" - Previously, it gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

• A welfare state is a concept of government where the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social welfare of its citizens.
• DPSPs promote the ideal of the welfare state by emphasizing the state to promote the welfare of people by providing them with basic facilities like shelter, food, and clothing.

• Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP):
  • Articles 36-51 of Part-IV of the Indian Constitution deals with Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).
  • They are borrowed from the constitution of Ireland.
  • They act as directives to the government to create any law.
  • They act as the ‘instrument of instructions’.

• Preamble:
  • The preamble can be referred to as the preface of the constitution as it highlights the entire constitution.
  • The preamble is the soul of the constitution as it is the part of the constitution.
  • Preamble acts as an interpreter of the constitution.
  • Whenever a question of doubt arises in the interpretation of the constitution then the matter is decided in the light of preamble.
• Fundamental Rights:
  • Articles 12-35 of Part - III of the Indian Constitution deals with Fundamental Rights.
  • Fundamental rights are enforceable in the court of law.
  • The Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution deals with the allocation of powers and functions between Union & States.

• The constitution of India has borrowed most of its provisions from the constitution of different countries in the world.
• According to Dr B R Ambedkar, the constitution of India has been framed after ransacking all the known constitutions of the world.
• The important provisions borrowed from Russia are:
  • Five-year plan.
  • Fundamental duties.

• The important provisions borrowed from Britain are:
  • Parliamentary form of government
  • Rule of Law.
  • Single Citizenship.
  • Office of Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
  • Bicameralism.
  • Writs.
• The important provisions borrowed from the United States are:
  • Fundamental rights.
  • Preamble.
  • Independence of judiciary.
  • Judicial review.
  • Impeachment.
  • Post of vice-president.
• The important provisions borrowed from Germany:
  • Suspension of Fundamental Rights during the emergency.

Answer : (2)- K.M. Munshi

He was a freedom fighter, politician, educationist, and writer from Gujarat.

• Jay Prakash Narayan was not a member of the Indian Constituent Assembly.
• He was an Indian independence activist and was known as the Hero of the Quit India Movement.
• He joined Indian National Congress in 1929 on the invitation of Jawaharlal Nehru.

• The resolution for removal of the Vice President of India can be moved in Rajya Sabha.
• For such purpose, a 14-day prior notice is given to him.
• Vice President is ex-officio chairmen of Rajya Sabha.
• The resolution of removal must be passed by an effective majority.
• No Vice President has ever faced removal proceedings.

• Dr. Sacchidanand was the Chairman of the inaugural session of the constituent assembly.
• He was appointed temporarily.
• Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee.
• Dr, Rajendra Prasad was the President of the Assembly.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India.

• President’s rule is mentioned in Article 356 of the Indian Constitution.
• Article 345- Official language or languages of a State.
• Article 376- Conditions for appointment of Chief Justice of High court.
• Article 252- Power of Parliament to legislate for two or more States.

• The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament with a maximum strength of 550 members who represent the people of India.
• The lower house of a parliament or Lok sabha is called a Popular Chamber because it is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of universal adult suffrage.
• Universal Adult Suffrage means all the adult citizens of a country have the right to vote without any discrimination of class, caste, colour, religion, and gender.
• The Lok Sabha is elected for a period of five years.

Extra Information :

• Lok Sabha is not permanent chamber and it is also known as ‘temporary house'.
• Om Birla is the current speaker of the Lok Sabha (2019).
• The age of voting is different in different countries, In Denmark and Japan one can vote after attaining the age of 25 years while in Norway, the age limit is 23 and in Britain, the United States, Russia, and Turkey it is 18.
• The 61st Amendment Act lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years in India.

A political party shall be treated as a National party if it satisfies the following three conditions.

1. The party must secure 2% seats in Lok Sabha i.e. 11 seats from at least 3 different States.
2. In four or more states that party gets recognition as a state party.
3. The party polls 6% of votes in four states at the general election to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly.

Recognized National Parties of India are - the Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress, National People's Party, and Aam Admi Party.

Note: The election commission has withdrawn national party status from the Communist Party of India, Nationalist Congress Party & All India Trinamool Congress in April 2023.

Three times.

• The first National Emergency was declared in India on 26 October 1962 during the India-China war.
• National Emergency in India has been declared3 times - 1962 (China war), 1971 (Pakistan war), and 1975 (Internal Disturbances).
• National Emergency can be proclaimed by the President when he/she perceives threats to the nation from internal and external sources or from financial situations of crisis.
• National Emergency is mentioned in Article 352.

