Polity

. The 69th Constitutional Amendment Act of 19915 provided a special status to the Union Territory of Delhi, and redesignated it the National Capital Territory of Delhi and designated the administrator of Delhi as the lieutenant (lt.) governor. It created a legislative assembly and a council of ministers for Delhi. Previously, Delhi had a metropolitan … Read more DMPQ- Throw light on the special constitutional provisions inducted for the national capital region.

Naga areas were totally isolated during British rule and after Independence, government of India sought to integrate them, but they opposed in favor of a separate independent state under leadership of A Phizo and British officers and missionaries support. In 1955, a violent campaign was launched by Nagas and they declared independence from Assam and … Read more DMPQ- “Transition to statehood of Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh was smooth, it was not so in case of Nagaland and Mizoram.” Elucidate.

Articles 239 to 241 in Part VIII of the Constitution deal with the union territories. Even though all the union territories belong to one category, there is no uniformity in their administrative system. Every union territory is administered by the President acting through an administrator appointed by him. An administrator of a union territory is … Read more DMPQ- . Discuss the major constitutional and legal provisions inducted for the administration of union territories.

British colonial rule left them in gross suspicion and insecure and their ‘integration’ into Indian nation became a challenge as India had already witnessed the ill effects of policies of ‘isolation’ and ‘assimilation’ in past. So, Nehru and other leaders saw a middle path in form of integrative approach and said ‘tribal areas have to … Read more DMPQ- What were India’s challenges vis-à-vis tribal integration after independence and how government of India resolved them.

There are two basic pillars of the argument against planning commission – first, the institution is not a fit in the liberalized environment where market calls the shots and second, it has long  played a role of distorting the true federal nature of Indian polity. Planning Commission is more  than 60 years old – modeled … Read more DMPQ- Critically evaluate the role played by planning commission and mention the reasons why government eradicated it.

Municipal Corporation Municipal corporations are created for the administration of big cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and others. They are established in the states by the acts of the concerned state legislatures, and in the union territories by the acts of the Parliament of India. There may be one common act for all … Read more DMPQ- Discuss different institutions formed under the 74th amendement act.

. 74th amendment has a provision that says every metropolitan area shall have a metropolitan planning committee to prepare a draft development plan. The state legislature may make provisions with respect to the following: The composition of such committees; The manner of election of members of such committees; The representation in such committes of the … Read more DMPQ- Point out the major provisions and functions of metropolitan planning committee under 74th amendment act.

. The Chief Minister enjoys the following powers as head of the state council of ministers: The governor appoints only those persons as ministers who are recommended by the Chief Minister. He allocates and reshuffles the portfolios among ministers. He can ask a minister to resign or advise the governor to dismiss him in case … Read more DMPQ- Throw light on the powers and functions of office of Chief minister.

The Constitution of India provides for a parliamentary form of government in the states as in the Centre. Consequently, the governor has been made only a nominal executive, the real executive constitutes the council of ministers headed by the chief minister. In other words, the governor has to exercise his powers and functions with the … Read more DMPQ- . “Constitution of India has made the governor only a nominal executive.” Explain.

. A governor is an integral part of the state legislature. In that capacity, he has the following legislative powers and functions: He can summon or prorogue the state legislature and dissolve the state legislative assembly. He can address the state legislature at the commencement of the first session after each general election and the … Read more DMPQ- “Office of the Governor not only have executive powers but also holds legislative powers.” Elucidate.

. The executive powers and functions of the Governor are: All executive actions of the government of a state are formally taken in his name. He can make rules specifying the manner in which the Orders and other instruments made and executed in his name shall be authenticated. He can make rules for more convenient … Read more DMPQ- . Briefly discuss the executive powers hold by office of the Governor.

. The governor is neither directly elected by the people nor indirectly elected by a specially constituted electoral college as is the case with the president. He is appointed by the president by warrant under his hand and seal. In a way, he is a nominee of the Central government. But, as held by the … Read more DMPQ- Trace the constitutional provisions for the appointment and conditions for the post of Governor.

Judicial review is the power of the Supreme Court to examine the constitutionality of legislative enactments and executive orders of both the Central and state governments. On examination, if they are found to be violative of the Constitution (ultra-vires), they can be declared as illegal, unconstitutional and invalid (null and void) by the Supreme Court. … Read more DMPQ- Explain the concept of judicial review. How does supreme court’s effect functioning of government through judicial review.

