MCQs on Constitutional Bodies of India for Govt. Exams

• The Union Audit Reports prepared by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India show the findings of the transaction audit and performance audit in the areas of Civil Audit, Audit of Autonomous Bodies, Defence Services, Railways, Receipts of the Government and Central Commercial.

• Shri Girish Chandra Murmu assumed office as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on 8th August 2020.
  • Prior to this, Shri Murmu was the first Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • There are several provisions in the Constitution for safeguarding the independence of CAG.
  • CAG is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal and provided with tenure of 6 years or 65 years of age, whichever is earlier.
  • CAG shall be removed from office in like manner and on like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

• National Voter's Day is observed on 25^th January to highlight the importance of voting and every vote.
• This day also marks the foundation of the Election Commission of India which came into existence in 1950.
• The National Voter's Day was first celebrated in the year 2011 to encourage young voters to take part in the electoral process.
• National Voter's Day is celebrated every year in the presence of the honorable President of India in New Delhi.
• The theme of the National Voter's Day 2020 is "Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy".
• The eligibility age of the voter was 21 years but was lowered to 18 years in the year 1988.
• This was done by the Sixty-One Amendment of the Indian Constitution.

• President of India has the power to appoint the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) under Article 148 of the Indian Constitution.

• R. Venkataramani:
  • R. Venkataramani (born 13 April 1950) is an Indian constitutional lawyer and a Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court of India.
  • He is currently serving as the Attorney-General for India.
  • He was appointed as a Member, Law Commission of India in 2010.
  • He is the first law officer of the government of India.
  • He is the current attorney general of India.
• K. K. Venugopal:
  • He was the previous attorney general 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.
• Sanjay Kothari:
  • CVC is a statutory body established in the year 1964.
  • It was conferred with statutory status in the year 2003.
  • Sanjay Kothari is the new chairman of CVC, as of July 2020.
• Sunil Arora:
  • He is the current and 23rd Chief Election Commissioner of India.
  • He is appointed as the Chairman of the Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB) for the term 2019-21.
  • Chief Election Commissioner of India is appointed by the president of India.
  • CEC has a tenure of 6 years or up to 65 years, whichever is earlier.

• The Finance Commission was established under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution by the Indian President.
• Finance Commission is a constitutional body for the purpose of allocation of certain revenue resources between the Union and the State Government.
• It was created to define the financial relations between the Centre and the states. It was formed in 1951.
• The present Finance commission chairman is Shri Nand Kishore Singh (as of Dec. 2020).
• K.C. Neogi was the first Chairman of the Finance Commission which was formed in the year 1951.

• Finance Commission:
  • Finance Commission is a constitutional body.
  • Finance Commission was constituted to recommend the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Centre and states, and among the states.
  • It was established under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution.
  • The Commission is constituted for every five years by the President.
  • The Commission consists of five members including the chairperson.
  • As of July 2020, Nand Kishore Singh was the current chairperson of the 15th Finance Commission.
• National Commission for Women (NCW):
  • It is a statutory body established in January 1992.
  • It was established under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.
  • The NCW consists of a chairperson, five members, and a member secretary.
  • The Commission presents an annual report to the Central Government, who shall place it before the House of Parliament.
  • It is the apex organization of India with the mandate of protecting and promoting the interests of women.
  • As of July 2020, Rekha Sharma is the current chairperson of the NCW.
• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC):
  • CVC is a statutory body established in the year 1964.
  • It was conferred with statutory status in the year 2003.
  • Suresh N. Patel is the new chairman of CVC.
• Union Public Service Commission (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.
  • Dr Manoj Soni is the current chairman of UPSC.

President appoints nominated members for Rajya Sabha.

• The Constitution requires that the Rajya Sabha shall be composed of 250 members, 12 of whom shall be elected by the President from among persons with unique expertise or practical experience in matters such as literature, education, art and social facilities, and not more than 238 representatives of the States and the Union Territories.
• Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect; the members representing the States shall be elected by the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the States in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote, and those representing the Union Territories shall be elected in the manner prescribed by law by the Parliament.
• The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution; one third of its representatives retire every second year.
• At present, Rajya Sabha has 245 seats. Among these, 233 representatives serve the States and the Union Territories and 12 are nominated by the President.

