MCQs on Central Government of India for Govt. Exams

• Sarojini Naidu was the first female to become the governor of an Indian state.
• She governed Uttar Pradesh from 15 August 1947 to 2 March 1949.
• Her daughter, Padmaja Naidu, is the longest-serving female governor with 11-year tenure in West Bengal.

Money Bills:

• A Bill is said to be a Money Bill if it only contains provisions related to taxation, borrowing of money by the government, expenditure from, or receipt to the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Bills that only contain provisions that are incidental to these matters would also be regarded as Money Bill.

How money bill is passed

• A Money Bill may only be introduced in Lok Sabha, on the recommendation of the President.
• It must be passed in Lok Sabha by a simple majority of all members present and voting.
• Following this, it may be sent to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations, which Lok Sabha may reject if it chooses to.
• If such recommendations are not given within 14 days, it will be deemed to be passed by Parliament.

• The minimum age limit to become a candidate for the Lok Sabha elections is 25 years.
• To become a member of Parliament, one should not be less than 30 years of age in the case of Rajya Sabha and not less than 25 years of age in the case of Lok Sabha
• To become a member of Lok Sabha, a candidate should have the following eligibility criteria:
  • The candidate should be a citizen of India.
  • The candidate should have at least 25 years of age.
  • The candidate should not hold an office of profit under the Indian government or the government of any other state.
  • The candidate should not be an unstable mind.

• As per the 2018 Budget,
  • The monthly salary of the President has been revised to Rs 5 lakh.
  • The monthly salary of the Vice president has been revised to Rs 4 lakh.
  • The monthly salary of the Governors has been revised to Rs 3.5 lakh.

President of India

• The President of India is the head of state of the Republic of India.
• Part V of the Constitution lists out the qualification, election, and impeachment of the President of India.
• The President is the formal head of the executive, legislature, and judiciary of India and is also the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces.

• Delimitation means the act or process of fixing limits or boundaries of territorial constituencies in a country to represent changes in population.
• Delimitation Commission is also known by the name of boundary commission of India.
• The boundary of the various assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on the recent consensus is redrawn by the commission.
• Each state represents the same seats during this process.
• The seats which are represented by SC and ST are changing as per the recommendations of the commission.
• In any court of law, the orders of the commission cannot be challenged.
• Modifications in the recommendations of the commission cannot be done.
  • It is used to provide equal representation to equal segments of a population.
  • It deals with fact that one political party doesn’t have an advantage over others in an election to ensure fair division of geographical areas.
  • “One Vote One Value” is followed by it.
• As per the order issued by the delimitation commission in 2008, 84 seats are reserved for scheduled caste in Lok sabha.
• Under the provisions of the delimitation commission act, the commission was established by the Government of India.

• India, Delimitation Commission has been constituted four times:
  • In 1952 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952.
  • In 1963 under the Delimitation Commission Act 1962.
  • In 1973 under the Delimitation Commission Act, 1972
  • In 2002 under the Delimitation Commission Act,2002.

• Estimates Committee has 30 members. All the members are appointed from Lok Sabha (Lower House). That means that there is no representation from Rajya Sabha (Upper House). Initially, the committee had 25 members, which was later increased to 30.
• Lok Sabha elects members of Estimates Committee from amongst its members. The principle of election used is Proportional Representation by the means of a single transferable vote. All parties are duly represented in the estimates committee.
• Every member elected by the Lok Sabha from amongst its members are a part of the committee for a year. After a year, a new election takes place and members are changed or re-elected.
• Lok Sabha speaker is the authority to appoint the chairman of the Estimates Committee. The Chairman of the Estimates Committee is appointed invariably from the ruling party.
• It reports if the budget estimates affect economies, improvements in organisation, efficiency and administrative reform consistent with the policy

• The Chief Election Commissioner of India has tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• The Chief Election Commissioner is usually a member of Indian Civil Service and mostly from the Indian Administrative Service.
• Election Commissioner is appointed by the President of India.
• He/She is responsible for conducting free and fair elections in India.

The President is the head of the Indian State. He is the first citizen of India and acts as the symbol of unity, integrity, and solidarity of the nation.