• The interval between two sessions of parliament must not exceed 6 months.
• The Budget Session takes place from February to May.
• The Monsoon Session takes place from July to September.
• The Winter Session takes place from November to December.
• The President can summon each House of the Parliament from time to time.

• The political map of North-East India underwent a major change in 1972 by the enactment of the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971.
• Thus, the two union territories of Manipur and Tripura and the sub-state of Meghalaya got statehood and the two union territories of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh (originally known as North-East Frontier Agency, NEFA) came into being.
• The union territory of Mizoram was conferred the status of a full state as a sequel to the signing of a memorandum of settlement (Mizoram Peace Accord) in 1986 between the Central government and the Mizo National Front, ending the two-decade-old insurgency.
• Mizoram attained statehood on 20 February 1987 with the enactment of The State of Mizoram Act, 1986.

• Article 368 in Part XX deals with powers of Parliament to amend the Constitution and its procedure.
• Parliament cannot amend those provisions which form the 'basic structure of the Constitution'. (Kesavananda Bharti Case)
• The amendment of Constitution can be initiated by the introduction of a bill in either house of the Parliament. (does not in the legislature)
• The bill can be introduced either by a minister or by a private member. (does not require prior permission of the President)
• It must be passed in each house by a special majority. (the majority of the total membership of the house and a majority of 2/3rd of the members of house present and voting)
• Each house must pass the bill separately. (no provision for joint sittings)
• If the bill is for amending the federal structure of the Constitution, then it must be ratified by the legislature of half of the states by a simple majority. (the majority of the members of house present and voting)
• President must give his assent to the bill. (neither withhold his assent nor return the bill)
• After the assent of the President, the bill becomes an Act.

• The first amendment to the Constitution of India was made in 1951.
  • The Constitution (First Amendment) Bill sought to make several consequential changes from exempting land reforms from scrutiny to providing protections for backward classes in the Constitution.
  • Insert provisions fully securing the constitutional validity of zamindari abolition laws in general and certain specified State Acts in particular
  • The First Amendment Act amended articles 15, 19, 85, 87, 174, 176, 341, 342, 372, and 376.
  • Added Ninth Schedule to protect the land reforms and other laws included in it from judicial review. After Article 31, Articles 31A and 31B were inserted.

• President is the Supreme Commander of the defense forces of India.
• Powers of the president are present from Articles 52 to 74 in the Indian Constitution.
• President is the De jure head of the government. He is the nominal head of the Indian state.
• Prime minister is the De facto head of the government.

• Jammu and Kashmir has been given special status under Article 370.
  • Article 370 was administered by India as a state from 1954 to 2019.
  • This article was drafted under Part XXI of the Constitution.

• The government of India issued a constitutional order to replace the 1954 order on 5 August 2019.
• The resolution passed in both houses of India's parliament with a 2/3 majority.
• The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 was passed by the parliament to split it as the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh.
• The reorganisation took place on 31 October 2019.
• Article 100: Voting in Houses, power of Houses to act notwithstanding vacancies and quorum.
• Article 111: Veto power of the President.
• Article 12: Government and Parliament of India, that is, executive and legislative organs of the Union government.

• Article 280- States about the Finance Commission.

Article 17.

Article 17 comes under the Right to Equality of the Indian Constitution.

Under the Article 368, the parliament can amend the Constitution.

• Amending the constitution of India is the process of making amendments to the fundamental law or supreme law of the country.
• The amendment process in the constitution is set out in Part XX (Article 368) of the Indian Constitution.
• This procedure preserves the sanctity of India's Constitution and holds a check on the Indian Parliament's arbitrary power.
• Article 368 does not set down the legislative process to be followed at various points of the amendment.

The correct answer is G. V. Mavalankar i.e. G. V. Mavalankar.

• G. V. Mavalankar was the First Speaker of Independent India's Lok Sabha.
• Indian System of Governance follows the Westminster Model hence the Parliamentary proceedings of the country are headed by a presiding officer, who is known as the Speaker.
• The office of the Speaker of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha is a Constitutional Office.
• The Speaker is placed at rank 6 of Warrant of Precedence in the country.
• Constitution has given no specific qualifications are prescribed for being elected as the speaker.
• Speaker decides whether a bill is a money bill or not.

• Article 44 is included in Part 4 of the Indian Constitution. It provides for Uniform Civil Code.

