Political Science MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Political Science - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is Article 108

Key Points

• Article 108:
  • Article 108 of the Indian Constitution of India provides for Joint sitting of both Houses.
  • 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.
  • The Chairman doesn't preside over the joint session at any means/cost.
  • The joint sitting of both the houses is also held to resolve the deadlock over the passing of key legislation.
  • Not all bills can be referred to a joint sitting of Parliament.
  • There are two exceptions: The money bill under Article 110 and the Constitution amendment bill under Article 368.
  • The Secretary-General shall issue summons to each member specifying the time and place for a joint sitting.
  • The duration and adjournment of the joint sitting shall be determined by the Speaker.
  • The quorum to constitute a joint sitting shall be one-tenth of the total number of members of the Houses.
  • The procedures of joint sessions are subject to modifications and variations as the Speaker may consider necessary or appropriate.

Additional Information

•  Article 72:
  • Article 72 empowers the President the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.
• Article 102:
  • Disqualifications for membership. 
  • The Centre is considering a constitutional amendment to define the term ‘office of profit’ and the exempted categories.
  • The draft amendment proposes to exempt advisors appointed by the Centre or states and those appointed to discharge legislative functions such as the leader of the opposition, chief whips, etc from disqualification related to the ‘office of profit’.
• Article 111:
  • Veto Power of the President of India is guided by Article 111 of the Indian Constitution.
  • Three Types of Veto Power: Absolute veto, Suspensive veto and Pocket veto.
  • Exception: The President has no veto power when it comes to the constitutional amendment bills.
• Absolute Veto:
  • It refers to the power of the President to withhold his assent to a bill passed by the Parliament.
  • The bill then ends and does not become an act.
• Suspensive Veto:
  • The President uses a suspensive veto when he returns the bill to the Indian Parliament for its reconsideration.
  • If the Parliament resends the bill with or without amendment to the President, he has to approve the bill without using any of his veto powers.
• Pocket Veto:
  • The bill is kept pending by the President for an indefinite period when he exercises his pocket veto.
  • He neither rejects the bill nor returns the bill for reconsideration.

The correct answer is option 2, i.e. John Stuart Mill.

• John Stuart Mill was an English philosopher, economist, and exponent of Utilitarianism.
• He was prominent as a publicist in the reforming age of the 19th century and remains of lasting interest as a logician and an ethical theorist.
• 'Principles of Political Economy' by John Stuart Mill was one of the most important economics or political economy textbooks of the mid-nineteenth century.

The correct answer is 1935.

Key Points

•  The structural part of the Indian Constitution is, to a large extent, derived from the Government of India Act, 1935.
• Government of India Act, 1935:
  • There was a growing demand for constitutional reforms in India by Indian leaders.
  • India’s support to Britain in the First World War also aided in British acknowledgment of the need for the inclusion of more Indians in the administration of their own country.
  • The Act was based on
    • Simon Commission Report
    • The recommendations of the Round Table Conferences
    • The White Paper published by the British government in 1933 (based on the Third Round Table Conference)
    • Report of the Joint Select Committees.
  • Features of the Government of India Act 1935: 
    • It provided for the establishment of an All-India Federation consisting of provinces and princely states as units.
    • The Act divided the powers between the Centre and units in terms of three lists - Federal List (for Centre, with 59 items), Provincial List (for provinces, with 54 items) and the Concurrent List (for both, with 36 items).
    • Residuary powers were given to the Viceroy. However, the federation never came into being as the princely states did not join it.
    • It abolished dyarchy in the provinces and introduced ‘provincial autonomy’ in its place.
    • It provided for the establishment of a Reserve Bank of India to control the currency and credit of the country.
    • It provided for the establishment of not only a Federal Public Service Commission but also a Provincial Public Service Commission and Joint Public Service Commission for two or more provinces.
    • It provided for the establishment of a Federal Court.

