Prelims · Polity & governance · 27 questions

Constitutional, statutory & regulatory bodies

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Prelims 2024 · Q70

Medium

The North Eastern Council (NEC) was established by the North Eastern Council Act, 1971. Subsequent to the amendment of NEC Act in 2002, the Council comprises which of the following members?

1.Governor of the Constituent State
2.Chief Minister of the Constituent State
3.Three Members to be nominated by the President of India
4.The Home Minister of India

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

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.

Sources

North-Eastern Council Act, 1971, section 3 (as substituted by Act 68 of 2002) ↗ “the person or persons for the time being holding the office of the Governor of the States; (ii) the Chief Ministers of the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura … (iii) three members to be nominated by the President. … the President may, if he deems it necessary so to do, nominate a Union Minister to be a member of the Council.”
North Eastern Council, Composition of NEC (necouncil.gov.in) ↗ “Chairman Shri Amit Shah, Hon’ble Union Minister of Home Affairs Chairman Vice- Chairman Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister, Development of North Eastern Region”

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 ·

Prelims 2024 · Q80

Medium

Which of the following statements about the Ethics Committee in the Lok Sabha are correct?

1.Initially it was an ad-hoc Committee.
2.Only a Member of the Lok Sabha can make a complaint relating to unethical conduct of a member of the Lok Sabha.
3.This Committee cannot take up any matter which is sub-judice.

Select the answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

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.