Federalism, states & centre–state relations

Answer: (c) All the three

UPSC's key counts all three pairs as correct. Itanagar is named after Ita Fort and Arunachal has two National Parks; Nagaland's statehood rests on the Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1962, which gave the new State its special provisions; and Tripura went from a Part C State to a Union Territory in 1956 and a full State in 1972.

• ✓ I Itanagar takes its name from Ita Fort ('the fort of bricks'). Arunachal's two National Parks are Namdapha (1972) and Mouling (1986).
• ✓ II Nagaland became a State on 1 December 1963. The Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1962 was passed with the State of Nagaland Act, 1962 to give effect to the 16-point agreement with the Naga People's Convention, inserting Article 371A for the new State; UPSC treats this amendment as the basis on which the State came into being.
• ✓ III Tripura was a Part C State after 1950, became a Union Territory with the reorganisation of States in 1956, and became a full State on 21 January 1972 through the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971.

Remember · Itanagar = Ita Fort; Nagaland statehood 1963 (Art. 371A via 13th Amendment); Tripura: Part C State, then UT in 1956, then State on 21 January 1972.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

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.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) I only

Statement I is right: Article 163(1) makes the Governor act on the advice of his Ministers except where the Constitution itself requires him to act in his discretion. Statement II is wrong: a State Bill reaches the President only when the Governor reserves it, so the President cannot call it up on his own.

• ✓ I Article 163(1) carves out the matters in which the Governor is required 'by or under this Constitution' to act in his discretion, and Article 163(2) makes his own decision on whether a matter falls there final.
• ✗ II Article 201 deals with a Bill 'reserved by a Governor for the consideration of the President'. The route to the President starts with the Governor's reservation; the Constitution gives the President no power to reserve a State Bill himself.

Remember · Governor acts on ministerial advice except where the Constitution requires his discretion (Art 163). A State Bill reaches the President only if the Governor reserves it (Arts 200–201).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Neither I nor II

Neither statement is correct. Scheduled Areas remain under the State's own administration: the Governor reports on them to the President, and the Union's executive power extends only to giving directions to the State about their administration.

• ✗ I Paragraph 3 of the Fifth Schedule has the Governor report on the administration of the Scheduled Areas 'in that State', and the Union then directs the State. The State keeps its executive power; the Schedule provides a Tribes Advisory Council, not a local body that takes over.
• ✗ II The Union's power under paragraph 3 is to give directions to the State on administering these areas. It is not a power to take over the administration, and the Governor's recommendation does not trigger any takeover.

Remember · Fifth Schedule: State administers Scheduled Areas, Governor reports annually to the President, Union can only direct the State (Para 3). District councils belong to the Sixth Schedule.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) I, II and III

All three statements follow the Constitution's text. Article 361 shields the Governor from answering to any court for his official acts and bars criminal proceedings during his term, and Article 194(2) protects a State legislator from court proceedings over what he says in the House.

• ✓ I Article 361(1): the Governor is not answerable to any court for exercising and performing the powers and duties of his office.
• ✓ II Article 361(2): no criminal proceedings whatsoever can be instituted or continued against the Governor in any court during his term of office.
• ✓ III Article 194(2): no member of a State Legislature is liable to any court proceedings for anything said or any vote given in the Legislature or a committee of it.

Remember · Governor: no court answerability for official acts (Art 361(1)) and no criminal proceedings during the term (Art 361(2)). Legislators: no court liability for House speech or votes (Art 194(2)).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

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) Inter-State quarantine is a Union subject under the Union List.

Entry 81 of the Union List (List I) in the Seventh Schedule reads 'Inter-State migration; inter-State quarantine', so quarantine between States is a Union subject. The other three options wrongly place Union List subjects in the State List.

• ✓ (c) Inter-State quarantine appears in entry 81 of the Union List.
• ✗ (b) Inter-State migration sits in the very same Union List entry 81, so it is not a State subject.
• ✗ (a) Inter-State trade and commerce is entry 42 of the Union List.
• ✗ (d) Corporation tax is entry 85 of the Union List.

