Constitutional, statutory & regulatory bodies

Answer: (d) There is no correct statement.

The Committee has 30 members: twenty elected by the Lok Sabha and ten nominated by the Rajya Sabha. Its Chairperson is appointed by the Speaker, no Minister can be a member, and members serve for a term not exceeding one year. Every statement gets at least one of these facts wrong.

• ✗ 1. The Chairperson is appointed by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from among the Committee's members, not by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha; Rajya Sabha members are nominated by their House.
• ✗ 2. The numbers are reversed: twenty members come from the Lok Sabha and ten from the Rajya Sabha.
• ✗ 3. A Minister cannot be a member at all; the rule makes no exception for the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• ✗ 4. The term of members shall not exceed one year, not a fixed two years.

Remember · SC/ST Welfare Committee (Rule 331B): 30 members, 20 Lok Sabha + 10 Rajya Sabha; Speaker appoints the Chair; no Minister can serve; term up to one year.

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

Answer: (a) 1

Only row 3 is fully correct. The CEIB and the SFIO have the functions stated, but the CEIB works under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance (not Home Affairs), and the SFIO is under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (not Finance). The CBI is under the Department of Personnel and Training.

• ✗ 1. CEIB coordinates economic intelligence and enforcement agencies, but it is a subordinate organisation of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• ✗ 2. The SFIO investigates and prosecutes complex corporate frauds, but it functions under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, not the Ministry of Finance.
• ✓ 3. The CBI functions under the Department of Personnel, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, and describes its role as preserving values in public life and ensuring the health of the national economy.

Remember · CEIB: Dept of Revenue (Finance). SFIO: Ministry of Corporate Affairs. CBI: DoPT (Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions). Match the body, then check the ministry.

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

Answer: (d) 2 and 4

Rows 2 and 4 are fully matched: SEBI appointed the L.C. Gupta Committee on derivatives, and the RBI constituted the Malegam sub-committee on microfinance. Row 1 fails because the Malhotra Committee (1993) came years before IRDA existed (2000), and row 3 fails because the Urjit Patel Committee dealt with the monetary policy framework, not housing credit.

• ✗ 1. The Malhotra Committee on insurance sector reforms was set up in 1993 and reported in 1994; IRDA was formed only in 2000 after the IRDA Act, 1999, so IRDA could not have formed it.
• ✓ 2. SEBI appointed the L.C. Gupta Committee, which recommended the introduction of derivatives trading.
• ✗ 3. The RBI’s Urjit R. Patel Committee (report January 2014) was set up to revise and strengthen the monetary policy framework, not to reform bank lending to the housing sector.
• ✓ 4. In October 2010 the RBI constituted a sub-committee under Y.H. Malegam to study issues and concerns of the microfinance sector; its 2011 report proposed NBFC-MFIs as a new category.

Remember · Malhotra: insurance reform (1993, before IRDA); L.C. Gupta: derivatives (SEBI); Urjit Patel: monetary policy framework (RBI, 2014); Malegam: microfinance (RBI, 2010).

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Answer: (a) Only one

Only the DRI row is fully right. The Enforcement Directorate does enforce the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, but it works under the Department of Revenue, not the Home Ministry. Big data analytics to help tax officers is the job of CBIC's Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM), not the DG of Systems and Data Management.

• ✗ I The ED enforces PMLA, FEMA and the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, but the Department of Revenue (Ministry of Finance) lists it as its attached office; it is not under the Home Ministry.
• ✓ II The DRI is the apex anti-smuggling agency of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, enforcing the Customs Act, 1962 under the Department of Revenue.
• ✗ III The data-mining and analytics role described belongs to DGARM, which CBIC created as its apex body for data analytics and risk management in July 2017.

Remember · ED, DRI and CBIC's directorates all sit under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance. Tax data analytics and risk profiling: DGARM (CBIC, 2017).

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Answer: (a) Only one

Only the Inter-State Council was set up as per a provision of the Constitution, namely Article 263. Zonal Councils exist under a law of Parliament, the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, and the National Security Council is an executive body with no place in the Constitution's text.