The President of India is not directly elected by the people. He is elected by the Members of the Electoral College. The Members of the Electoral College includes:

• the elected members of both the Houses of Parliament i.e. the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha)
• the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the states (Vidhan Sabha)
• the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.

• Article 18-abolition of titles. ​​

• The Chairman and other members of Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) are appointed by the President of India
• Manoj Soni has been appointed new UPSC chairman .

Acc. To the constitution, to become the PM, a person should be above 25 years if he is the member of Lok Sabha and above 30 years if he is the member of Rajya Sabha.

Lok Sabha.

• Article 75(3)of the Indian Constitution makes the council of ministers collectively responsible to the house of people or theLok Sabha.

• 'Collective responsibility' means that the council of ministers is responsible for every action of the Government (Executive) as a single unit before theLok Sabhaas they act as a bridge between the Executive and the Legislature.
• In case a no-confidence motion is passed against the PM, the entire Government has to resign.

Extra facts:

• The First Lok Sabha was constituted on 13 April 1952 after India’s first general election.
• The First Session of this Lok Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952.
• The 1st Lok Sabha lasted its full tenure of five years and was dissolved on 4 April 1957.
• First Lok Sabha period - 13 April 1952- 4 April 1957
• Speaker - Shri G.V. Mavalankar
• Deputy Speaker - Shri M.A. Ayyangar
• Secretary-General - Shri M. N. Kaul

About the First Cabinet of Free India (1947):

• The Judges of the High Courts in India hold office till they attain the age of 62 and supreme court judge holds office till they attain the age of 65 years.
• 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 High Court-

1. "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."

• 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 hold office till they attain the age of 65.

• UPSC:
  • Article 315 to 323 deals with public service commissions.
  • The Chairman and other members of a Union Public Service Commission are appointed by the president.
  • The chairman and members of the commission hold office for a term of six years or until they attain the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
  • The members can resign by sending their resignation to the president.
  • They can also be removed by the president.
• Attorney General of India:
  • R. Venkataramani is the current attorney general of India.
  • He is the first law officer of the government of India.
  • He is appointed by the President under Article 76 of the Constitution.
  • He has the right to speak and take part in all the proceedings of both the houses of parliament including joint sittings.
  • He has no right to vote.
• Governor:
  • Under Article 155 of the constitution, the Governor of a State shall be appointed by the President.
  • A person should have completed 35 years of age to be appointed as Governor.
  • The Governor shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.

• On January 29, 2020, Harsh Vardhan Shringla became the Foreign Secretay of India succeeding Vijay Gokhale.
• He is a 1984 batch Indian Foreign Services (IFS) officer.
• He took charge from Vijay Keshav Gokhale.

• Parliament is the final authority for making laws in India.
• The law proposals which are passed by the parliament should be approved by the President.
• And similarly, the law proposals which are passed by state legislatures should be approved by Governor.
• Parliament has also the power to amend the laws in India.
• Prime Minister is the head of the council of ministers and also head the cabinet and acts as the chief advisor to the President.

• Dharma Vira was the first Governor of Haryana.
• He served as the Governor of Haryana from 1966-67.
• He also served as Governor of West Bengal (1967-69) and Governor of Karnataka.
• Bhagwat Dayal Sharma was the first Chief Minister of Haryana.

• The Constitution provides that the Rajya Sabha shall consist of 250 members.
• Out of which 12 members shall be nominated by the President from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service; and not more than 238 representatives of the States and of the Union Territories.
• Rajya Sabha, at present, has 245 seats.
• Of these, 233 members represent the States and the Union Territories, and 12 members are nominated by the President.

Dr Jitendra Singh belongs to Udhampur, J & K Constituency.

• Dr. Jitendra Singh (born 6 November ) is an Indian physician and politician.
• He is the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Science and Technology and Minister of State (Independent Charge) ministry of earth science and Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office; Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions; Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space.
• He is a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national executive member and was the chief spokesperson for the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• He won the Udhampur seat in the Indian general election, 2014 and 2019 with the highest ever margin of votes for the 16th Lok Sabha and 17th Lok Sabha.

• Vidisha Assembly constituency- Presently INC's Shashank Bhargava is the MLA from this constituency.