Additional Information

• Government of India Act, 1919:
  • It is also known as Montagu-Chelmsford reform or Montford reform.
  • The matters, which were of National importance or related to more than one province were governed at the central level, such as Foreign Affairs, Defence, Political Relations, Communication, Public Debt, Civil and Criminal Laws, Wire services, etc.
  • The Central Legislature was made more powerful and more representative by this Act.
  • The Act introduced a bicameral legislature; the Lower House or Central Legislative Assembly and the Upper House or Council of State.
  • The legislators, under the new reforms, could now ask questions and supplementary, pass adjournment motions, and vote a part of the budget, but 75% of the budget was still not votable.
  • The legislature had virtually no control over the Governor-General and his Executive Council.

• Indian Councils Act of 1909:
  • It is also called the Morley-Minto Reforms.
  • Important reform measures enacted under it are:
    • The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces increased in size.
    • Central Legislative Council – from 16 to 60 members.
    • Legislative Councils of Bengal, Madras, Bombay, and United Provinces – 50 members each.
    • Legislative Councils of Punjab, Burma, and Assam – 30 members each.
    • The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces were to have four categories of members as follows:
      • Ex officio members: Governor-General and members of the executive council.
      • Nominated official members: Government officials who were nominated by the Governor-General.
      • Nominated non-official members: nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials.
      • Elected members: elected by different categories of Indians.​ 
• Indian Independence Act, 1947:
  • India was proclaimed an independent and sovereign state by the Act.
  • On the basis of religious disagreements, it also included provisions for the division of the Indian state into the independent dominions of India and Pakistan.
  • The Secretary of States for India post was eliminated.
  • Along with the elimination of the Viceroy's position, the Act provided for the appointment of two distinct Governors-General—one for each of the dominions of India and Pakistan—on the recommendation of the British Cabinet.
  • Both the dominions' Constituent Assemblies had the authority to draft their own constitutions and to override any British Parliament legislation created for the Indian state, including the Independence Act itself.
  • The Constituent Assemblies were empowered to act as legislative bodies for their respective dominions till the time they could formulate a constitution for their state.
  • It granted authority to the princely states to join either of the dominions or remain independent.
  • The British Monarch no longer had the authority to veto or ask for the bills of the Indian state.

Judicial review is the power of the courts to consider the constitutionality of acts of organs of Government and declare it unconstitutional if it violates or is inconsistent with the basic principles of the Constitution.

Additional Information

• Judicial Review is a part of the Basic Structure of the Constitution.
• Judicial review is considered a basic structure of the constitution (Indira Gandhi vs Raj Narain Case 1975).
• Judicial review is also called the interpretational and observer roles of the Indian judiciary.
• The doctrine of judicial review is a unique American Supreme Court innovation. 
• Judicial review has two vital purposes: legitimizing government action and protecting the Constitution against government overreach.
• It also includes the Supreme Court's ability to examine its own judgment order.
• Judicial review by the Supreme Court and High Courts has played a critical role in ensuring constitutional government in India by keeping the Union and State governments within their respective jurisdictional realms.

Hence, Judicial review is the power of the courts that declare laws of parliament unconstitutional that are against Constitution. 

The correct answer is electoral reforms.

Key Points

• In 1990, the Dinesh Goswami Committee was formed to make recommendations on electoral reforms.
• It proposed giving political parties in-kind governmental money.
• It also suggested that a candidate should not be permitted to contest in more than two constituencies.
• Dinesh Goswami was a politician in India. In 1989, he served as the Law and Justice Minister in the V.P. Singh government.

Important Points

• Electoral reform is the modification of electoral systems to better the expression of public desires in election results.
• While the first three general elections in India were held a free and fairway, it is widely believed that the fourth general election in 1967 marked the beginning of a decline in standards.
• The Fundamental Duties are defined as all citizens' moral responsibility to contribute to the promotion of patriotism and the preservation of India's unity.
• Individuals and the nation are both affected by the duties outlined in Part IV–A of the Constitution.
• Police reforms strive to change police organizations' principles, culture, rules, and procedures.