The Constitution (Article 143) authorises the president to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court in the two categories of matters: On any question of law or fact of public importance which has arisen or which is likely to arise. On any dispute arising out of any pre-constitution treaty, agreement, covenant, engagement, sanad or other … Read more DMPQ- . Discuss the constitutional status of Supreme court’s advisory jurisdiction.

. The Constitution has constituted the Supreme Court as the guarantor and defender of the fundamental rights of the citizens. The Supreme Court is empowered to issue writs including habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo-warrento and certiorari for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of an aggrieved citizen. In this regard, the Supreme Court has original … Read more DMPQ- “Supreme court’s writ jurisdiction power is given to defend people’s fundamental rights.” Elucidate.

As a federal court, the Supreme Court decides the disputes between different units of the Indian Federation. More elaborately, any dispute between: The Centre and one or more states; or The Centre and any state or states on one side and one or more states on the other; or Between two or more states. In … Read more DMPQ-Discuss the original jurisdiction of supreme court of India.

. The Constitution has made the following provisions to safeguard and ensure the independent and impartial functioning of the Supreme Court: Mode of Appointment The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Pre-sident (which means the cabinet) in consultation with the members of the judiciary itself (ie, judges of the Supreme Court and … Read more DMPQ- Throw the light on the constitutional provisions made to safeguard and ensure the independence of supreme court of India.

Appointment of Chief Justice From 1950 to 1973, the practice has been to appoint the seniormost judge of the Supreme Court as the chief justice of India. This established convention was violated in 1973 when A N Ray was appointed as the Chief Justice of India by superseding three senior judges. Again in 1977, M … Read more DMPQ- . Discuss the appointment and removal procedure of supreme court judges.

The objectives behind the constitution of the Parliamentary forums are: To provide a platform to the members to have interactions with the ministers concerned, experts and key officials from the nodal ministries with a view to have a focused and meaningful discussion on critical issues with a result-oriented approach for speeding up the implementation process; … Read more DMPQ- What are the objectives and composition of the parliamentary forums?

. The Indian Parliament cannot be regarded as a sovereign body as there are ‘legal’ restrictions on its authority and jurisdiction. The factors that limit the sovereignty of Indian Parliament are: Written Nature of the Constitution The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land in our country. It has defined the authority and jurisdiction … Read more DMPQ- Point out the factors which limit the sovereignty of India’s parliament.

Parliamentary privileges are special rights, immunities and exemptions enjoyed by the two Houses of Parliament, their committees and their members. They are necessary in order to secure the independence and effectiveness of their actions. Without these privileges, the Houses can neither maintain their authority, dignity and honour nor can protect their members from any obstruction … Read more DMPQ- Briefly describe the concept of parliamentary privileges. Also mention the consequences of breach of privileges.

This committee was created in 1964 on the recommendation of the Krishna Menon Committee. Originally, it had 15 members (10 from the Lok Sabha and 5 from the Rajya Sabha). However, in 1974, its membership was raised to 22 (15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). The members are elected by … Read more DMPQ- Trace the origin and functions of public undertakings committee.

The origin of this committee can be traced to the standing financial committee set up in 1921. The first Estimates Committee in the post-independence era was constituted in 1950 on the recommendation of John Mathai, the then finance minister. Originally, it had 25 members but in 1956 its membership was raised to 30. All the … Read more DMPQ- . Discuss the origin and functions of estimates committee.

This committee was setup first in 1921 under the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1919 and has since been in existence. At present, it consists of 22 members (15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). The members are elected by the Parliament every year from amongst its members … Read more DMPQ- Give historical background of Public account committee. Also mention the important functions performed by the committee.

.  Due to its federal character, the Rajya Sabha has been given two exclusive or special powers that are not enjoyed by the Lok Sabha: It can authorise the Parliament to make a law on a subject enumerated in the State List (Article 249). It can authorise the Parliament to create new All-India Services common … Read more DMPQ- Give the brief description of Special powers allotted to Rajya sabha by Constitution.

. In the following matters, the powers and status of the Rajya Sabha are unequal to that of the Lok Sabha: .A Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill. It should return the bill to the Lok … Read more DMPQ- Point out the matters where Lok sabha has more powers than Rajya sabha.