• ✓ I Article 263 lets the President establish an inter-State Council by order. The Inter-State Council was set up on that basis by a Presidential Order dated 28 May 1990.
• ✗ II The Constitution contains no provision for a National Security Council. It is an apex body headed by the Prime Minister, formed by the Government.
• ✗ III The five Zonal Councils were created under Part III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, so they are statutory, not constitutional, bodies.

Remember · Inter-State Council: constitutional (Art. 263). Zonal Councils: statutory (States Reorganisation Act, 1956). National Security Council: executive body, not in the Constitution.

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Answer: (d) None

None of the pairs is correct. The National Automotive Board works under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the Coir Board is a statutory body under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, and the National Centre for Trade Information belongs to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

• ✗ I The National Automotive Board is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, not the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• ✗ II The Coir Board (Kochi) is listed among the statutory and autonomous bodies of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the Government of India's Allocation of Business Rules, not of Heavy Industries.
• ✗ III The National Centre for Trade Information is listed among the trade-promotion measures on the Ministry of Commerce and Industry's website, where it is described as jointly promoted by ITPO and NIC; it is not an MSME body.

Remember · National Automotive Board: Ministry of Heavy Industries. Coir Board (Kochi, statutory): Ministry of MSME. National Centre for Trade Information: Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

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Answer: (b) Only two

Only II and III are regulated. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board Act, 2006 covers refining, processing, storage, transportation, distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas, and it expressly leaves out the production of crude oil and natural gas.

• ✗ I Producing crude oil is upstream work and is excluded from the Board's remit.
• ✓ II Refining, storage and distribution are named activities under the Act.
• ✓ III Marketing and sale of petroleum products are named activities under the Act.
• ✗ IV The Act excludes the production of natural gas, although transporting, distributing and selling it are regulated.

Remember · PNGRB (Act of 2006) regulates refining, storage, transport, distribution, marketing and sale of petroleum and natural gas, but not upstream production of crude oil or natural gas.

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Answer: (a) III only

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 covers public servants both in and outside India, allows the Chairperson to be a Supreme Court judge or an eminent person as well as a Chief Justice, and does reach the Prime Minister, with safeguards. Only the minimum age of forty-five years in statement III matches the Act.

• ✗ I Section 1(3) says the Act applies to public servants in and outside India, so Indian public servants posted abroad are covered.
• ✗ II A sitting MP or State legislator is barred from the post, but the Chairperson need not be a Chief Justice: a Supreme Court judge, present or past, or an eminent person meeting the eligibility conditions also qualifies.
• ✓ III Section 3(4) bars anyone below forty-five years of age on the date of assuming office as Chairperson or Member.
• ✗ IV Section 14 brings a Prime Minister within the Lokpal's jurisdiction, with limits: matters of international relations, external and internal security, public order, atomic energy and space are excluded, and a full bench must approve an inquiry by two-thirds.

Remember · Lokpal Act 2013: applies to public servants in and outside India; Chairperson may be a CJI, SC judge or eminent person; minimum age 45; Prime Minister covered, with safeguards.

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Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

Section 3 of the North-Eastern Council Act, 1971, as rewritten by Act 68 of 2002 (in force from 26 June 2003), makes the Council consist of the Governors and the Chief Ministers of the eight north-eastern States, together with three members nominated by the President. The Union Home Minister is not one of the members named in the Act.

• ✓ 1. Section 3(1)(i) puts the Governor(s) of the States on the Council.
• ✓ 2. Section 3(1)(ii) includes the Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
• ✓ 3. Section 3(1)(iii) adds three members nominated by the President.
• ✗ 4. The Home Minister has no seat by right. The President may nominate a Union Minister as a member (section 3(2)) and nominates the Chairman (section 3(3)), but the Act does not name the Home Minister.
• • Since then The Council's own website now lists the Union Home Minister as its Chairman and the Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region as Vice-Chairman. The Chairman is named by the President (section 3(3)); the Home Minister still has no seat as of right under section 3(1).

Remember · NEC Act 1971, as amended in 2002: Governors and Chief Ministers of the eight north-eastern States plus three Presidential nominees; the President nominates the Chairman.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2024, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Statements 1 and 3 are correct; statement 2 is wrong because Lok Sabha's Rule 233A lets any person, not only a Member, complain about a Member's unethical conduct, provided a Member forwards it. The Committee on Ethics began as an ad-hoc committee in 2000 and was made a regular standing committee in 2015.