The correct answer is Bombay.

Mistake PointsThe question is asking about the first nuclear reactor, NOT a nuclear power plant. It was the Apsara nuclear reactor located at Trombay, Bombay (Mumbai).

Important Points

• India's and Asia's first nuclear reactor, Apsara was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru on 20 January 1957. 
• The reactor was designed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) and built with assistance from the United Kingdom, which also provided the initial fuel supply consisting of 80 per cent enriched uranium.
• Apsara is a light water swimming pool-type reactor with a maximum power output of one megawatt thermal (MWt). 
• There are 7 more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 4,300 MW.
• Kudankulam reactor has the highest capacity of 2000 MW in India.

The correct answer is Article 108

Key Points

• Article 108:
  • Article 108 of the Indian Constitution of India provides for Joint sitting of both Houses.
  • 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.
  • The Chairman doesn't preside over the joint session at any means/cost.
  • The joint sitting of both the houses is also held to resolve the deadlock over the passing of key legislation.
  • Not all bills can be referred to a joint sitting of Parliament.
  • There are two exceptions: The money bill under Article 110 and the Constitution amendment bill under Article 368.
  • The Secretary-General shall issue summons to each member specifying the time and place for a joint sitting.
  • The duration and adjournment of the joint sitting shall be determined by the Speaker.
  • The quorum to constitute a joint sitting shall be one-tenth of the total number of members of the Houses.
  • The procedures of joint sessions are subject to modifications and variations as the Speaker may consider necessary or appropriate.

Additional Information

•  Article 72:
  • Article 72 empowers the President the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.
• Article 102:
  • Disqualifications for membership. 
  • The Centre is considering a constitutional amendment to define the term ‘office of profit’ and the exempted categories.
  • The draft amendment proposes to exempt advisors appointed by the Centre or states and those appointed to discharge legislative functions such as the leader of the opposition, chief whips, etc from disqualification related to the ‘office of profit’.
• Article 111:
  • Veto Power of the President of India is guided by Article 111 of the Indian Constitution.
  • Three Types of Veto Power: Absolute veto, Suspensive veto and Pocket veto.
  • Exception: The President has no veto power when it comes to the constitutional amendment bills.
• Absolute Veto:
  • It refers to the power of the President to withhold his assent to a bill passed by the Parliament.
  • The bill then ends and does not become an act.
• Suspensive Veto:
  • The President uses a suspensive veto when he returns the bill to the Indian Parliament for its reconsideration.
  • If the Parliament resends the bill with or without amendment to the President, he has to approve the bill without using any of his veto powers.
• Pocket Veto:
  • The bill is kept pending by the President for an indefinite period when he exercises his pocket veto.
  • He neither rejects the bill nor returns the bill for reconsideration.

The correct answer is Indian Councils Act, 1909.

Important Points

Indian Councils Act, 1909:

• The Indian Councils Act 1909 was an act of the British Parliament that introduced a few reforms in the legislative councils and increased the involvement of Indians (limited) in the governance of British India.
• It was more commonly called the Morley-Minto Reforms after the Secretary of State for India John Morley and the Viceroy of India, the 4th Earl of Minto. 
• One of the important provision of this act was that it introduced separate electorates for the Muslims.
• Some constituencies were earmarked for Muslims and only Muslims could vote their representatives.

Thus, we can conclude that the "Separate Electorate system" was introduced in Act 1909.