• The election commission of India came into force on 25^th January 1950.
• The headquarters of the election commission is Nirvachan Sadan, located in New Delhi.
• The election commission consists of a chief election commissioner and two election commissioners.
• The election commissioners are appointed by the president.

• Sukumar Sen served as the first chief election commissioner of India.
• V. S. Ramadevi was the first woman to became a chief election commissioner of India.
  • She served as the 9^th chief election commissioner of India in 1990.
  • She is the only female(to date) to become a chief election commissioner of India.
  • She also served as the 13^th governor of Karnataka.

• The tenure of election commissioners is 6 years or 65 years of age, whichever is earlier.
• Rajiv Kumar takes charge as 25th Chief Election Commissioner and will remain in this post till February 2025.
• Kiran Bedi is the first female Indian Police Service(IPS) officer.

The correct answer is Girish Chandra Murmu.

• The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is mentioned in the Constitution of India under Article 148 to 151 under Part V.
• He is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department.
• He is the guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both the center and state levels.
• His duty is to uphold the Constitution of India and the laws of Parliament in the field of financial administration.
• The CAG is appointed by the President of India by a warrant under his hand and seal.
• He holds office for a period of six years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.​

List of CAG

• Finance Commission:
  • Finance Commission is a constitutional body.
  • Finance Commission was constituted to recommend the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Centre and states, and among the states.
  • It was established under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution.
  • The Commission was constituted for every five years by the President.
  • The Commission consists of five members including the chairperson.
  • As of July 2020, Nand Kishore Singh was the current chairperson of 15th Finance Commission
• Central Vigilance Commission (CVC):
  • CVC is a statutory body established in the year 1964.
  • It was conferred with statutory status in the year 2003.
  • Sanjay Kothari is the new chairman of CVC, as of July 2020.
• Zonal Councils:
  • The Zonal Councils are the statutory (and not the constitutional) bodies.
  • The five zonal councils are established by an Act of the Parliament, that is, the States Reorganization Act of 1956.
  • The North Eastern Council is created under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971.
  • At present India has six zonal councils. They are Northern Zonal Council, Central Zonal Council, Eastern Zonal Council, Western Zonal Council, Southern Zonal Council, and Northeastern council.
• The National Commission for Women (NCW):
  • It is a statutory body established in January 1992.
  • It was established under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990.
  • The NCW consists of a chairperson, five members, and a member secretary.
  • The Commission presents an annual report to the Central Government, who shall place it before House of Parliament.
  • It is the apex organization of India with the mandate of protecting and promoting the interests of women..

Finance Commission is constituted once in every five years.

• The Finance Commissions are commissions constituted by the President of India under Article 280 of the Indian Constitution.
• The First Commission was established in 1951 under The Finance Commission Act, 1951.
• Fifteen Finance Commissions have been constituted since the promulgation of the Indian Constitution in 1950.
• The Finance Commission was established in 1951 by Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the then-incumbent law minister.
• Article 280 of the Indian Constitution defines the scope of the commission: The President will constitute a finance commission within two years from the commencement of the Constitution and thereafter at the end of every fifth year or earlier.

• The most recent was constituted in 2017 and is chaired by N. K.Singh, a former member of the Planning Commission.
• Important Functions of Commissions include :
  • Distribution of 'net proceeds' of taxes between Center and the States, to be divided as per their respective contributions to the taxes.

• The Directive Principles of State Policy figure in Part IV of the Constitution of India.
• The Guidelines or 15 Principles given to the federal institutions regulating the State of India are the Directive Principles of State Policy of India, to be held in quotation when framing laws and policies.
• These provide that Part IV of the Indian Constitution is not enforceable by any court, but the principles laid down therein are taken into account in the country's governance, making it the responsibility of the State to enforce certain principles in the development of laws to create a just society in the country.
• The principles were inspired by the Directive Principles of Social Justice, Economic Welfare, Foreign Policy and Legal and Administrative Matters in the Constitution of Ireland.
• The values of the Directive are categorized under the following categories: economic and socialist, political and administrative, legal and judicial, environmental, monument preservation, peace and security.