• There are currently 28 states and 8 union territories in India.
• Mizoram is a northeast state in India.
• Union territories are federal territories governed directly by the Central Government of India.
  • The President of India appoints an administrator or lieutenant governor for each Union Territories.
  • Union Territories in India are:
    1. National Capital Territory of Delhi.
    2. Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
    3. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
    4. Chandigarh.
    5. Jammu and Kashmir.
    6. Lakshadweep.
    7. Ladakh.
    8. Puducherry.
• Delhi, Puducherry, and Jammu, and Kashmir were given partial statehood among 8 union territories.
  • These three union territories have their own locally elected legislative assembly and government.
• Ladakh became the union territory of India on 31^st October 2019
  • Ladakh is the largest union territory of India.
  • Also called Little Tibet.
• Lakshadweep is the smallest Union Territory of India.
  • Formed on 1^st November 1956.
  • Adopting the official name as Lakshadweep in 1973.
• The union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli merged into a single union territory known as Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on 26^th January 2020.

• The President has the power to pardon the death penalty.
• Article 72 of the Indian Constitution gives him such powers.
• President can also grant pardons, reprieve, respite the punishment.

Parliament- also called the Sansad, is the legislature of the Union. It has the President, and two houses- the Upper House and the Lower House. The Upper House is also called the Rajya Sabha or the Council of States while the Lower House is called the Lok Sabha or the House of the people.

• Rajya Sabha is a permanent house and is not subject to dissolution.
• While the Lok Sabha has a five-year term, and is subject to dissolution at the end of its term.
• The Lower House can also be dissolved earlier by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
• Indian Vice-President is an ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha.
• One-third of its members retire every second year.
• A member is elected to the Rajya Sabha for a full term period of 6years.
• Current strength of Rajya Sabha is 245.
• The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha is 250.

• There are a total of 80 Lok Sabha Constituencies in Uttar Pradesh.
  • A total of 17 seats among the 80 Lok Sabha Constituencies are reserved for the Scheduled Castes.
  • As per the provision of Article 79 of Indian Constitution, the House of the People, the Lok Sabha is the lower House of the parliament. Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of the adult suffrage. The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the Constitution is 552.
    

• The eighth schedule of the Indian constitution deals with official languages recognized by the Indian Constitution.
• Currently, 22 languages have been recognized by the Indian constitution.
• They are:

How to remember all the schedules: Code for 12 schedules is - TEARS OF OLD PM

1st Schedule: T- Territory,

2nd Schedule: E- Emoluments/salary,

3rd Schedule: A- Affirmation/Oath,

4th Schedule: R- Rajya Sabha,

5th Schedule: S- Scheduled Tribes,

6th Schedule: O- Other Tribes,

7th Schedule: F- Federal (Division Of Powers),

8th Schedule: O- Official Regional Languages,

9th Schedule: L- Land Reform,

10th Schedule: D- Defection (Anti-Defection Law),

11th Schedule: P- Panchayati Raj,

12th Schedule: M- Municipal Corporation

• India:
  • It shares a border with seven countries, namely China, Pakistan, Bhutan, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
  • India shares the longest border with Bangladesh.
  • It is the largest democracy in the world, the representative with the most number of votes gets the power.
  • New Delhi is the capital of India.
  • Droupadi Murmu is the current President of India and Narendra Modi is the current PM of India.
• Sweden:
  • It is a country in Europe.
  • Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy.
  • Stockholm is the capital of Sweden.
  • Ulf Kristersson is the current PM of Sweden.
• Iceland:
  • It is an Island country in Europe.
  • Iceland is a constitutional republic with a multi-party system and is considered as the worlds' oldest parliamentary democracy.
  • Reykjavik is the capital of Iceland.
  • Guoni Thorlacius Johannesson is the current President of Iceland.
• Norway:
  • It is located in Northwestern Europe.
  • It is a constitutional monarchy.
  • Jonas Gahr Støre is the current Prime Minister of Norway.
  • Oslo is the capital city of Norway.

The president appoints the Chief Justice of India.

• The Chief Justice of India and the Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution
• The President of India appoints the Chief Justice of India after consultation with senior-most judges under the Collegium system.
• The Collegium system is a forum that decides the appointments and transfers of the Judges.
• It comprises CJI and 4 senior-most judges of the Supreme Court of Judges.
• The Chief Justice of India should be the senior Judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office.

