Making of the Constitution, Preamble & features

Answer: (c) It defines and limits the powers of government.

A constitution's chief purpose is to define what powers a government has and to limit them, so that those in office cannot trespass on citizens' fundamental rights. The other options describe secondary functions or goals that only some constitutions pursue.

• ✓ (c) NCERT lists one core function of a constitution as setting limits on what a government can impose on its citizens, for example through fundamental rights. Defining and limiting government power is common to every constitution.
• ✗ (b) Creating a government and deciding who holds decision-making power is a real function, but it is a means of organising power, not the chief purpose.
• ✗ (d) Enabling a government to pursue a just society is another function, and it depends on the aims a particular constitution sets. Not every constitution promises social security.
• ✗ (a) A constitution lays down the basic rules and the source of law-making authority; it does not fix the objective of each law.

Remember · A constitution gives basic rules, says who holds power, limits government power to protect citizens, and enables a just society. 'Limits government power' is its core purpose.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 1 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 1 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 1 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) Only two

Statements 1 and 2 are correct; statement 3 is wrong. The Constitution makes the Union protect every State from internal disturbance and denies a preventive detainee the right to a lawyer, while the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 allowed certain confessions made to a senior police officer to be used in court.

• ✓ 1. Article 355 says it is the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance.
• ✓ 2. Article 22(1) gives an arrested person the right to consult and be defended by a lawyer, but Article 22(3)(b) says this does not apply to anyone arrested or detained under a preventive detention law.
• ✗ 3. Section 32 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 made a confession recorded by a police officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police admissible in trial under that Act, and required the officer to warn the person that it may be used against him. The Act was repealed in 2004.

Remember · Article 355: Union protects States from external aggression and internal disturbance. Article 22(3)(b): no right to a lawyer under preventive detention. POTA 2002 (repealed 2004) admitted confessions made to a police officer of SP rank or above.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) Only one

Only statement 4 is correct. The Electoral College has only elected members, and the value of each MLA's vote equals the 1971 population of the State divided by its number of elected MLAs (then divided by 1,000), so more seats make each vote worth less, not more.

• ✗ 1. Article 54 limits the Electoral College to the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and of the State Legislative Assemblies. Nominated members are not eligible.
• ✗ 2. Under Article 55(2)(a) the number of elected MLAs is the divisor, so for a given population, more elective seats means a lower value for each MLA's vote.
• ✗ 3. Using 1971 Census population, each MLA vote is worth 152 in Kerala (about 2.13 crore people, 140 seats) and 131 in Madhya Pradesh (about 3.00 crore people, 230 seats). Madhya Pradesh's value is lower, not greater.
• ✓ 4. Puducherry (1971 population 4,71,707; 30 elected seats) gives 16 per MLA, while Arunachal Pradesh (4,67,511; 60 seats) gives 8. The populations are almost equal but Puducherry has half the seats, so its ratio of population to seats is higher.

Remember · Value of an MLA's vote = (State's 1971 population ÷ elected MLAs) ÷ 1,000, rounded. Only elected members vote, and states with fewer seats per head of population get a higher vote value.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect

Statement-I is correct: 26 November, the day the Constitution was adopted, is observed as Constitution Day (Samvidhan Divas) to bring constitutional principles and values before citizens. Statement-II is wrong: the Drafting Committee under Dr B. R. Ambedkar was set up on 29 August 1947, over two years before the Assembly passed the finished Constitution on 26 November 1949.

• ✓ Statement-I 26 November is kept every year as Constitution Day, also called Samvidhan Divas, to mark the adoption of the Constitution in 1949. The Government of India began the observance in 2015, Dr Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary year, to highlight constitutional principles and values.
• ✗ Statement-II The Drafting Committee, chaired by Dr B. R. Ambedkar, was set up on 29 August 1947. On 26 November 1949 the Constituent Assembly did not set up a committee; it adopted the Constitution that the committee's draft had led to.

Remember · Drafting Committee: set up 29 Aug 1947, Chairman Dr Ambedkar. Constitution adopted 26 Nov 1949 (Constitution Day), in force 26 Jan 1950 (Republic Day).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 1 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error