Key Points 

Major provisions of the Act 1909 are as follows: 

• The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces increased in size.
  • Central Legislative Council – from 16 to 60 members
  • Legislative Councils of Bengal, Madras, Bombay and United Provinces – 50 members each
  • Legislative Councils of Punjab, Burma and Assam – 30 members each
• The legislative councils at the Centre and the provinces were to have four categories of members as follows:
  • Ex officio members: Governor-General and members of the executive council.
  • Nominated official members: Government officials who were nominated by the Governor-General.
  • Nominated non-official members: nominated by the Governor-General but were not government officials.
  • Elected members: elected by different categories of Indians.
• The elected members were elected indirectly. The local bodies elected an electoral college that would elect members of the provincial legislative councils. These members would, in turn, elect the members of the Central legislative council.
• The elected members were from the local bodies, the chambers of commerce, landlords, universities, traders’ communities and Muslims.
• In the provincial councils, non-official members were in the majority. However, since some of the non-official members were nominated, in total, a non-elected majority was there.
• Indians were given membership to the Imperial Legislative Council for the first time.
• The members could discuss the budget and move resolutions. They could also discuss matters of public interest.
• They could also ask supplementary questions.
• No discussions on foreign policy or on relations with the princely states were permitted.
• Lord Minto appointed (on much persuasion by Morley) Satyendra P Sinha as the first Indian member of the Viceroy’s Executive Council.
• Two Indians were nominated to the Council of the Secretary of State for Indian affairs.

Additional Information 

• The Pitt’s India Act, 1784 also called the East India Company Act, 1784 was passed by the British Parliament to correct the defects of the Regulating Act of 1773.
  • This act resulted in dual control of British possessions in India by the British government and the Company with the final authority resting with the government.
  • This act continued in effect until 1858.
• The Indian Councils Act 1861 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that transformed India's executive council to function as a cabinet run on the portfolio system.
• The regulating Act of 1773 was passed by the British Parliament to control the territories of the East India Company majorly in Bengal.
  • This act was passed due to the misgovernment by the British East India government that introduced a situation of bankruptcy and the government had to interfere with the affairs of the Company.

The correct answer is Aung San Su Kyi.

Key Points

• Aung San Su Kyi was born on 19^th June 1945 in Rangoon, Burma (Present-day Yangon, Myanmar).
• Is a Politician and a Human rights activist.
• Aung San Su Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 "for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights".
• Aung San Su Kyi is also an author and some of her literary works are:
  • Letters From Burma
  • Freedom from Fear
  • The Voice of Hope
  • Burma and India: Some aspects of intellectual life under colonialism
  • A Culture of Peace Democracy and Human Rights.​

Additional Information

The correct answer is 1, 2 and 3.

• The Directive Principles of State Policy are enumerated in Part IV of the Constitution from Articles 36 to 51.
• The framers of the Constitution borrowed this idea from the Irish Constitution of 1937, which had copied it from the Spanish Constitution.
• Dr B R Ambedkar described these principles as ‘novel features’ of the Indian Constitution.

Key Points

• The Directive Principles along with the Fundamental Rights contain the philosophy of the Constitution and are the soul of the Constitution.
  • Maternity Benefit Act - In India, Article 42 of the Indian Constitution contains the directive that the State shall make provision for securing just and humane conditions of work and maternity benefits.
  • National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 - To implement the right to work - Article 41 of the Indian Constitution.
  • Environment Protection Act, 1986 - Corresponds to Article 48A which calls to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wildlife.

The correct answer is "​Electoral Reforms".

Additional Information

• Jayprakash Narayan had appointed a committee to study and report on the scheme for electoral reforms in 1974 under the chairmanship of V.M. Tarkunde known as JP Committee or the Tarkunde Committee.
  • Besides other recommendations, the Committee recommended that the minimum age of voting should be 18 years. It was enacted by the 61st Amendment Act of 1988.
  • The committee submitted the report in 1975.
• Vithal Mahadeo Tarkunde has been referred to as the "Father of the Civil Liberties movement" in India.

Important Points

• Dinesh Goswami Committee
  • Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990) was concerned with electoral reforms.
  • It suggested providing state funding in kind to political parties.
  • It also suggested that a candidate should not be allowed to contest elections from more than two constituencies.
• Indrajit Gupta
  • Indrajit Gupta was the chairman of the committee on state funding of elections.
  • It was an 8-member committee that was set up by the all-party conference in May 1998.