• Fundamental rights are those rights that are important for the people of India to grow mentally, morally and spiritually. Since these rights are necessary or essential for individual life and all-round growth, they are called 'Fundamental Rights'. These are enshrined in the Constitution of India, Part III (Articles 12 to 35).
• Part VIII – The Union Territories
• Part III – Fundamental Rights

• The Vice President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha but he cannot participate in the debate of Lok Sabha.
• Indian Judiciary is independent of the Indian legislature and executive and hence Chief Justice of India cannot participate in the debate of Lok Sabha.
• The Attorney General of India is the Indian Government's Chief legal adviser and he is the primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.
  • He is appointed by the President under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and holds office during the pleasure of the president.
  • He can attend the meetings of both houses of the Parliament but cannot vote there.

• The Finance Commission is a Constitutionally mandated body that is at the centre of fiscal federalism.
• Set up under Article 280 of the Constitution, its core responsibility is to evaluate the state of finances of the Union and State Governments, recommend the sharing of taxes between them, lay down the principles determining the distribution of these taxes among States.
• Its working is characterised by extensive and intensive consultations with all levels of governments, thus strengthening the principle of cooperative federalism. Its recommendations are also geared towards improving the quality of public spending and promoting fiscal stability.
• The first Finance Commission was set up in 1951 and there have been fifteen so far. Each of them has faced its own unique set of challenges.
• The Fifteenth Finance Commission was constituted on 27 November 2017 against the backdrop of the abolition of Planning Commission (as also of the distinction between Plan and non-Plan expenditure) and the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST), which has fundamentally redefined federal fiscal relations.
• Chairman of 15th Finance Commission of India is Shri N.K. Singh.

Sharing of the proceeds of all Union taxes between the Centre and the States under Article 270.

Article 180 in the Constitution Of India- Power of the Deputy Speaker or other person to perform the duties of the office of, or to act as, Speaker

• The President of India appoints the Chief Election Commissioner of the Election Commission.
• There are three members in the Election Commission which include a Chief Election Commissioner and two election commissioners.
• They are appointed for 6 years or can work only till the age of 65, whichever comes first.

• Article 324 of the Indian constitution defined the Election commission of India.

• The election commission of India conducts the election for Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State legislative assemblies, President and vice-president.

• The office of the election commission of India was formed on 25th January 1950.
• This day is also celebrated as "National voters day".
• The removal of the chief election commissioner is the same as the judge of the Supreme court of India.
• The election commission of India is responsible to allocate the symbol to the political parties.
• The election commission gives recognition to the National parties, State parties, and regional parties.
• The first Chief Election Commissioner of India is Sukumar Sen.

• Pinaki Chandra Ghose is currently the Lokpal of India since 23^rd March 2019.
  • He is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India.
  • Pinaki Chandra Ghose is son of Late Shri Justice Sambhu Chandra Ghose, former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court.
  • A lokpal is an anti-corruption authority or body of ombudsman who represent the public interest in the Republic of India.
  • The Lokpal has jurisdiction over central government to inquire into allegations of corruption against its public functionaries and for matters connected to corruption.
  • The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013 with amendments in parliament, following the Jan Lokpal movement led by Anna Hazare in 2011.
  • The Lokpal is responsible for enquiring into corruption charges at the national level while the Lokayukta performs the same function at the state level.

• Justice T. S. Thakur was the 43^rd Chief Justice of India.
  • His tenure was from 3^rd December 2015 to 4^th January 2017.
• Rajinder Sachchar was an Indian lawyer and a former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court.

• The Election Commission was made under the provision of Article 324 of the Indian Constitution.
• Article 324 explains the supervision, direction, and control of elections to be conducted by the Election Commission in India.
• It was established on 25 January 1950.

• The commission consists of one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
• The secretariat of the commission is located in New Delhi.
• The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
• They have a fixed tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through a process of removal similar to that of a Supreme Court judge for by Parliament.
• Rajiv Kumaris the current Chief Election Commissioner of India.