Remember · Union List: entry 42 inter-State trade and commerce; entry 81 inter-State migration and quarantine; entry 85 corporation tax.

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: (b) 2 only

Under Article 342 it is the President, not the Governor, who specifies the Scheduled Tribes by public notification, consulting the Governor where a State is concerned. The specification is made 'in relation to' a particular State or Union territory, so a community can be a Scheduled Tribe in one State and not in another.

• ✗ 1. Article 342(1) gives the power to the President, who acts by public notification after consulting the Governor of the State. The Governor only gives his views. Once notified, the list can be changed only by Parliament through law (Article 342(2)).
• ✓ 2. A tribe is deemed a Scheduled Tribe 'in relation to that State' (or Union territory). The status is therefore State-specific and does not automatically carry over to another State.

Remember · Scheduled Tribes are specified by the President (after consulting the Governor) under Article 342, State by State. Only Parliament can alter the list; the Governor does not declare them.

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: (b) Only three

The Fifteenth Finance Commission shared the divisible pool among states on six criteria: income distance (45%), population (15%), area (15%), forest and ecology (10%), demographic performance (12.5%) and tax and fiscal efforts (2.5%). Governance reforms and stable government were not criteria, so three of the listed items were used.

• ✓ 1. Demographic performance carried a 12.5% weight: the Commission used Census 2011 population but wanted to reward states that had done better on the demographic front.
• ✓ 2. Forest and ecology carried a 10% weight in the 15th Finance Commission's formula.
• ✗ 3. Governance reforms were not a criterion in the devolution formula.
• ✗ 4. 'Stable government' was never part of the formula.
• ✓ 5. Tax and fiscal efforts carried a 2.5% weight: the Commission re-introduced the tax effort criterion to reward fiscal performance.

Remember · 15th FC horizontal devolution: income distance 45, population (2011) 15, area 15, demographic performance 12.5, forest and ecology 10, tax and fiscal efforts 2.5. States' share: 41%.

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) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I

Why not the tempting option · UPSC's key is (a). The 1894 Act does not use the words 'expressly kept', but it does expressly vest prisons in the provincial (now State) government: section 3 makes a prison a place used under that government's orders and section 59 gives it the rule-making power, so Statement II is a fair description. Option (b) fails because that rule-making power is precisely why each State has its own rules (Statement I); the State List entry of 1950 added the constitutional footing. In the exam, treat a statement as 'expressly' true when the Act's sections say it, even if not in those words.

Prisons are a State subject, and each State runs its prisons under its own manual and rules. The Prisons Act, 1894 is the framework law that placed prisons under the provincial (now State) government: a prison is a place used under that government's orders, and section 59 gives it the power to make the rules. That is exactly why States have their own rules, so Statement II explains Statement I.

• ✓ Statement-I 'Prisons' is in the State List of the Seventh Schedule. The Ministry of Home Affairs says management and administration lie exclusively with State Governments, under the 1894 Act and each State's Prison Manual.
• ✓ Statement-II The Act vests prisons in the provincial government throughout: section 3 defines a prison as a place used under the orders of the (then provincial, now State) Government, and section 59 says the State Government may make rules consistent with the Act. So it kept the subject under provincial control; Entry 4 of the State List later gave this constitutional footing.
• ✓ (a) Statement-II is the legal reason for Statement-I: the 1894 Act's rule-making power is why each State has its own prison rules.
• ✗ (b) This option accepts both statements but treats Statement-II as unrelated to Statement-I. The two are directly linked.

Remember · Prisons: State List, Seventh Schedule. States run them under the Prisons Act, 1894 and their own Prison Manuals; the Centre only advises (e.g. Model Prison Manual, 2016).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2023, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) Only two

Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule are declared by a Presidential Order, and they can be as large as a whole district or as small as a cluster of villages in a block, so statements 1 and 2 are correct. Statement 3 is wrong because the report on administering Scheduled Areas is made by the Governor to the President, not by the Chief Minister to the Home Ministry.

