Panchayati Raj & local government

Answer: (a) There are two correct statements, that include statement 2.

Statements 2 and 3 are correct. The tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram fall under the Sixth Schedule, not the Fifth, so statement 1 is wrong. The Constitution reserves at least one-third of the SC and ST seats in Panchayats for women of those groups, and members of Scheduled Tribes living in specified north-eastern areas are exempt from income tax on income from those areas.

• ✗ 1. Article 244(1) applies the Fifth Schedule to Scheduled Areas in every State other than Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram; Article 244(2) gives those four States' tribal areas the Sixth Schedule.
• ✓ 2. Members of Scheduled Tribes living in specified north-eastern areas pay no income tax on income arising in those areas, so some tribes do have an exemption on certain incomes.
• ✓ 3. Article 243D(2) reserves not less than one-third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs in a Panchayat for women of those groups; NCERT puts this at 17 per cent of all seats.
• • Since then The Income-tax Act, 2025 has since been enacted and carries the same exemption for Scheduled Tribe members in its Schedule III, in place of section 10(26) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Remember · Fifth Schedule = Scheduled Areas in most States; Sixth Schedule = tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram (Art 244). Panchayats: one-third of SC/ST seats go to SC/ST women (Art 243D).

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Social Change and Development in India, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)

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: (b) 2 only

The Revamped RGSA runs from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2026, so the 2021 start date is wrong. Its objective is to strengthen Panchayati Raj Institutions' governance capability to deliver the SDGs, which is stated correctly. The Central share is 100% only for the Central Component and for UTs other than Jammu and Kashmir, so Statement 3 is wrong.

• ✗ 1. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the revamped scheme on 13 April 2022 for 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2026, aligned with the 15th Finance Commission period, not from 2021.
• ✓ 2. The scheme's stated objective is to strengthen the governance capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions so they can effectively deliver on the SDGs.
• ✗ 3. For the State Component the Centre–State ratio is 60:40, or 90:10 for North Eastern and hilly States and Jammu and Kashmir. Only the Central Component and the other Union Territories are funded 100% by the Centre.

Remember · Revamped RGSA: 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2026; Rs 5,911 crore (Centre Rs 3,700 crore); capacity building of PRIs for SDGs; Centre–State share 60:40 (90:10 for NE, hilly States and J&K).

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) I, II and III

All three statements are wrong, so all three are 'not correct'. A State with a population of twenty lakh or less need not have intermediate-level Panchayats, the minimum age for a Panchayat member is twenty-one, and it is the Governor, not the Chief Minister, who constitutes the State Finance Commission.

• ✗ I Article 243B(1) requires three tiers in every State, but 243B(2) lets a State with a population not exceeding twenty lakhs skip the intermediate level, so it does not exist in all States.
• ✗ II Article 243F allows a person of twenty-one to be a Panchayat member; a candidate cannot be disqualified merely for being under twenty-five if he has reached twenty-one. Thirty years is not the requirement.
• ✗ III Under Article 243-I the Governor constitutes the State Finance Commission, every fifth year, to review the Panchayats' finances and recommend how tax proceeds are shared with them. The Chief Minister does not.

Remember · Intermediate tier optional if the State population is up to 20 lakh; minimum age 21; the Governor constitutes the State Finance Commission every five years.

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: (b) Democratic decentralisation

Local self-government moves power from the Central and State governments to elected bodies of villages and towns, so that people decide local matters themselves. Handing power down to elected local bodies is exactly what democratic decentralisation means.

• ✓ (b) When power is taken from Central and State governments and given to elected local government, it is decentralisation; panchayats were seen as instruments of decentralisation and participatory democracy.
• ✗ (a) Federalism is a constitutional division of power between the Union and the States. Local bodies are a third tier created within the States, and their powers depend on State laws.
• ✗ (c) Administrative delegation passes work to appointed officials who stay answerable to superiors; local self-government gives authority to bodies elected by and answerable to the local people.

Remember · Local self-government (73rd and 74th Amendments) = democratic decentralisation: power shifted from Centre and States to elected panchayats and municipalities.

📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 10 Democratic Politics – II, Ch 2 (practise this chapter) · Class 11 Indian Constitution at Work, Ch 8 (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) 2 only

Under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 the village courts hear both civil and criminal cases, so statement 1 is wrong. The Act does let village-level social workers act as conciliators, so statement 2 is correct.

• ✗ 1. Section 11 says a Gram Nyayalaya exercises both civil and criminal jurisdiction, in the manner and to the extent the Act provides.
• ✓ 2. Section 27 has the District Court prepare a panel of village-level social workers of integrity to serve as Conciliators, and the Gram Nyayalaya is to try to settle disputes by conciliation.

Remember · Gram Nyayalayas (Act of 2008) are village courts with both civil and criminal jurisdiction, and they use village-level social workers as conciliators.

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: (b) 2 only

Statement 2 is correct and statement 1 is wrong. Article 243E(4) says a Panchayat formed after an early dissolution lasts only for the remainder of the dissolved body's five-year term, while Article 243F lets a person be a Panchayat member from the age of 21.

• ✗ 1. Article 243F(1)(a) applies the State Legislature's age qualification but adds that no one can be disqualified for being under twenty-five if he has attained twenty-one years. The minimum age for a Panchayat member is therefore 21, not 25.
• ✓ 2. Article 243E(4) says a Panchayat constituted after an early dissolution continues only for the remainder of the period for which the dissolved Panchayat would have continued, so it does not get a fresh five-year term.

Remember · Panchayat members: minimum age 21 (Art. 243F). A Panchayat set up after premature dissolution serves only the remainder of the old term (Art. 243E(4)); fresh election within six months.

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