• The chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission was Shri Justice H. L. Dattu.
• The President appoints the chairperson and members of the NHRC for five years or until he is 70 years old (whichever is earlier).
• The National Human Rights Commission's non-constitutional bodies.
• The NHRC is responsible for human rights and established in 1993 under an act of Parliament.
• The human right act of 1993 provides the National, the State Human Rights Commission, and human rights courts.
• 10 December observed World Human Rights Day.
• Headquarter: Delhi

• The Attorney General (AG) of India is a part of the Union Executive. AG is the highest law officer in the country who is appointed by the President of India.
• K.K. Venugopal was appointed the 15^th AG of India in 2017. He succeeded Mukul Rohatgi who was AG from 2014-2017. R. Venkataramani is the Attorney-General of India.
• Article 76 of the Constitution provides for the office of AG of India.

• Rights and Limitations of Attorney General of India:
  • She/He enjoys all the privileges and immunities that are available to a member of Parliament.
  • She/He does not fall in the category of Government servants. She/He is not debarred from private legal practice.
  • Solicitor General of India and Additional Solicitor General of India assist the AG in fulfillment of the official responsibilities.
  • She/He has the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of both the Houses of Parliament or their joint sitting and any committee of the Parliament of which she/he may be named a member but without a right to vote.

• N. K. Singh is the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission.

• 15th Finance Commission
  • The Finance Commission (FC) is a constitutional body, that determines the method and formula for distributing the tax proceeds between the Centre and states, and among the states as per the constitutional arrangement and present requirements.
  • Under Article 280 of the Constitution, the President of India is required to constitute a Finance Commission at an interval of five years or earlier.
  • The 15th Finance Commission was constituted by the President of India, under the chairmanship of NK Singh.
  • Its recommendations will cover a period of five years from the year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
  • Grants Devolution Criteria
    • Population:
      • The population of a State represents the needs of the State to undertake expenditure for providing services to its residents.
      • It is also a simple and transparent indicator that has a significant equalising impact.
    • Area:
      • The larger the area, the greater is the expenditure requirement for providing comparable services.
    • Forest and Ecology:
      • By taking into account the share of the dense forest of each state in the aggregate dense forest of all the states, the share on these criteria is determined.
    • Income Distance:
      • Income distance is the distance of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of a particular state from the state with the highest GSDP.
      • To maintain interstate equity, the states with lower per capita income would be given a higher share.
    • Demographic Performance:
      • It rewards efforts made by states in controlling their population.
      • This criterion has been computed by using the reciprocal of the total fertility ratio of each state, scaled by 1971 population data.
    • Tax Effort:
      • This criterion has been used to reward states with higher tax collection efficiency.

• The constitutional head of the state governments is Governor.

• Executive power of the state shall be vested in the governor and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers’ subordinates to him in an accordance with constitution.
• Article 154 (1) of the constitution states that the current speaker of Lok Sabah is Om Birla.

• The Election Commission was made under the provision of Article 324 of the Indian Constitution.
• Article 324 explains the supervision, direction and control of elections to be conducted by Election Commission in India.
• It was established on 25 January 1950.
• The commission consists of one Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
• The secretariat of the commission is located in New Delhi.
• The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
• They have a fixed tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through a process of removal similar to that of a Supreme Court judge for by Parliament.
• Sunil Arora is the current Chief Election Commissioner of India.

• According to Article 280, the Finance Commission is established for a period of 5 years.
• The Finance Commission is a 'constitutional body' constituted by the President of India which gives its suggestion to the President on the states' share in the taxes of the Center
• Finance Commission is constituted by the President for a period of 5 years.

• The 14th Finance Commission was headed by Y. V. Reddy.
• The 15th Finance Commission is headed by Nand Kishore Singh.
• The Finance Commission of India was established in 1951.
• The first chairman of the Finance Commission was K. C. Neogy.

• Article 280 of the constitution of India envisages the formation of the finance committee for a period of 5 years.
• Since independence at the interval of 5 years, a finance commission is set up for the period of 5 years to assist the government in formulating policies.