• ✓ 1. Under paragraph 6 of the Fifth Schedule, the President specifies Scheduled Areas in a State by a notified order, after consulting the Governor of that State.
• ✓ 2. The Tribal Affairs Ministry looks for a viable administrative entity such as a district, block or taluk. In practice the area varies: Rajasthan's 2018 declaration covered three whole districts as well as gram panchayats covering 227 villages in other districts.
• ✗ 3. Paragraph 3 of the Fifth Schedule requires the Governor, not the Chief Minister, to report to the President each year (or when asked) on the administration of Scheduled Areas.

Remember · Fifth Schedule: President declares Scheduled Areas by order (para 6); Governor reports to the President annually (para 3); Tribes Advisory Council in each such State.

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) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is not the correct explanation for Statement-I

Both statements are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I. Public health and hospitals are State subjects, so States organise health services, while the National Health Policy 2017 itself calls for moving primary care from a very selective package to a comprehensive one.

• ✓ Statement-I The National Health Policy 2017 calls for an important change from a very selective primary care package to a comprehensive one that adds geriatric, palliative and rehabilitative care, and it treats preventive and promotive care as needing a stronger place in the system.
• ✓ Statement-II 'Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries' is entry 6 of the State List in the Seventh Schedule, so States are primarily responsible for organising health services.
• • link The Seventh Schedule fixes who holds the health subject; it does not say what the services must emphasise. Statement-II therefore does not by itself explain Statement-I, which rules out option (a).

Remember · Health is a State subject (State List, entry 6: public health and sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries). NHP 2017 moves primary care from selective to comprehensive, adding preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care.

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: (b) Only two

Statements 2 and 3 are correct; statement 1 is wrong because Home Guards are a State subject raised under the Home Guards Acts and Rules of the States and Union Territories. There is no Central Home Guards Act.

• ✗ 1. The Ministry of Home Affairs has told Parliament that Home Guards are a State subject governed by the Home Guards Acts and Rules of the respective States/UTs, and that there is no Central Act on them.
• ✓ 2. The role of Home Guards is to serve as an auxiliary force to the police in maintaining internal security, and also to help the community in emergencies such as fire, cyclone or earthquake.
• ✓ 3. In border States, Border Wing Home Guards battalions (Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Meghalaya, Tripura and West Bengal) serve as an auxiliary to the Border Security Force for preventing infiltration on the international border and coastal areas.

Remember · Home Guards: a State subject, raised under State/UT Home Guards Acts (no Central Act); auxiliary to the police; Border Wing battalions assist the BSF in border States.

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) This would prevent the transfer of land of tribal people to non-tribal people.

Once an area is declared a Scheduled Area under the Fifth Schedule, the Governor can make regulations that prohibit or restrict transfer of tribal land, which is the main protection the Schedule gives. It creates no local self-governing body, does not make the area a Union Territory and has no link with Special Category status.

• ✓ (a) Paragraph 5 lets the Governor make regulations for a Scheduled Area, including prohibiting or restricting transfer of land by or among Scheduled Tribe members. Of the four options, this is the real consequence.
• ✗ (b) Autonomous District Councils, which are self-governing bodies, belong to the Sixth Schedule (parts of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram). Fifth Schedule areas are governed through the Governor and a Tribes Advisory Council.
• ✗ (c) Scheduled Areas stay part of their State. Only Parliament, under Articles 2 to 4, can create a Union Territory; a Schedule does not do so.
• ✗ (d) Special Category Status is a separate device for extra central assistance to States with features such as hilly terrain, international borders and low population density. It is not linked to Scheduled Areas.

Remember · Fifth Schedule: Scheduled Areas run through the Governor and a Tribes Advisory Council, with power to restrict land transfer from tribals. Sixth Schedule: autonomous district councils in the North-East.

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 only

Parole and furlough rules are made by each State, not by the Centre, so statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is wrong because these rules do not give a prisoner a legal right to be released; parole is a conditional, discretionary release.