As a federal court, the Supreme Court decides the disputes between different units of the Indian Federation. More elaborately, any dispute between: The Centre and one or more states; or The Centre and any state or states on one side and one or more states on the other; or Between two or more states. In … Read more DMPQ- Discuss the original jurisdiction of supreme court of India.

. The parliamentary control over government and administration in India is more theoretical than practical. In reality, the control is not as effective as it ought to be. The following factors are responsible for this: The Parliament has neither time nor expertise to control the administration which has grown in volume as well as complexity. … Read more DMPQ- It has been said that in parliamentary system control over government and administration is weak. Do you agree?

The primary function of Parliament is to make laws for the governance of the country. It has exclusive power to make laws on the subjects enumerated in the Union List (which at present has 100 subjects, originally 97 subjects) and on the residuary subjects (that is, subjects not enumerated in any of the three lists). … Read more DMPQ-. Elaborate the Legislative powers and functions of India’s Parliament.

. Every ordinary bill has to pass through the following five stages in the Parliament before it finds a place on the Statute Book: First Reading An ordinary bill can be introduced in either House of Parliament. Such a bill can be introduced either by a minister or by any other member. The member who … Read more DMPQ-. Explain the procedure of passing Ordinary bills in the Parliament of India.

Question Hour The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for this. During this time, the members ask questions and the ministers usually give answers. The questions are of three kinds, namely, starred, unstarred and short notice. A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral answer and hence supplementary questions can follow. … Read more DMPQ-Discuss the major devices of Parliamentary procedure.

. The cabinet, a small body consisting of the prime minister as its head and some 15 to 20 most important ministers, is the highest decision-making body in the formal sense. However, a still smaller body called the ‘inner Cabinet’ or ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ has become the real centre of power. This informal body consists of … Read more DMPQ-What is the concept of ‘Kitchen cabinet’? Point out the evolution of Kitchen cabinet in Indian politics.

The fundamental principle underlying the working of parliamentary system of government is the principle of collective responsibility. Article 75 clearly states that the council of ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. This means that all the ministers own joint responsibility to the Lok Sabha for all their acts of ommission and commission. They … Read more DMPQ-Differentiate between the concept of ‘Individual responsibility’ and ‘Collective responsibility’.

Article 21-A of the Constitution of India and its consequent legislation, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 became operative in the country in 2010. The RTE Act confers the right to elementary education on all children, in the age group of 6-14 years, on the basis of equality of … Read more DMPQ-Discuss the importance of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan to ensure the right of children to free and compulsory education.

. The President of India exercises suspensive veto when he returns a bill for reconsideration of the Parliament. However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or without amendments and again presented to the President, it is obligatory for the President to give his assent to the bill. This means that the … Read more DMPQ- . Differentiate between the Suspensive veto power and pocket veto power of president of India.

. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is the research and development arm of the Ministry of Defence. It was created in 1958 by merging the units of Defence Science Organisation, which was set up in 1948 to advise and assist the Defence Services on scientific problems and to undertake research in areas related to … Read more DMPQ- Throw light on important role played by DRDO in India’s defence research.

The executive powers and functions of the President are: All executive actions of the Government of India are formally taken in his name. He can make rules specifying the manner in which the orders and other instruments made and executed in his name shall be authenticated. He can make rules for more convenient transaction of … Read more DMPQ- . Throw light on the Executive powers hold by the president of India.

Under Article 352, the President can declare a national emergency when the security of India or a part of it is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion. It may be noted that the president can declare a national emer-gency even before the actual occurrence of war or external aggression or armed rebellion, … Read more DMPQ- “Article 352 gives President the power to declare a national emergency.” Explain.

The state of Assam has been under the grip of insurgency for more than three decades. Located in the strategic northeastern corner of India, it is part of a region which shares a highly porous and sensitive frontier with China in the North, Myanmar in the East, Bangladesh in the Southwest and Bhutan to the … Read more DMPQ- Trace the origin of ULFA and Insurgency in Assam.

The Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State Relations (1983–87) made a strong case for the establishment of a permanent Inter-State Council under Article 263 of the Constitution. It recommended that in order to differentiate the Inter-State Council from other bodies established under the same Article 263, it must be called as the Inter-Governmental Council. The Commission recommended … Read more DMPQ- What is Inter state council ? Also mentions it’s composition and it’s role in centre-state relations.