Prelims 2025 · Q91
MediumConsider the following statements:
- I.Panchayats at the intermediate level exist in all States.
- II.To be eligible to be a Member of a Panchayat at the intermediate level, a person should attain the age of thirty years.
- III.The Chief Minister of a State constitutes a commission to review the financial position of Panchayats at the intermediate levels and to make recommendations regarding the distribution of net proceeds of taxes and duties, leviable by the State, between the State and Panchayats at the intermediate level.
Which of the statements given above are not correct?
Answer & explanation
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.
Sources
- The Constitution of India (Legislative Department, Government of India), Article 243B(2) ↗ “Notwithstanding anything in clause (1), Panchayats at the intermediate level may not be constituted in a State having a population not exceeding twenty lakhs. … no person shall be disqualified on the ground that he is less than twenty-five years of age, if he has attained the age of twenty- one years … The Governor of a State shall, as soon as may be within one year from the commencement of the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year, constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats”
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 ·