• ✗ 1. The Ministry of Home Affairs' Model Prison Manual says release on parole is not an absolute right: an eligible prisoner has a legal right only as per the conditions laid down, and the concession can be cancelled. So parole cannot be claimed as of right merely on making out a case.
• ✓ 2. Each State frames its own rules: the MHA Model Prison Manual says the respective State Government or Union Territory may enact a local and special law or issue instructions on parole and furlough. An example is the Bombay Furlough and Parole Rules, made under Section 59 of the Prisons Act, 1894, which apply in Gujarat.

Remember · Parole is a conditional, discretionary release, not a right. Each State has its own parole rules, as prisons are a State subject.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) The independence of judiciary is safeguarded.

An independent judiciary is an essential mark of a federation, because someone neutral must settle disputes between the Centre and the States over who holds which power. India has this: the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over Centre–State and inter-State disputes.

• ✓ (a) Two levels of government need an umpire on the division of powers. Article 131 gives the Supreme Court exclusive original jurisdiction in disputes between the Government of India and States, or between States.
• ✗ (b) Elected representatives from States sitting in the Union legislature also happens in unitary systems, where regions send members to the national legislature. It does not show a federal character.
• ✗ (c) Regional-party members in the Union Cabinet arise from coalition politics, not from a constitutional feature of federalism.
• ✗ (d) Fundamental Rights being enforceable in court protect individuals against the State. They are found in unitary democracies too, so they do not mark a federation.

Remember · Federal features: two levels of government, a written constitution, division of powers and an independent judiciary to resolve Centre–State disputes (Article 131).

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

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2021, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

A non-member can be a State minister for up to six months, but only if qualified to become a member, which needs an age of at least 25 for the Assembly, not merely voting age (18). And the Representation of the People Act, 1951 bars a convict sentenced to two years or more only for the period of sentence plus six years after release, not permanently.

• ✗ 1. Article 164(4) lets a non-member serve as minister for six consecutive months, but the person must be able to win a seat within that time; Article 173 requires a minimum age of 25 for the Legislative Assembly, so a mere voter (18+) does not qualify.
• ✗ 2. Section 8(3) of the Act disqualifies a person sentenced to imprisonment for at least two years from the date of conviction until six years after release; the bar is not permanent.

Remember · Non-member minister: six-month limit (Articles 75(5), 164(4)). Conviction with 2+ years' sentence: disqualified from conviction until six years after release (RPA 1951, Section 8(3)).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) Fifth Schedule

The Fifth Schedule protects tribal land in Scheduled Areas: the Governor can make regulations that prohibit or restrict transfer of tribal land, and the Supreme Court has used this scheme to hold that such land cannot be leased to private parties for mining.

• ✓ (b) Paragraph 5(2) of the Fifth Schedule lets the Governor prohibit or restrict transfer of land by or among Scheduled Tribe members in a Scheduled Area. In Samatha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (1997) the Supreme Court held that tribal land in Scheduled Areas cannot be leased to non-tribals or private industries.
• ✗ (c) The Ninth Schedule lists Acts and Regulations protected from challenge on the ground of clashing with Fundamental Rights; it does not deal with tribal land.
• ✗ (a) The Third Schedule contains the forms of oaths and affirmations of officials, nothing on land.
• ✗ (d) The Twelfth Schedule lists the functions of municipalities, not protection of tribal land.

Remember · Fifth Schedule = Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes (Governor's regulations on tribal land); Samatha (1997) barred mining leases on tribal land to private parties.

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: (c) Both 1 and 2

UPSC's key treats both statements as correct. Statement 1 rests on Article 176, under which the Governor addresses the Assembly at the start of the first session of each year. Article 208 lets each State House frame its own rules of procedure.

• ✓ 1. Article 176(1) requires the Governor to address the Legislative Assembly (or both Houses together, where there is a Council) at the start of the first session after each general election and at the start of the first session of each year.
• ✓ 2. Article 208 lets each State House make its own rules of procedure. UPSC's official key treats this statement as correct; we could not confirm the detail from an official source, so we do not explain it here.

Remember · Article 176: the Governor's special address opens the first session of each year (and the first session after a general election); Article 208: each House frames its own rules.

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: (c) Sarkaria Commission (1983)

The Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State Relations, set up in 1983, laid down these criteria for a Governor in its report. He should be eminent in some walk of life, come from outside the State, be a detached figure not too intimately connected with the State's local politics, and not have taken too great a part in politics, particularly in the recent past.