• ✓ 1. The Committee on Ethics was first constituted as an ad-hoc committee on 16 May 2000, during the 13th Lok Sabha.
• ✗ 2. Rule 233A says any person or member may complain. If the complaint comes from an outsider, a Member must forward it, and an affidavit is needed unless a Member is the complainant.
• ✓ 3. Rule 233A(10) bars the Committee from taking up any sub-judice matter (one pending before a court), and the Committee's own decision on whether a matter is sub-judice is final.
• • Since then Since 2015 (16th Lok Sabha) the Committee is a regular standing committee under Rule 316A, no longer ad-hoc (Lok Sabha Secretariat).

Remember · Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee: ad-hoc from 2000, standing since 2015; any person may complain through a Member; sub-judice matters are excluded.

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Answer: (a) Only one

Only the National Commission for Backward Classes is a constitutional body, since it works under Article 338B. The NHRC and the NCDRC are statutory bodies set up by Acts of Parliament, and the Law Commission is a non-statutory body set up by the Government.

• ✓ 1. The NCBC was given constitutional status under Article 338B, inserted in 2018, and functions like the National Commissions for SCs (Article 338) and STs (Article 338A).
• ✗ 2. The NHRC is statutory. Section 3 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 says the Central Government shall constitute it.
• ✗ 3. The Law Commission of India is a non-statutory body, constituted by the Government of India from time to time, and is neither in the Constitution nor created by an Act.
• ✗ 4. The NCDRC is statutory. Section 53 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 provides for the Central Government to establish it by notification.

Remember · Constitutional: NCBC (Art. 338B), NCSC (338), NCST (338A). Statutory: NHRC, NCDRC. Non-statutory: Law Commission.

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) 2 only

Under the Advocates Act, 1961 an advocate is an individual enrolled on a State Bar Council's roll; a law firm is not an advocate, and corporate lawyers or patent attorneys are not excluded as a class. The Bar Council of India does have statutory functions over legal education and recognition of law degrees.

• ✗ 1. The Act's definition of advocate does not extend to law firms, partnerships or companies, so 'legal firms' are not recognised as advocates. Recognition turns on an individual's enrolment, not on whether one works for government, a company or in patent practice.
• ✓ 2. Section 7 of the Advocates Act gives the Bar Council of India legal-education functions, including recognising universities whose law degree qualifies a person for enrolment, and inspecting them for that purpose.

Remember · Advocates Act, 1961: advocates are enrolled individuals (firms are not); the Bar Council of India sets legal-education standards and recognises law degrees for enrolment.

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Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Article 88 gives every Minister and the Attorney-General — not the Solicitor General — the right to speak and take part in Parliament's proceedings without a vote. The Constitution only says the Attorney-General holds office during the pleasure of the President; resigning with the government is a convention, not a constitutional rule.

• ✗ 1. Article 88 names Ministers and the Attorney-General as the persons who may take part in the proceedings of either House and its committees; the Solicitor General has no such constitutional right.
• ✗ 2. Article 76(4) says only that the Attorney-General holds office during the pleasure of the President. Stepping down when the government changes is a practice, not something the Constitution provides.

Remember · Article 76: Attorney-General (office at President's pleasure; right of audience in all courts). Article 88: AG and Ministers may speak in either House and committees but cannot vote.

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Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

SEBI, not the RBI, regulates credit rating agencies in India, so statement 1 is wrong. ICRA Limited and Brickwork Ratings India are both Indian agencies registered with SEBI, so statements 2 and 3 are correct.

• ✗ 1. Credit rating agencies are regulated by SEBI under the SEBI (Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations, 1999. The RBI only accredits agencies to rate bank loans and similar instruments under its own guidelines.
• ✓ 2. ICRA Limited is a public limited company, as its name under company law shows (a private company would be 'Pvt. Ltd.'); it is on SEBI's list of registered rating agencies.
• ✓ 3. Brickwork Ratings India Pvt. Ltd. is an Indian agency on SEBI's list of registered credit rating agencies, with its registered address in Bengaluru.

Remember · SEBI regulates credit rating agencies (CRA Regulations, 1999); the RBI merely accredits them for bank-loan ratings.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2022, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

The Banks Board Bureau recommended who should head public sector banks and helped them with strategy and capital-raising plans, so statements 2 and 3 are correct. Its chairman was not the RBI Governor: the first Chairman was Vinod Rai, former CAG, and the RBI was represented only by a Deputy Governor as ex-officio member.