• According to the Article 108 of the Indian constitution, the joint sitting of the Parliament is called by the President.
• It is presided over by the Speaker or, in his absence, by the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha or in his absence, the Deputy-Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• Joint session of Parliament can be summoned in the following situations -
  • If after a Bill has been passed by one House and submitted to the other House and the Bill is rejected by the other House.
  • The Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the Bill.
  • More than six months elapse from the date of the reception of the Bill by the other House without the Bill being passed by it.
• The President may, unless the Bill has elapsed by reason of a dissolution of the House of the People, notify to the Houses by message if they are sitting or by public notification if they are not sitting, his intention to summon them to meet in a joint sitting for the purpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill.

• 78 women candidates were elected to the 17th Lok Sabha.
• Out of 542 MPs in the 17th Lok Sabha of 2019 highest-ever number of women have been elected which is 78.
• In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, a total of 724 women candidates participated in the election.
• The maximum strength of the Lok sabha envisaged by the Constitution is 550, which is made up by the election of up to 530 members to represent the States, up to 20 members to represent the Union Territories.
• The present speaker of the Lok Sabha is Om Birla.

• The Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India.
  • Rajya Sabha is known as the house of elders.
  • Rajya Sabha is constituted under Article 80 of the Indian constitution.
  • Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and not subject to dissolution.

current Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Sanjiv Khanna (as of December 2024).

• Justice Sanjiv Khanna took oath as the 51st Chief Justice of India on November 11, 2024.
• His tenure is short and will end on May 13, 2025, upon reaching the retirement age of 65 years.
• Before being elevated to the Supreme Court in 2019, he served as a judge of the Delhi High Court.
• He has been part of significant rulings, including cases related to electoral reforms and the constitutional status of Article 370.
• He is the nephew of Justice H.R. Khanna, known for his historic dissent during the Emergency in the ADM Jabalpur case.

• The Vice-President:
  • Vice-President is indirectly elected by means of a single transferable vote.
  • He holds his office for 5 years.
  • State Legislatures do not take part in the election of Vice-President.
  • Electoral College of Vice-President consists of elected and nominated members of both the Houses of Parliament.
  • All disputes regarding the election of Vice- President are adjudicated by the Supreme Court.
  • In case a member of the Legislature is elected Vice-President, he shall be deemed to have vacated his seat in the House to which he belongs.

• Qualifications:
  • To be eligible for election as Vice-President, a person should fulfil the following qualifications:
    • He should be a citizen of India.
    • He should have completed 35 years of age.
    • He should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha.

    • He should not hold any office of profit under the Union government or any state government or any local authority or any other public authority.

• Lok Sabha is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament.
• The Hindi name of Lok Sabha was adopted by the house of the people on 14^th May 1954.
• The full term of a Lok Sabha is 5 years.
• Fifth Lok Sabha from 1971 to 1977(5 years 10 months and 6 days) is the longest Lok Sabha in India.
• Twelfth Lok Sabha from 1998 to 1999(1 year 1 month and 4 days) is the shortest Lok Sabha in India.
• Lok Sabha is constituted under article 81 of the constitution.
• G. V Mavlankar is the father of Lok Sabha.
• The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is fixed at 550.
• Money bill can introduce only in Lok Sabha and not in Rajya Sabha.
• A resolution to discontinue a national emergency can be passed on by the Lok Sabha.
• Uttar Pradesh has the maximum membership in Lok Sabha.

• Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar also is known as Dadasaheb became the first speaker of Lok Sabha in the year 1952.
• Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar was an independence activist, the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly of India.
• He was also appointed secretary of the Gujarat Provincial Congress Committee during 1921–22.
• He was a co-founder of the Ahmadabad Education Society along with Kasturbhai Lalbhai and Amritlal Hargovindas.
• The current speaker of Lok Sabha is Om Birla of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the 17th speaker of Lok Sabha.

• The joint sitting of the Parliament is called by the President and is presided over by the Speaker or, in his absence, by the Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha or in his absence, the Deputy-Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

• Speaker of Lok Sabha:
  • The speaker is elected in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections.
  • Service term is 5 years or during the life of Lok Sabha
  • The Speaker can be removed by following the conditions listed in articles 94 and 96.
  • The First Speaker of Lok Sabha is Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar.
  • The Current Speaker of Lok Sabha is Om Birla (as of August 2020).

Attorney General of India acts as the first law officer of the Government of India.