• ✓ (c) Paragraph 4.6.09 of the Sarkaria Commission report (Chapter IV, Role of the Governor) lists four criteria for appointing a Governor, and the question paraphrases three of them. The Commission drew on Jawaharlal Nehru's remarks in the Constituent Assembly.
• ✗ (a) The Administrative Reforms Commission is cited in the Sarkaria report only for stressing that a Governor should be impartial and command the respect of all parties. The four-part test in the question is Sarkaria's own.

Remember · Sarkaria (1983) on Governors: eminent, from outside the State, detached from local politics, and not too active in politics recently.

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

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: (c) 1 and 3 only

The N.K. Singh FRBM Review Committee (report made public in 2017) proposed a 60 per cent general-government debt anchor, with the Centre brought down to 40 per cent by FY23 and the States at about 20 per cent. Statement 2 swaps the numbers: it is the Centre whose debt was about 49 per cent of GDP. Article 293(3) makes statement 3 correct.

• ✓ 1. The committee recommended a glide path that brings the Centre's debt to 40 per cent of GDP by FY23 within a general-government anchor of about 60 per cent, leaving roughly 20 per cent for the States together.
• ✗ 2. The figures are reversed. The report puts the Union government's debt at 49.4 per cent of GDP and the States' collective debt at only about 19–21 per cent.
• ✓ 3. Article 293(3) says a State may not raise a loan without the Government of India's consent if any part of a loan made or guaranteed by the Centre is still outstanding.

Remember · FRBM Review (N.K. Singh) Committee: debt anchor 60% of GDP (Centre 40%, States 20%); fiscal deficit 2.5% by FY23. Article 293(3): indebted States need the Centre's consent to borrow.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) Governor General

Under the Government of India Act, 1935 the residuary powers went to the Governor-General, not to the Federal or the Provincial Legislature. Section 104 let him, acting in his own discretion, authorise either legislature to make a law on a matter not listed in the Seventh Schedule.

• ✓ (b) Section 104(1) says the Governor-General may by public notification empower either the Federal Legislature or a Provincial Legislature to legislate on a matter not enumerated in any list of the Seventh Schedule, and Section 104(2) says he acts in his discretion.
• ✗ (a) The Federal Legislature had only the powers given in the Federal List and the Concurrent List. It could make a law on an unlisted matter only if the Governor-General empowered it.
• ✗ (c) The Provincial Legislature likewise held only the Provincial and Concurrent Lists and had no residuary power of its own.

Remember · 1935 Act: residuary powers with the Governor-General (Section 104). The Constitution of India changed this: Article 248 gives them to Parliament.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (a) 1 only

The Speaker of a state Legislative Assembly must vacate office on ceasing to be a member of the Assembly, but does not leave office when the Assembly is dissolved. Article 179 lets the Speaker continue until just before the first meeting of the new Assembly.

• ✓ 1. Article 179(a) says a Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall vacate office if he ceases to be a member of the Assembly, for example on disqualification or losing a seat.
• ✗ 2. The second proviso to Article 179 says that on dissolution the Speaker shall not vacate office until immediately before the first meeting of the Assembly after the dissolution. So there is no immediate vacation.

Remember · On dissolution the Speaker stays in office until just before the new Assembly's first meeting (Article 179; Article 94 for the Lok Sabha Speaker).

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2

Both statements are correct. The Constitution gives a Governor immunity from criminal proceedings during the term of office (Article 361) and bars any reduction of the Governor's emoluments and allowances during that term (Article 158).

• ✓ 1. Article 361(2) bars criminal proceedings of every kind, whether starting or continuing, against the President or a State's Governor in any court while the term of office lasts.
• ✓ 2. Article 158(4) says the emoluments and allowances of the Governor shall not be diminished during his term of office, which secures the Governor's financial independence.

Remember · Article 361 shields the President and Governors from criminal proceedings during their term; Article 158(4) protects the Governor's emoluments from reduction.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink · Report an error

Answer: (b) the powers of the Legislature of that State shall be exercisable by or under the authority of the Parliament.