• ✗ 1. The Bureau was chaired by Vinod Rai, a former Comptroller and Auditor General. The RBI's seat was that of a Deputy Governor, an ex-officio member.
• ✓ 2. The Bureau was set up to recommend the selection of heads of public sector banks and financial institutions.
• ✓ 3. It was also mandated to help banks develop strategies and capital-raising plans.

Remember · Banks Board Bureau (from 1 April 2016): recommends PSB heads and helps with strategy and capital raising; Chairman Vinod Rai; RBI Deputy Governor an ex-officio member.

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Answer: (a) 1, 2 and 3

The Coal Controller's Organisation is a subordinate office of the Ministry of Coal that collects coal statistics, monitors allocated coal blocks and hears objections under the coal-area acquisition law, but it does not police delivery of coal to consumers.

• ✓ 1. It works under the Collection of Statistics Act and has a Statistics Section; its yearly Coal Directory of India and Provisional Coal Statistics are the standard government source for coal data.
• ✓ 2. The CCO has a section that monitors allocated coal blocks, including captive coal and lignite blocks.
• ✓ 3. The Coal Controller hears objections to the Central Government's notification for acquiring coal-bearing land under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957, and reports to the Centre.
• ✗ 4. Its listed duties cover grade and quality checks, mining and closure plans, opening permissions and statistics; ensuring that mining companies deliver coal to end users on time is not among them.

Remember · Coal Controller's Organisation: subordinate office of the Ministry of Coal; coal statistics, grade disputes, mining and closure plans, monitoring of coal blocks, and hearings under the 1957 coal-area acquisition Act.

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Answer: (d) 1 and 4

The Tea Board is a statutory body set up under Section 4 of the Tea Act, 1953, and it runs promotion offices abroad, including Dubai and Moscow. It works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, not Agriculture, and its head office is in Kolkata, not Bengaluru.

• ✓ 1. The Tea Board was constituted on 1 April 1954 under Section 4 of the Tea Act, 1953, so it is a statutory body of the Central Government.
• ✗ 2. It functions under the Ministry of Commerce (Department of Commerce), not the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
• ✗ 3. The Board's head office is at 14, BTM Sarani, Kolkata, not in Bengaluru.
• ✓ 4. Its published list of offices abroad includes Dubai and Moscow, besides London.

Remember · Tea Board: statutory body under the Tea Act, 1953; Ministry of Commerce and Industry; head office in Kolkata; overseas offices include London, Dubai and Moscow.

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Answer: (b) 2 only

Only statement 2 is correct. The Department of Personnel was created on 1 August 1970 in the Cabinet Secretariat on the First Administrative Reforms Commission's advice, under the Prime Minister. The Gopalaswami Ayyangar Committee of 1949 made no proposal of a minister and secretary solely for administrative reform.

• ✗ 1. The Ayyangar Committee (1949) said a Department should be under a Secretary and a Ministry under a Minister, grouped the economic and social departments into four bureaus, and suggested an Organization and Methods machinery. It did not propose a minister and secretary meant only for administrative reform.
• ✓ 2. The First Administrative Reforms Commission (set up in 1966) recommended a separate Department of Personnel directly under the Prime Minister. The Government accepted this and the Department came into being on 1 August 1970, as part of the Cabinet Secretariat.

Remember · Department of Personnel: created 1 August 1970 in the Cabinet Secretariat, on the First ARC's advice, under the Prime Minister. Ayyangar Committee (1949): Secretary for a Department, Minister for a Ministry, and O&M machinery.

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Answer: (a) 1 and 2

Parliament itself reviews the independent regulators, through its committees: ad hoc committees appointed for a specific inquiry, and the Departmentally Related Standing Committees that scrutinise ministries and their work. The Finance Commission, the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission and NITI Aayog have other jobs and do not review regulators.