• The President's seat can be left vacant for 6 months (i.e.Not for more than 6 months).
• Vice President of India takes over to perform the duties of President meanwhile until a new President enters his office since the seat cannot be left vacant.
• The new President then elected holds the office for the full term of 5 years from the date of his entering the office.

• The maximum number of nominated members to Lok Sabha is 0.
• In January 2020, the Anglo-Indian reserved seats in the Parliament and State Legislatures of India were discontinued by the 126th Constitutional Amendment Bill of 2019, when enacted as the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019.

• Parliament, also called the Sansad, is the legislature of the Union.
• It has the President, and two houses- the Upper House and the Lower House.
• The Upper House is also called the Rajya Sabha or the Council of States while the Lower House is called the Lok Sabha or the House of the people.
• The current strength of Lok Sabha is 543.

• The Drafting Committee of the Constitution was chaired by Dr. B.R Ambedkar.
• B. R. Ambedkar was a wise constitutional expert, he had studied the constitutions of about 60 countries.
• He is recognized as the "Father of the Constitution of India".

• ​The drafting committee was entrusted with the responsibility to prepare the Draft constitution.

• The drafting committee was set up on 29 August 1947 under the chairmanship of Dr B R Ambedkar.
• The constituent assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to frame the constitution.
• The original text of the Constitution contained 395 articles in 22 parts and eight schedules. It came into effect on January 26, 1950, the day that India celebrates each year as the Republic Day. Now The Indian Constitution 25 parts, 12 schedules.
• The constitution had got ready on 26^th November 1949 and some provisions relating to Citizenship, Elections, provisional parliament, and temporary & transitional provisions were given immediate effect.
• The rest of the constitution came into force on 26 January 1950.

• 26 January 1930 marked the “Poorna Swarajya“ resolution of Indian National Congress under Jawahar Lal Nehru and so the date was chosen in 1950 to be our republic day.
• It must be noted that the idea of the constituent assembly was not of congress.
• The idea was put forward by MN Roy in 1934.
• The idea put forward by MN Roy was officially raised by Congress in 1935 and the British Government accepted this demand.
• This demand of constituent assembly was accepted in the August offer of 1940.

• India became a Republic on Jan. 26, 1950
• On this day the Constitution of India came into effect, replacing the Government of India Act (1935), which made India a Republic.

• The main source of the Indian Constitution is the Government of India Act 1935.
• The Constitution of 1950 was a by-product of the legacy started by the Government of India Act 1935.
• Government of India Act 1935 abolished the system of provincial dyarchy and established dyarchy at the centre.
• It also established a Federation of India consisting of the provinces of British India and most of the princely states.
• Indian Constitution came into existence on 26th November 1949.
• The Constituent Assembly of 299 members drafted the constitution considering features of constitutions of the other countries as well as from the Government of India Act 1935.

The Lok Sabha function is coordinated by the ​Secretary-General of Lok Sabha.

• The secretary-general of Lok Sabha is the administrative head of Lok Sabha's secretariat.
• He/she is appointed by the Lok Sabha Speaker.
• The Secretary General's position is the rank of the Indian government's Cabinet Secretary, who is the Indian government's senior-most civil servant.
• The first Secretary-General of Lok Sabha was M. N. Kaul.
• The current Secretary-General of Lok Sabha is Utpal Kumar Singh.

• Sri Shridhar Vasudeva Sohoni: Sri Shridhar Vasudeva Sohoni was appointed as the first Lokayukta of Bihar , after the state government passed the Bihar Lokayukta Act in 1970.
  • Hon'ble Sri Shridhar Vasudeva Sohoni, I.C.S. (Retd.) 28-05-1973 to 27-05-1978.
  • He was a renowned jurist and had previously served as the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
  • As the Lokayukta of Bihar, Sri Sohoni worked towards investigating complaints of corruption and maladministration against public officials and recommending actions against those found guilty.
  • He served in the position for five years, until 1976.
• Justice Shyam Nandan Prasad Singh: Justice Shyam Nandan Prasad Singh succeeded Sri Shridhar Vasudeva Sohoni as the Lokayukta of Bihar in 1977.
  • He had previously served as a judge of the Patna High Court and had a reputation for being honest and impartial.
  • During his tenure as the Lokayukta, Justice Singh investigated a number of corruption cases and recommended punitive action against public officials found guilty of misconduct.
  • He served in the position for four years, until 1981.
• Justice Triveni Sahai Mishra: Justice Triveni Sahai Mishra has not served as the Lokayukta of Bihar. It is possible that his name was included in the options by mistake.