Under Article 356 the President can declare that the State Legislature's powers will be exercised by or under the authority of Parliament. This is the constitutional core of President's Rule, and it is the option that uses the Article's own words.

• ✓ (b) Article 356(1)(b) allows the President to declare that the powers of the State Legislature shall be exercisable by or under Parliament's authority.
• ✗ (d) The President does not get lawmaking power directly from the Proclamation. Under Article 357, Parliament may confer on the President the State Legislature's power to make laws.
• ✗ (a) Article 356 does not dissolve the Assembly. It only takes over the Legislature's powers, so the Assembly can stay in suspended animation.
• ✗ (c) Article 19 is suspended under Article 358, and only while an Emergency for war or external aggression is in operation. A President's Rule Proclamation under Article 356 does not suspend it.

Remember · Article 356 (President's Rule): the State Legislature's powers pass to Parliament; the President legislates only if Parliament confers that power (Art. 357). Art. 19 is suspended only under Art. 358.

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, 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)

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: (d) It is the result of an agreement among the federating units.

Indian federalism is not the result of an agreement among the States. India is a "holding together" federation, where a large country divides power between the Centre and the States, unlike the USA, where independent States came together. The Constitution calls India a Union of States, and the other three options are real features.

• ✓ (d) This is the odd one out. The Constitution begins with "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States"; the units did not sign a compact to form it. NCERT classes India with the "holding together" federations, not the "coming together" ones like the USA.
• ✗ (b) Powers are divided by the Seventh Schedule; for example, Article 246 gives Parliament exclusive power over the Union List. So this is a federal feature.
• ✗ (c) Seats in the Rajya Sabha are allocated State-wise under the Fourth Schedule (Article 80(2)), so States are not equally represented. This unequal representation is a real feature of Indian federalism.
• ✗ (a) An independent judiciary that settles Centre-State disputes is a standard feature of a federation and is present in India.

Remember · India is a "holding together" federation created by the Constitution (a Union of States), not by an agreement among States.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Democratic Politics – II, Ch 2 (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: (d) Neither 1 nor 2

The Chief Secretary, the senior-most civil servant of a State, is picked by the Chief Minister and appointed by the State Government; the order only carries the Governor's name because all State executive action is expressed in that name (Article 166). The post has no fixed tenure, which is why the Second Administrative Reforms Commission recommended a fixed tenure of at least two years.

• ✗ 1. The choice is the Chief Minister's and the appointment is an executive act of the State Government; the Governor does not select the officer, even though the order is issued in the Governor's name under Article 166(1).
• ✗ 2. No law fixes the Chief Secretary's term; the officer holds the post at the State Government's discretion until moved or retired. The 2nd ARC (15th Report, 2009) asked for a collegium-based panel and a fixed tenure of at least two years.

Remember · Chief Secretary: senior-most State civil servant, chosen by the CM, no fixed tenure; 2nd ARC proposed a collegium panel and a minimum two-year tenure.

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: (d) Rajya Sabha by a majority of not less than two-thirds of its members present and voting

Under Article 249 only the Rajya Sabha can give Parliament this power, and it must do so by a resolution supported by at least two-thirds of its members present and voting. The Lok Sabha has no role in passing the resolution.

• ✓ (d) Article 249(1) says that if the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) declares, by a resolution supported by not less than two-thirds of members present and voting, that it is necessary or expedient in the national interest, Parliament may make laws on that State List matter for the whole or any part of India.
• ✗ (a) The Lok Sabha does not pass the Article 249 resolution, and a simple majority would not be enough in any case.
• ✗ (c) The House is right but the majority is wrong: the resolution needs two-thirds of members present and voting, not a simple majority of total membership.
• ✗ (b) Two-thirds is the correct size of majority, but it is counted in the Rajya Sabha and among members present and voting, not in the Lok Sabha.

Remember · Article 249: Rajya Sabha resolution, two-thirds of members present and voting, lets Parliament legislate on a State List subject in the national interest; it lasts up to one year and can be renewed.

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