• ✓ 1. Ad hoc committees are appointed by Parliament from time to time to enquire into specific subjects, and can be set up to examine a regulator's working.
• ✓ 2. Departmentally Related Standing Committees examine the annual reports, Bills and demands for grants of the ministries they cover, and PRS notes that parliamentary committees such as the Standing Committees on Health and on Energy have examined the working of regulators under those ministries.
• ✗ 3. The Finance Commission's constitutional duty is to recommend how tax proceeds are shared between the Union and the States and the principles for grants-in-aid; supervising sectoral regulators is not its task.
• ✗ 4. The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission was set up on the Budget 2010-11 announcement to rewrite and harmonise financial-sector law; it was a law-reform commission, not a standing reviewer of regulators.
• ✗ 5. NITI Aayog is the Government's policy think tank, formed by a Cabinet resolution of 1 January 2015 to replace the Planning Commission; it has no oversight role over regulators.

Remember · Independent regulators answer to Parliament through its committees (ad hoc and Departmentally Related Standing Committees), not through the Finance Commission, FSLRC or NITI Aayog.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Politics in India since Independence, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) Banks Board Bureau

In 2019 the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) was the body that recommended the selection of heads of public sector banks. The Government set it up as an autonomous body, functioning from 1 April 2016, to improve governance of public sector banks.

• ✓ (a) The Government's announcement of the Bureau said it would recommend for selection of the heads of public sector banks and financial institutions, and help banks with strategy and capital-raising plans.
• ✗ (b) The Reserve Bank of India regulates and supervises banks; it is not the selecting body for public sector bank heads. Its Deputy Governor was only one ex-officio member of the Bureau.
• ✗ (c) The Ministry of Finance owns the banks, but the Bureau was created as an autonomous body so that selection would not rest with the Ministry alone.
• ✗ (d) A bank's own management does not choose its chairman.
• • Since then On 1 July 2022 the Government revamped the Banks Board Bureau into the Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB), which recommends whole-time directors and non-executive chairpersons for financial services institutions (Department of Financial Services).

Remember · Banks Board Bureau (from 1 April 2016) recommended heads of public sector banks; since July 2022 the Financial Services Institutions Bureau has taken over this role.

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Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only

Statements 2 and 3 are correct. The PNGRB Act, 2006 aims to promote competitive markets in petroleum and natural gas, and appeals against the Board's orders go to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity. PNGRB is not the first regulator set up by the Government: the Reserve Bank of India, for one, dates from 1935.

• ✗ 1. The PNGRB Act was passed in 2006, whereas the Reserve Bank of India, a regulator of banking, was established on 1 April 1935. PNGRB is therefore far from the first regulatory body.
• ✓ 2. The Act's stated purpose includes promoting competitive markets, and the Board's functions include protecting consumers by fostering fair trade and competition among entities and regulating pipeline access to ensure fair competition.
• ✓ 3. Under section 30 of the PNGRB Act, the tribunal that hears appeals against Board orders is the same one that the Electricity Act, 2003 (section 110) created, now known as APTEL.

Remember · PNGRB (Act of 2006) regulates downstream petroleum and natural gas, promotes competitive markets, and its appeals go to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity.

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Answer: (a) 1 only

Only statement 1 is correct: the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 folded the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 and several older food orders into one law. FSSAI is an independent statutory authority with its own Chairperson, not a body under the Director General of Health Services.

• ✓ 1. The 2006 Act lists the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 among the laws it repeals, along with orders such as the Fruit Products Order, 1955. This gave India a single law and a single authority for food safety.
• ✗ 2. FSSAI is a statutory authority created by the 2006 Act. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is only its administrative ministry, and the FSSAI Chairperson is in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, so it does not sit under the Director General of Health Services.

Remember · FSS Act, 2006 replaced the PFA Act, 1954 and created FSSAI, a statutory authority whose administrative ministry is the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

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Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Both statements are correct. QCI is an autonomous society that the Government of India created in partnership with Indian industry, and its Chairman is nominated by the Prime Minister.

• ✓ 1. A committee of ministries and industry recommended, and the Cabinet Committee accepted, that the quality body be built jointly by Government and industry. The result was QCI, a non-profit autonomous society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• ✓ 2. QCI's Council lists its Chairman as 'nominated by Prime Minister of India'. The Council has equal representation of Government, industry and other stakeholders.

Remember · QCI: autonomous society (1997) set up jointly by the Government of India and industry; its Chairman is nominated by the Prime Minister; the Commerce Ministry's DPIIT is its nodal department.