Article 76 of the constitution mentions that he/she is the highest law officer of India. As a chief legal advisor to the government of India, he advises the union government on all legal matters.

He also is the primary lawyer representing Union Government in the Supreme Court of India.

• The current Vice-President of India is Jagdeep Dhankhar. (April 2024)
• He was elected as the 14th Vice-President of India.

• Important articles of Vice President:
  • ARTICLE 63: There shall be a Vice-President of India.
  • ARTICLE 64: The Vice-President shall be ex-officio Chairman of the Council of States and shall not hold any other office of profit.
  • ARTICLE 65: The Vice-President shall act as President in the event of the occurrence of any vacancy in the office of the President by reason of this death, resignation or removal, or otherwise.
  • ARTICLE 66: Election of Vice President.
  • ARTICLE 93: There will Lok Sabha speaker and deputy speaker of the house.

• The Vice President of India (currently, Jagdeep Dhankar) is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions.
• The Deputy Chairman of Rajya sabha is Harivansh Narayan Singh.
• The Deputy Chairman takes care of the day-to-day matters of the house in the absence of the Chairman.

• The Chief Election Commissioner of India:-
  • It is appointed by the President of India.
  • The Chief Election Commissioner of India is usually a member of either the Indian Administrative Service or the Indian Civil Service.
  • The current Chief Election Commissioner of India is Rajiv Kumar.

• Chief Justice of India:-​
  • CJI is the highest-ranking officer of the Indian federal judiciary.
  • 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.
  • Appointment to the office of the Chief Justice of India should be of the seniormost Judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to hold the office.
  • The Union Minister of Law at the appropriate time, seeks the recommendation of the outgoing Chief Justice of India for the appointment of the next Chief Justice of India.
• Prime Minister of India:-
  • The prime minister is appointed by the president of India; however, the prime minister has to enjoy the confidence of the majority of Lok Sabha members, who are directly elected every five years, lest the prime minister shall resign.
  • A member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha can be appointed as the Prime Minister.
  • Other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
• Home Minister of India:-
  • The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is responsible for carrying out a wide range of duties.
  • The most significant of these are internal security, border management, center-state relations, administration of union territories, command of the Central Armed Police Forces, and disaster management.
  • Amit Shah is the current Home Minister of India.

President can declare a national emergency on three grounds: War, External aggression, armed rebellion.

• National Emergency - Article 352
• State Emergency – Article 356
• Financial Emergency – Article 360
• Learning Tip: The articles of emergency have a gap of +4 starting from 352.

Under Article 124 of the Indian Constitution, the judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under his hand and seal.

• The chief justice is appointed by the president after consultation with such judges of the Supreme Court and high courts as he deems necessary.
• The other judges are appointed by the President after consultation with the chief justice and such other judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts as he deems necessary.
• The consultation with the Chief justice is obligatory in the case of appointment of a judge other than Chief justice.
• A person to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court should have the following qualifications:
  • He should be a citizen of India.
  • He should have been a judge of a High Court (or high courts in succession) for five years; or
  • He should have been an advocate of a High Court (or High Courts in succession) for ten years; or
  • He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the president.

• Trick: Minimum age required for the post of Vice President and President = 35. In Hindi, we call them as UpRashtrapati and Rashtrapati. 35 = Patis in Hindi.
• Articles 63-73 deal with the qualifications, election and removal of Vice-President of India.
• To hold that post one must be at least 35 years of age and not hold any office of profit.

• Financial Emergency is a constitutional provision in India that allows the Union Government to take control of the financial affairs of the states, in case of a financial crisis.
• According to Article 360 of the Constitution of India, if the President of India is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the financial stability or credit of India or of any part of the territory thereof is threatened, he may, by Proclamation, make a declaration to that effect.
• The proclamation of Financial Emergency must be approved by both houses of Parliament within two months. Once approved, the President can issue orders to the states to follow the directions of the Union Government in financial matters.
• During this period, the Union Government can also reduce the allocations to states and change the terms and conditions of financial assistance given to the states.
• However, it's worth noting that Financial Emergency has never been imposed in India since its independence in 1947.

There are a total of 12 Schedules in the Indian Constitution.