• The history of Patent law in India starts from 1911 when the Indian Patents and Designs Act, 1911 was enacted.
• The present Patents Act, 1970 came into force in the year 1972, amending and consolidating the existing law relating to Patents in India.

• The Patents Act 1970 had a very limited scope of protection wherein the essential elements of invention were new, useful and manner of manufacture.
• The Act defines 'capable of industrial application' in relation to an invention as capable of being made or used in an industry.
• The Indian Patent Office grants patents that are governed by the Indian Patents Act, 1970.
• The Act was amended in the 2000s bringing a major change of complying with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
• The first Patent Act of the U.S. Congress was passed on April 10, 1790, titled "An Act to promote the progress of useful Arts." The first patent was granted on July 31, 1790, to Samuel Hopkins for a method of producing potash (potassium carbonate).
• Patents protect inventions and new discoveries that are new and non-obvious.
• There are three types of patents: utility patents, design patents, and plant patents.

• Article 148 to 151 of the Indian constitution deals with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
• The authority of the comptroller and auditor general (CAG) of India is established by Article 148.
• Article 149 prescribes the duties of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.

• The Comptroller and Auditor General of India enjoy the same status as a judge of the Supreme Court of India.
• The CAG is appointed by the president of India.
• CAG submits his resignation letter to the president.
• CAG holds office for a term of 6 years or 65 years of age, whichever is earlier.
• CAG is the head of the Indian audits and accounts department.
• CAG is also called as the "ears and eyes of the Public Accounts Committee".

• V. Narahari Rao served as the first CAG of India.
• G. C. Murmu is the incumbent CAG of India.
• Article 124 to 147 deals with the Supreme Court of India.

• The voting age was reduced from 21 years to 18 years in 1989 by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1988.
• The following tables show the list of Constitutional Amendment Act with the respective features.

  70th Constitutional Amendment Act	Altered Art 54 and 368 to include members of Legislative Assemblies of UT of Delhi & Puducherry
  71st Constitutional Amendment Act	Its included Manipuri, Konkani & Nepalese language in the 8th schedule of the constitution
  74th Constitutional Amendment Act	Provide for constitutional sanctity to Municipalities by inserting Part IX, Article 243P to 243ZG and XII schedule

• The Judges of the High Courts in India holds office till they attain the age of 62.
• The Constitution (114th Amendment) Bill, 2010, which provided for increasing the retirement age of high court judges from 62 to 65 years, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 25. But it could not be taken up for consideration and passage, and it lapsed.

• Article 217, Appointment and conditions of the office of a Judge of a High Court :

  "Every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and in any other case, until he attains the age of sixty-two years."

• Judges of the high court are appointed by the President of India.
• The judges of the High Court are appointed on the recommendation of the Collegium.
• The Judges of the High Court are removed on the same grounds as of the Supreme Court Judges.
• The Judges of the Supreme Court of India holds office till they attain the age of 65.

Communal award:

• In August 1932, Ramsay MacDonald(the then British Prime Minister) announced a scheme of representation of the minorities, which came to be known as the Communal Award.
• The award not only continued separate electorates for the Muslims, Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans but also extended it to the depressed classes (Scheduled Castes).
• Gandhiji was distressed over this extension of the principle of communal representation to the depressed classes and undertook fast unto death in Yerawada Jail (Poona) to get the award modified.
• At last, there was an agreement between the leaders of the Congress and the depressed classes.
• The agreement, known as Poona Pact, retained the Hindu joint electorate and gave reserved seats to the depressed classes.

• Lokayukta and Deputy Lokayukta Act 1973 was passed in Rajasthan which came into effect on and from 3rd February 1973.
  • Under this Act, a provision has been made to appoint Lokayukta and Deputy Lokayukta to investigate allegations related to corruption and dishonest action against ministers and public servants.
  • The Lokayukta only recommends.

• On the recommendation of the Rajasthan Administrative Reforms Committee, on 28th August 1973, retired Supreme Court Justice.
  • Mr. RD Dua was appointed the first Lokayukta.
  • Mr. KPU Menon on 5th June 1973 was appointed as the first Deputy Lokayukta.
• The idea of ​​the fortification of the Lokpal and Lokayukta institution originated on the basis of the Ombudsman Institute of Sweden.