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Answer: (d) 3 only

Only statement 3 is correct. The Election Commission itself, not the Home Ministry, fixes election schedules, it is not a five-member body, and the Symbols Order gives it the power to decide disputes over splits and mergers of recognised parties.

• ✗ 1. Article 324 provides for a Chief Election Commissioner and such other Election Commissioners as the President fixes. In practice the Commission is a three-member body, the CEC and two Election Commissioners, with equal powers.
• ✗ 2. The Election Commission determines the timing of elections and prepares the election schedule. The Home Ministry does not decide it.
• ✓ 3. Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 lets the Commission decide which rival group of a recognised party is that party, and paragraph 16 deals with amalgamation of parties. Its decision on rival groups is binding.

Remember · The Election Commission fixes election schedules, is a three-member body (CEC plus two ECs), and settles party-split disputes under para 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 3 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2017, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only

Under Article 356 the President takes over the State Government's functions, so the Council of Ministers necessarily goes. The Assembly need not be dissolved, because its powers pass to Parliament and it can be kept suspended, and the proclamation does not touch local bodies at all. So 1 and 3 are the ones that are not necessary consequences.

• ✓ 1. Dissolution of the Assembly is not automatic. Article 356(1)(b) only says the Legislature's powers become exercisable by or under Parliament, and NCERT notes the Assembly may be suspended or dissolved, so both are possible.
• ✗ 2. Removal of the Council of Ministers is a necessary result, because the President assumes the functions of the State Government under Article 356(1)(a). The item is therefore not in the answer set.
• ✓ 3. Article 356 says nothing about Panchayats or Municipalities. They are constituted under Parts IX and IXA, and Article 243E(1) lets a Panchayat be dissolved only under a law in force, so President's rule does not itself dissolve them.

Remember · President's rule (Article 356) puts the State Government in the President's hands, so ministers go. The Assembly may be suspended or dissolved, and local bodies are unaffected.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 7 (practise this chapter)

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Answer: (c) 1, 2 and 4

Regulation 2.2.2 of the 2011 FSSAI rules listed what every pre-packaged food label must carry: the name of the food, a list of ingredients (with additives), nutritional information, the veg/non-veg symbol, food-additive declarations, the maker's name and address, net quantity, batch number, dates and so on. A general statement of medical advice on possible allergic reactions was not among these mandatory items.

• ✓ 1. Except for single-ingredient foods, ingredients had to be listed on the label under a heading such as 'Ingredients', in descending order of weight or volume, with additives declared.
• ✓ 2. Nutritional information per 100 g, 100 ml or per serving (energy in kcal, protein, carbohydrate with sugar, fat) was required, with exemptions for items such as raw agricultural commodities.
• ✗ 3. The 2011 regulations had no general requirement to print medical recommendations about allergic reactions; allergy-related wording appeared only in special cases such as hypoallergenic infant formula.
• ✓ 4. Every package had to carry the green (vegetarian) or brown (non-vegetarian) symbol in the prescribed square-and-circle form.
• • Since then The 2011 rules have since been replaced by the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, which now require a separate 'Contains...' declaration of common food allergens (FSSAI compendium).

Remember · FSSAI labelling (2011): name, ingredients with additives, nutrition facts, veg/non-veg symbol, maker, net quantity, batch, dates. Mandatory allergen declaration arrived only with the 2020 Labelling and Display Regulations.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) 2 and 3 only

The Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) is an apex body of the Government of India, chaired by the Union Finance Minister, that monitors macro-prudential supervision of the economy. It belongs to the Finance Ministry's set-up, not to NITI Aayog, so statements 2 and 3 are correct.

• ✗ 1. The Government set up the FSDC by a notification of 30 December 2010, from the Union Budget 2010-11 announcement; the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry services it. It is not an organ of NITI Aayog.
• ✓ 2. The Chairman of the FSDC is the Finance Minister of India; its members are the heads of the financial regulators and senior Finance Ministry officials.
• ✓ 3. Without prejudice to the autonomy of regulators, the Council monitors macro-prudential supervision of the economy, including the functioning of large financial conglomerates.

Remember · FSDC (30 Dec 2010): non-statutory apex council chaired by the Union Finance Minister; watches financial stability, macro-prudential supervision and inter-regulatory coordination.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error