• The term of the members selected to Rajya Sabha is six years.
• However, every second year, one-third of the members retire and there are new entrants.
• Thus, the house is never empty and therefore is called a 'Permanent House'.
• Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution.

• In order to be chosen a member of Parliament, a person must be a citizen of India and not less than 30 years of age in the case of Rajya Sabha and not less than 25 years of age in the case of Lok Sabha.
• Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Parliament.
  • The Constitution fixes the maximum membership to 250.

• Dr.​ Rajendra Prasad was the first President of India.
  • He was in office from 1952 to 1962.
  • He was elected by the Electoral College, following the first General Elections in 1951 and got re-elected in 1957.
• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Zakir Hussain were the 2nd and 3rd Presidents of India respectively.

• The president is called " The first citizen of India".
  • Article 52 comes under Part V of the Indian constitution.
    • It deals with the "President of India".
  • Article 54 deals with the election of the president.
  • Article 61 deals with the process of impeachment of the president.
  • Article 72 deals with the power of the president to grant pardon.
• The parliament is composed of "Lok Sabha", "Rajya Sabha" and the "President".
• Lok Sabha is the lower house of the parliament.
• Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the parliament.

• Droupadi Murmu has been elected as the 15th President of Indi

• The removal of India’s President is done through the process of Impeachment.
• Article 61 of the Indian constitution provides the procedure of impeachment of the President.

• President can be impeached for violation of the Constitution.
• The impeachment can be initiated in any house i.e. Upper house or lower house of the Parliament.
• The charges on the president for impeachment should be signed by one-fourth of members of the House.
• A 14-day prior notice is required to be given to the President.
• The resolution of impeachment must be passed with a majority of two-thirds of both the houses to remove the President from his office.
• The President shall be considered removed from the date on which the resolution is passed in both houses.

• No president has been impeached so far in India.

• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was an Indian philosopher and statesman who was the first Vice President of Independent India (1952–1962) and the second President of India from 1962 to 1967. ​
• Since 1962, his birthday is celebrated in India as Teachers' Day on 5 September.
• Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is also the among the persons who were the first recipients of the Bharata Ratna.

• Articles 52 to 78 in Part V of constitution of India deals with union executive.
• Union executive consists of President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Council of ministers and Attorney General of India
• The president is the head of Indian state.
• He is the first citizen of India.
• He acts as the symbol of unity, integrity, and solidarity of the nation.
• Article 56 of the constitution of India states that the president shall hold the office for the term of 5 Years from the date he enters the office.

• Under the Indian Constitution Article 246 read with entries 14, 15 and 16 of the Union List, it is the parliament which has the exclusive power to make laws concerning treaties and agreements with foreign countries.
• In the 'Indian politico-administrative system', the Parliament occupies a central position and has a multifunctional role.

• Its powers and functions are classified under the following heads:
  • Legislative Powers and Functions.
  • Executive Powers and Functions.
  • Financial Powers and Functions.
  • Constituent Powers and Functions.
  • Judicial Powers and Functions.
  • Electoral Powers and Functions.
  • Other Powers and Functions.
• Legislative Powers and Functions: The primary function of Parliament is to make laws for the governance of the country. With the help of this power, the Parliament makes laws.
• Electoral Powers and Functions: The Parliament participates in the election of the President (along with the state legislative assemblies) and elects the Vice-President. The Lok Sabha elects its Speaker and Deputy Speaker, while the Rajya Sabha elects its Deputy Chairman.
• Judicial Powers and Functions: The judicial powers and functions of the Parliament include in the following:
  • It can impeach the President for the violation of the Constitution.
  • It can remove the Vice-President from his office.
  • It can recommend the removal of judges of the Supreme Court and the high courts, chief election commissioner, comptroller and auditor general to the president.
  • It can punish its members or outsiders for the breach of its privileges or its contempt.

• According to Article 84 (b) of the Constitution of India, the minimum age for becoming a candidate for Lok Sabha election shall be 25 years.
• The present (17th Lok Sabha-May 2019) elected strength of the Lok Sabha is 542.
• A person must ensure all the following conditions to be qualified to become a member of parliament of the Lok Sabha:
  • He/She must be a citizen of India.
  • He/She must not be less than 25 years of age.
  • He/She must be a voter for any parliamentary constituency in India.
  • Candidate of a recognized political party needs 1 proposer from his constituency for his nomination.
  • An independent candidate needs 10 proposers.
  • They are required to make a security deposit of ₹25,000.

