Constitutional, statutory & regulatory bodies

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.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, 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

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.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2019, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error