• The B.P. Mandal commission was set up to study the reasons of backwardness of the socially and economically backward classes.
• The Mandal Commission or Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Commission (SEBC) was set up in India on 1 January 1979 by the government of the Janata Party under Prime Minister Morarji Desai with a mandate to "identify the socially or educationally backward classes".
• It was led by B.P. Mandal, in order to consider the problem of reservations for individuals to remedy caste discrimination, Mandal and Indian parliamentarians used eleven social, economic and educational metrics to assess backwardness.
• In 1980, on the basis of its reasoning that OBCs ('Other Backward Classes') defined on the basis of caste, economic and social indicators accounted for 52% of India's population, the Commission's report recommended that reservations be given to members of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) for 27% of jobs in central government and public sector enterprises, making the total number of reservations available to members of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
• A provisional stay order was subsequently issued by the Supreme Court but enforced by the central government in 1992 for employment in public sector undertakings in the central government.

• Finance Commission is a Constitutional body that defines the financial relationship between the Central Government and the State Government.
• The first Finance Commission came into existence on 22^nd November 1951 and its Chairman was Kshitish Chandra Neogy.
• The headquarters of the Finance Commission is in New Delhi.
• Nand Kishore Singh is the Chairman of the 15^th Finance Commission (February 2021) preceded by Dr. Yaga Venugopal Reddy.
• Dr. Arvind Panagariya is the current chairman of SIXTEENTH FINANCE COMMISSION OF INDIA
• Arvind Mehta is the Secretary of the current Finance Commission. (February 2021)

• The President of India constitutes the Finance Commission every five years which consists of a chairman and four other members.
• Article 280 of the Constitution of India deals with the Finance Commission and Article 243I deals with the State Finance Commission.
• The bodies which are mentioned in the Indian Constitution and are considered more powerful and Independent are known as Constitutional bodies, and those which are not mentioned in the Constitution are known as Non-Constitutional bodies. Finance Commission is a Constitutional body.
• Governor constitutes Finance Commission every five years to review the financial position of Panchayats and Municipalities.

• Sunil Arora was the 23rd Chief Election Commissioner of India.
• The two Election Commissioners are Rajiv Kumar and Sushil Chandra.
• Current 25th Chief Election Commissioner - Rajiv Kumar

• The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India.
• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
• Presently, it consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.
• The election commission of India is provided under Article 324 of the constitution of India.

• The Attorney General of India is the only one who can take part in the parliamentary proceedings of both houses without being a member of any of the houses.
• If the need arises, he can even choose to speak in the parliamentary proceedings.
• However, it should be noted that he is not allowed to cast a vote in parliament matters.

• CAG is a constitutional office under article 148 and is appointed by the President of India by warrant under his hand for a period of 6 years or up to the age of 65 years whichever is earlier.
• Shri Girish Chandra Murmu assumed office as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on 8th August 2020.
• The CAG receives a salary equal to a judge of the Supreme Court of India.
• He is equivalent to a secretary-level IAS Officer to the Government of India, in rank.
• According to Article 148 of the Constitution of India, he is responsible for the financial audit of the Union as well as State Government Finances.

Role of CAG

• It upholds the constitution of India and the laws of the parliament in the field of financial administration.
• He advises the President with regard to prescription of the form in which the accounts of the Centre and States shall be kept.
• He submits his audit reports relating to the accounts of the Centre to the President, who shall, in turn, place them before both the houses of Parliament.
• He submits his audit reports relating to the accounts of a State to the Governor, who shall, in turn, place them before the state legislature.
• CAG also acts as a guide, friend, and philosopher of the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament.

• Constitutional Body: Article 148 provides for an independent office of the CAG.
  • It is the supreme audit institution of India.
• Appointment:
  • Appointed by the President of India by a warrant under his hand and seal.
• Tenure:
  • A period of six years or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
• Removal:
  • CAG can be removed by the President on the same grounds and in the same manner as a judge of the Supreme Court.
  • He does not hold his office till the pleasure of the President.

• Profile in Brief:
  • Head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department - created in 1753.
  • Guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both the levels–the Centre and the state.
  • One of the bulwarks of the democratic system of government in India.
  • The others being the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, and the Union Public Service Commission.
  • The accountability of the executive (i.e. Council of Ministers) to the Parliament in the sphere of financial administration is secured through audit reports of the CAG.

• Girish Chandra Murmu has been appointed the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
  • He has replaced Rajiv Mehrishi and will have a tenure up to 20th November 2024.