• Sweden was the first country to start the Ombudsman Institute in its present form in the year 1809.
• Presently Justice Pratap Krishna Lohra holds the post of Lokayukta of the state of Rajasthan.

• Shri K. Sanjay Murthy is the Present Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.
• Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG):
  • CAG stands for Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
  • It is an entity cum authority that is situated under Article 148-151 of the Indian constitution.
  • After the recommendation of Prime Minister of India, CAG is appointed by the President of India for a term of 6 years.
  • CAG is an independent entity under the Indian Constitution.
  • It is the institution through which the expenditure, accountability of the government are being audited and other public authorities also.
• Senior Advocate R Venkataramani is the 16th Attorney General for India.
• Venkataramani's appointment is for a period of three years.
• Venkataramani enrolled as a lawyer in the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu in July 1977.

• NALSA(National Legal Services Authority) conducts Lok Adalats with statutory backing from the Legal Services Authority Act 1987. The Legal Services Act stipulates free legal aid should be provided to the weaker sections of the society.
• Arbitration and Conciliation Act: Consolidate and amend the law relating to domestic arbitration, international commercial arbitration.

Government of India Act of 1919:

• This Act is also known as Montagu-Chelmsford Reforms (Montagu was the Secretary of State for India and Lord Chelmsford was the Viceroy of India).
• It further divided the provincial subjects into two parts– transferred and reserved.
  • The transferred subjects were to be administered by the Governor with the aid of Ministers responsible to the legislative council.
  • The reserved subjects were to be administered by the Governor and his executive council without being responsible to the legislative council.
• It introduced bicameralism and direct elections in the country.
• It required that the three of the six members of the Viceroy’s Executive Council were to be Indian.
• It extended the principle of communal representation by providing separate electorates for Sikhs, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, and Europeans.
• It provided for the establishment of a public service commission.
  • Hence, a Central Public Service Commission was set up in 1926 for recruiting civil servants.
• It separated, for the first time, provincial budgets from the Central budget and authorized the provincial legislatures to enact their budgets.
• It provided for the appointment of a statutory commission to inquire into and report on its working after ten years of its coming into force.

• Article 326 of the Constitution provides that the elections to the House of the People and the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be based on adult suffrage.
• For that, a person should not be less than 18 years of age.

• The bill of The Constitution Sixty-first Amendment Act, 1988 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 13 December 1988.
• Sixty-first Amendment Act, 1988 reduced the age of a person from 21 to 18 years for vote.

• Article 140 deals with the Ancillary powers of the Supreme Court.
• Supreme Court of India consists of the Chief Justice of India and a maximum of 34 judges.
• It was established in the year 1950.
• The seat of the Supreme Court is declared as Delhi by the Constitution of India.
• 65 years is the age of retirement for the judge of the supreme court.
• Harilal J. Kania was the first Chief Justice of India.
• Presently, Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud is the 50th Chief Justice of India.

All of the above.

• Emergency Powers:- The Constitution confers extraordinary powers on the President to deal with the following three types of emergencies:
  • National Emergency (Article 352)
  • President's Rule (Article 356 and 365)
  • Financial Emergency (Article 360)
• Article 365- "where any State has failed to comply with, or to give effect to, any directions given in the exercise of the executive power of the Union under any of the provisions of this Constitution, it shall be lawful for the President to hold that a situation has arisen in which the Government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution".
• President Rule in India:
  • The imposition of direct Central Government rule in a state, in case of inability of a state government to function according to constitutional provisions, is known as President Rule.
  • When a state government is functioning in accordance with the Constitutional Provisions, it is run by an elected council of Ministers who are responsible for the state's legislative assembly. In this case, the council is led by the Chief Minister is the chief executive of the state and the Governor is only a constitutional head.
  • When the President's rule is imposed on a state, the Council of Ministers is dissolved and the office of Chief Minister is vacated.
• Powers and Functions of the President:- The powers enjoyed and the functions performed by the President can be studied under the following heads.
  • Executive powers
  • Legislative powers
  • Financial powers
  • Judicial powers
  • Diplomatic powers
  • Military powers
  • Emergency powers

The language to be used in the Supreme Court is English by default.

• Article 348 contained in Chapter-III of Part-XVII of the Constitution of India, makes a provision for English to be the official language for the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts and for Acts, Bills, etc.
• As per the case-law of Balraj Misra And Another vs Hon'ble Chief Justice Of High court, 1999, the state HC and the SC are flexible enough to admit a plea in Hindi or any other official state languages based on merit. Yet, the proceedings and rulings thereafter will be in English.