The correct answer is Chief minister.

Key Points

• The Chief Minister of a state suggests the allocation of portfolios, but the official power to assign portfolios to the cabinet ministers rests with the Governor.
• It's important to note that the Governor exercises this function as a part of his or her formal powers and acts on the advice of the Chief Minister.
• Chief Minister is the real executive authority i.e., de facto executive.
• The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the selection and appointment of the Chief Minister.
• Article 164 only says that the Chief Minister shall be appointed by the governor.
• The governor has to appoint the leader of the majority party in the state legislative assembly as the Chief Minister.
• But, when no party has a clear majority in the assembly, then the governor may exercise his personal discretion and then ask him to prove the majority within a reasonable period.

The correct answer is 1993.

Key Points

• The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is an embodiment of India's concern for the promotion and protection of human rights.
• It was established on 12 October 1993.
• It was given a statutory basis by the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.
• Human Rights is defined by the act as "Rights relating to Life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the constitution or embodied in the international covenants and enforceable by courts in India."
• NHRC performs the given functions:
  • Inquire into violations of human rights by the government of India
  • Study treaties and other international instruments on human rights
  • Engage in human rights education among various sections of society

 Thus, we can say that the National Human Rights Commission was constituted in 1993.

The correct answer is i, ii and iv.

Key Points

•  Characteristics of a Federal government
  • Supremacy of the Constitution: A federation is an agreement between two or more states to create a new state in which each will exercise specific powers. the constitution is the shape of the agreement. Neither the Central nor the State government can go against the Constitution.
  • Division of Powers: There should be a clear division of powers so that the State and the Central Government are required to enact and legislate within their authority and none violates the limits of the other. Power in the matter of local importance is given to the state and national importance is given to the centre.
  • Independent Judiciary: Constitution is the law and to keep the federation intact constitution must remain inviolable. For this reason, The judiciary is set up to ensure that disputes between centre and state can be adjudicated in light of the constitution. The judiciary must be independent and act as a custodian of the constitution.
  • Rigid Constitution: The constitution must be rigid so that it is hard to amend and the constitution remains sacred.
  • Written Constitution: A federation must have a written constitution as it is an agreement between the states and centre. As there should not be doubt about the functions between the power of the centre and state. Without a written constitution dispute will occur.

Additional Information

• The Indian Constitution is the longest written constitution in the world.
• The Indian Constitution is Quasi Federal in Nature comprising of features of both federal and unitary government.
• The USA is the first country to make the constitution.
• The United Kingdom has an unwritten constitution.

The correct answer is MN Roy.

• People's plan was prepared by M.N. Roy.
  • M.N. Roy, a radical humanist leader, formulated the People's Plan in 1945
  • The plan gave priority to agriculture and production and was drafted on behalf of the Indian Federation of Labour.
  • Jaiprakash Narayan came up with the Sarvodaya Plan in 1950.
  • Nehru-Mahalanobis Model came in the year 1955.
  • Bombay plan was drawn up by a group of Industrialists in Bombay city, Mr. JRD Tata was among those industrialists.
  • National Planning Committee was formed by Indian National Congress in 1938 and it was chaired by S C Bose.

Important Points

• The Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950. 
  • Subsequently, Planning Commis­sion was set up on 15 March 1950 and the plan era started on 1 April 1951 with the launch­ing of the First Five Year Plan (1951-56).
  • The idea of economic planning for five years was taken from the Soviet Union under the socialist influence of first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru.

Additional Information

• Sir Chintaman Dwarkanath Deshmukh was an Indian civil servant and the first Indian to be appointed governor of the Reserve Bank of India by British Raj authorities in 1943.
• Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel, endeared as Sardar, was an Indian statesman.
  • He served as the first deputy Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1950.
• Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP or Lok Nayak, was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader.
  • He is best remembered for leading the opposition in the mid-1970s against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, whom he called for a "complete revolution" to overthrow.