• The Chairman and other members of Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) are appointed by the President of India
• Mrs. Preeti Sudan has been appointed new UPSC chairman .

• A bill passed by the Parliament becomes Act only after getting the assent of the President.
• The President of India has the following rights over the bill passed by the Parliament:
  • He may give his assent to the bill.
  • Withhold his assent to the bill.
• He may return the bill for the reconsideration of the Parliament.
• The veto powers enjoyed by the President of India are:
  • Absolute Veto.
  • Pocket Veto.
  • Suspensive Veto.​

• Assent of the President:
  • Assent of the President When a bill is reserved by the governor for the consideration of the President, the President may either give his assent to the bill or withhold his assent to the bill or return the bill for reconsideration of the House or Houses of the state legislature.
  • When a bill is so returned, the House or Houses has to reconsider it within a period of six months.
  • The bill is presented again to the presidential assent after it is passed by the House or Houses with or without amendments.
  • It is not mentioned in the Constitution whether it is obligatory on the part of the president to give his assent to such a bill or not.

• Rajya members are elected for a term of 6 years.
• As per Article 83, 1/3^rd members in the house retire every two years which ensures the intake of new members as the house is subjected to dissolution.

• The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha presides over the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha in the absence of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• The Deputy Chairman is elected internally by the Rajya Sabha.
• The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions.

• The Vice-President of India is India's second-highest constitutional office after the President.
• Article 63 of the Indian Constitution provides that 'there shall be a Vice-President of India.'
• The Vice-President shall act as President in the absence of the President on the grounds of death, resignation, defamation or other circumstances.
• The Vice President of India is also the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• The current Vice-President of India isJagdeep Dhankhar.
• The first vice president of India was Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

Conditions to be fulfilled to become Vice President of India:

• He/she must be a citizen of India.
• He/she must have completed the age of thirty-five years.
• He/she must be qualified for the election of the Rajya Sabha.
• He/she should not be a member of either house of Parliament or Legislative Assembly.

• Ajit Kumar Doval is the current National Security Advisor of India.
• Ajit Kumar Doval is the fifth and current National Security Advisor (NSA) to the Prime Minister of India.
• He is a retired Indian Police Services (IPS) officer of the Kerala cadre and a former Indian intelligence and law enforcement, officer.

1. Is a citizen of India.
2. Is above 35 years of age.
3. Is qualified to become a member of Lok Sabha.
4. Does not hold any Office of Profit under any Government.

• The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha House is 550 members - 530 members to represent the States and 20 members to represent the Union Territories.
• The current strength of the Lok Sabha is 543 seats.
• Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of Lok Sabha seats i.e 80.
• Tamil Nadu has 39 Lok Sabha seats.
• Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan have 25 Lok Sabha seats each.

• Lok Sabha:
  • Lok Sabha is the lower house of the parliament.
  • 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 be dissolved earlier by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
  • It can also be dissolved if the President feels that no feasible government can be formed after the resignation or fall of a regime.
  • The maximum strength of the House is 552 members.
  • To become a member of Parliament, one should not be less than 30 years of age in the case of Rajya Sabha and not less than 25 years of age in the case of Lok Sabha
  • To become a member of Lok Sabha, a candidate should have the following eligibility criteria:
    • The candidate should be a citizen of India.
    • The candidate should have at least 25 years of age.
    • The candidate should not hold an office of profit under the Indian government or the government of any other state.
    • The candidate should not be an unstable mind.

• 104th Amendment Act, 2020 -
  • Extended the deadline for the cessation of seats for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and states assemblies from Seventy years to Eighty.
  • Removed the reserved seats for the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

• According to the constitution, to become the PM, a person should be above 25 years if he is a member of Lok Sabha and above 30 years if he is a member of Rajya Sabha.

Uma Bharti is a politician functioning with the Indian party BJP.

• In 2014, she was appointed as the Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• She held this office until September 2017.
• She won the 2014 LS polls from Jhansi.

• Indian Councils Act of 1861 gave recognition to the 'portfolio' system, introduced by Lord Canning in 1859.
• Under this, a member of the Viceroy's council was made in-charge of one or more departments of the Government and was authorised to issue final orders on behalf of the council on matters of his department.