• The Cabinet Mission Plan was set up in 1946.
• Cabinet Mission:
  • In 1946, Lord Attlee sent a Cabinet Mission to India consisting of three cabinet ministers, namely Lord Pethick-Lawrence, Secretary of State for India, A.V Alexander, First Lord of Admiralty, Sir Stafford Cripps, President of the Board of Trade.
• Objectives:
  • The main objective of the Mission came to India to discuss the transfer of ownership from the British to the Indian leadership, with the aim of preserving India's unity and granting the independence of India.
  • Basically The Cabinet Mission wants to help India to achieve independence of India as early as possible & to set up a Constitutional assembly.
  • One of the motives was to suggest measures to set up the Interim Government.
• Major Keypoints:
  • According to the Cabinet Mission plan, there was a Union of India, comprising of both British India & states.
  • The Mission also having Jurisdiction over the subjects of Foreign affairs, Defence & communication.
  • Except these, all other residuary powers vested in the provinces & states.
  • The Union had consisted of an executive and legislative representatives of the provinces and the states.

• The UPSC is an independent constitutional body as it has been directly created by the Constitution.
• Elaborate provisions regarding the composition, appointment and removal of members along with the independence, powers and functions of the UPSC is mentioned in Articles 315 to 323 in Part XIV.

• The national emergency is implemented by the President on the recommendation of Prime minister and his cabinet.
• Before 1978 the national emergency could be imposed on the basis of External aggression, war and Internal disturbance. After the 1975 emergency imposed by the then Prime minister Indira Gandhi, the Parliament amended the emergency provisions and replaced the word "Internal disturbance" with Armed rebellion.
• After the proclamation of a national emergency, the Centre government becomes more powerful.
• The law making powers of the Parliament extend to the subjects that are under state list under schedule 7 of the constitution.
• During emergency the union government gets the power to alter the distribution of revenue between the Union and the state.
• The life of the Lok Sabha can also be extended upto One year.
• All fundamental rights (Except art 20 and 21) got suspended during the national emergency.
• There are three types of emergencies that can be imposed in India. These are:

1. National emergency (Art 352)
2. State emergency or presidential rule ( Art 356)
3. Financial emergency (Art 360)

Provisions for language in Part 17 of the constitution:

• According to Article 343 of the constitution, Hindi written in Devnagari script is the official language of India and English is the associate official language.
• Initially, English was given this status for 15 years but in 1963 it was permanently made the associate official language under the Official Language Act.
• Article 345 asked each state to legally adopt one or more languages spoken in their state or Hindi as their official languages.
• Hindi was declared to be the official language of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi.
• Punjabi was declared the official language in Punjab, Marathi in Maharashtra and Gujarati and Hindi in Gujarat.
• Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese and Bengali were declared official languages in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Assam and West Bengal respectively.
• Sikkim declared Nepali, Lepcha, and Bhutia as their official languages. Nagaland declared English as their official language.
• Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Meghalaya did not adopt any official language and for purposes of government work, English is used here.
• The official languages of the centre are used in the union territories - Chandigarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Daman and Diu and in Pondicherry the official language is Tamil.
• It is important to remember that the Constitution of India says nothing about the existence of a national language. At the same time, Article 351 does state that the union must promote the spread of Hindi and develop Hindi as the medium of expression.

• The Indian Constituent Assembly, after the partition, had 299 members.
• 229 members were elected from 12 Indian Provinces, while 70 were from 29 princely states.

• Vice President:
  • He should have completed 35 years of age.
  • He should not be a member of any house i.e. neither Lok Sabha nor Rajya Sabha but he should be qualified to be elected as a member of Rajya Sabha.
  • He is elected indirectly by the principle of Proportional Representation by means of a single transferable vote.
  • The electoral college consists of elected and nominated members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
  • The Indian Vice-President is an ex-officio chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

• Rajya Sabha:
  • One-third of its members retire every second year.
  • A member is elected to the Rajya Sabha for a full term period of six years.
  • It is a permanent house and is not subject to dissolution.
  • A money bill cannot be introduced in Rajya Sabha.
  • Rajya Sabha can neither reject a Money Bill nor amend it.
• Lok Sabha:
  • Lok Sabha has a five-year term and is subject to dissolution at the end of its term.
  • The Lower House can be dissolved earlier by the President.