• 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.

• The Rajya Sabha should consist of not more than 250 members - 238 members representing the States and Union Territories, and 12 members nominated by the President. Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution.
• Lok Sabha has a maximum membership of 552, currently, the house has 543 of which 2 additional members of the Anglo-Indian community were nominated by the President of India on the advice of the Government of India.
• Under Article 331, the President use to nominate 2 members of the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indians Community.
• In January 2020, the Anglo-Indian reserved seats in the Parliament and State Legislatures of India were abolished by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019.

• Ordinances making power is the most important legislative power of the President.
  • Ordinances are laws that are promulgated by the President of India on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet.
  • Article 123 of the Indian constitution deals with the ordinance making power of President.
  • President can promulgate ordinances when both the house of parliament is not in session.
  • The ordinance must be approved by the parliament within six weeks of the re-assembly.
  • The maximum duration of an ordinance issued by the president of India can be 6 months and 6 weeks(In case of non-approval by the Parliament).
  • President can withdraw an ordinance at any time.
  • A total of 679 ordinances have been issued from 1950-2014.
• Article 213 deals with the Ordinance making power of the Governor of a state.

• A total of 4 times the President's rule has been implemented in Rajasthan.

• 13 March to 26 April 1967
  • The first presidential rule in the state came into force on 13 March 1967, which ended on 26 April 1967.
  • The presidential rule of about 42 days is considered to be the shortest.
• 30 April to 21 June 1977
  • The second presidential rule in the state was from 29 August 1973 to 22 June 1977.
  • Haridev Joshi had a government before the rule came into force.
• 17 February to 5 June 1980
  • The third presidential rule lasted from 16 March 1980 to 6 June 1980.
  • The Bhairasingh Shekhawat government was earlier in power.
• 15 December 1992 to 3 December 1993
  • The fourth and final presidential rule was imposed on 15 December 1992, which ended on 4 December 1993.
  • Before the imposition of this President's rule, there was the Bhairaisingh government.

• According to article 356, the President can impose President's rule in any state if he is satisfied that the state government is not working according to the various provisions of the Constitution.
• President's rule in India was first imposed in Punjab in 1951.
• It is not necessary that the President take this decision only on the basis of the report of the Governor of that state.
• This article is a tool that enables the central government to establish its authority over a state government in the event of any civil unrest such as riots which the state government has failed to deal with.
• It is also mentioned in the Constitution that within two months of the imposition of the President's rule, it is necessary to ratify it by both the houses of Parliament.
• If the Lok Sabha is dissolved in the meantime, it is necessary to be approved by the new Lok Sabha within one month of its formation after approval by the Rajya Sabha.

• Normally, the vote-on-account is taken for two months only. But during an election year or when it is anticipated that the main Demands and Appropriation Bill will take a longer time than two months, the vote-on-account may be for a period extending two months.
• A 'Vote-on-Account' budget is only concerned with the expenditure part of the Government of India and there is no reference to the revenue earning of the government.
• It is a mechanism by which the government can carry on functioning till the time a full budget is passed.
• A vote-on-account budget is generally passed for two months but in election years and also in cases where it is expected that the full budget will take a longer time to get approved, it can be passed for a period exceeding two months also.

• Balram Jakhar was the longest-serving Lok Sabha speaker.
• The election of the Speaker of Lok Sabha is done in the first meeting just after the general elections.
• A Lok Sabha speaker has to serve a tenure of 5 years.
• The Lok Sabha Speaker is chosen from the members of the House of the People.
• Generally, the post of Lok Sabha Speaker is given to the member of the ruling party.

List of the Speakers of the Lok Sabha:

• The Prime Minister is the head of the Nuclear Command Authority of India.
• Nuclear Command Authority is responsible for command, control and operational decisions regarding India's nuclear weapons programme.
• India's first Nuclear test was conducted on 18 May 1974 with the code name Smiling Buddha.

• Jagannath Mishra was the three-time Chief Minister of the state of Bihar.
• He served as CM of Bihar in the year 1975,1980 and 1989.
• During his second term as Chief Minister of Bihar, he made Urdu as the second official language of the State.
• He also served as Railway Minister of India between 1973 and 1975 when Indira Gandhi was the PM.

• All appointments to All India Civil Services are made by the President of India.
• The All India Services comprises Civil Services of India, namely the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), the Indian Police Service (IPS) and the Indian Forest Service (IFS).
• he members of these services are recruited by the Union government, but their services are placed under various State cadres, and they have the liability to serve both under the State and under the Centre.

• According to Article 310, members of the defence services, the civil services of the Centre and the all-India services or persons holding military posts or civil posts under the Centre, hold office during the pleasure of the president.
• Similarly, members of the civil services of a state or persons holding civil posts under a state, hold office during the pleasure of the governor of the state.

Safeguards to Civil Servants:

• Article 311 places two restrictions on the above ‘doctrine of pleasure’.
• In other words, it provides two safeguards to civil servants against any arbitrary dismissal from their posts.
• A civil servant cannot be dismissed or removed by an authority subordinate to that by which he was appointed.
• A civil servant cannot be dismissed or removed or reduced in rank except after an inquiry in which he has been informed of the charges against him and given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in respect of those charges.
• The above two safeguards are available only to the members of the civil services of the Centre, the all-India services, the civil services of a state or to persons holding civil posts under the Centre or a state and not to the members of defence services or persons holding military posts.

• According to Article 356, President's Rule can be imposed on any state of India on the grounds of the failure of the constitutional machinery.
• President's Rule is imposed after the following condition
  • The governor carries on with the administration of the state on behalf of the President. He or she takes the help of the state's Chief Secretary and other advisors/administrators whom he or she can appoint.
  • The President has the power to declare that the state legislature's powers would be exercised by the Parliament.
  • The state legislative assembly would be either suspended or dissolved by the President.
  • When the Parliament is not in session, the President can promulgate ordinances for the state's administration.
• Article 356 was used for the first time during Vimochana samaram to dismiss the democratically elected Communist state government of Kerala on July 31, 1959.
• Manipur has the maximum number of President's rule imposed, 10 times.
• Between 1966 and 1977, Indira Gandhi's government used it about 39 times against various states.

The minimum age to become the Prime Minister of India is 30 years for a Rajya Sabha member and 25 years for a Lok Sabha Member.

• The status of the Prime Minister has been described as primus inter pares means "first among equals"(in Latin).
• This concept defines not only the Prime Minister's relationship with Cabinet but his relationship with the public in our modern democratic society.
• Article 74 of the Indian constitution deals with the Prime Minister of India.
• Article 78 deals with the duties of the Prime Minister ( furnishing of information to the President).

Extra facts:

• Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India, who served from 15 August 1947 until 27 May 1964.
• He was elected from the constituency Phulpur, Uttar Pradesh.
• Narendra Modi is the 14th Prime Minister of India, who was elected from the constituency Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

• Prime minister can be called as the most important institution in India because Prime Minister is the real executive head of the state as compare to the President who is the nominal head of the state.
• He heads the Party in power in Parliament.

According to the article 56 of Constitution of India, President may leave his office by addressing resignation to the Vice - President of India.

In December 1953, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appointed the States Reorganisation Commission to reorganise the Indian states. It was headed by the retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Fazal Ali.

Dr. Najma Akbarali Heptulla

• She was a six-time member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, between 1980 and 2016, and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha for sixteen years when she was a member of Congress.

• Shumsher K Sheriff had worked in the office of Secretary General of Rajya Sabha in 2012.
• Somnath Chatterjee was an Indian politician and was the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2009.
• Karan Singh is an Indian politician and philosopher. He was the prince regent of Jammu and Kashmir until 1952. From 1952 to 1965 he was the Sadr-i-Riyasat of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the Republic of India.

• Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code lays down the punishment for sedition.
• The Indian Penal Code was enacted in 1860, under the British Raj.
• Chapter VI comprises sections from 121 to 130, wherein section 121A and 124A were introduced in 1870.
• The punishment for the offence of sedition extends up to life imprisonment, and the charge is both non-bailable and cognizable.
• Along with UAPA, the sedition law is also excessively vague and broad, making it an easy tool to stifle dissent and debate. There is no good way to apply Section 124A.
• It does not comply with international human rights law. It violates the right to freedom of expression under the Indian Constitution. And it goes against India’s tradition of tolerance.