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Prelims · Polity & governance · 49 questions

Parliament & the Union executive

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Parliament & the Union executive questions per year: 2016: 1, 2017: 4, 2018: 4, 2019: 1, 2020: 3, 2021: 1, 2022: 4, 2023: 3, 2024: 6, 2025: 4, 2026: 2 Asked in 11 of 11 years · most in 2024 (6)

UPSC syllabus: “Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.” See the full syllabus →

Prelims 2023 · Q36

Medium

Consider the following statements:

  1. 1.If the election of the President of India is declared void by the Supreme Court of India, all acts done by him/her in the performance of duties of his/her office of President before the date of decision become invalid.
  2. 2.Election for the post of the President of India can be postponed on the ground that some Legislative Assemblies have been dissolved and elections are yet to take place.
  3. 3.When a Bill is presented to the President of India, the Constitution prescribes time limits within which he/she has to declare his/her assent.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) None

None of the three statements is correct. Article 71 protects acts already done by a President whose election is later voided, Articles 62 and 71 do not allow the election to be delayed because of vacancies in the electoral college, and Article 111 sets no time limit for the President to assent to a Bill.

  • ✗ 1. Article 71(2) says acts done by the President on or before the date of the Supreme Court's decision are not invalidated by the declaration that the election was void.
  • ✗ 2. Article 62(1) requires the election to be completed before the term ends, and Article 71(4) says the election cannot be questioned because of vacancies in the electoral college, such as dissolved Assemblies.
  • ✗ 3. Article 111 says the President shall declare that he assents or withholds assent, and may return a non-Money Bill for reconsideration, but it fixes no time limit.

Remember · Presidential election: acts done before a voided election stand (Art. 71(2)); vacancies in the electoral college do not stop it (71(4)); Art. 111 sets no deadline for assent.

Sources

  • Constitution of India, Article 71(2) (Legislative Department) ↗ “the powers and duties of the office of President or Vice-President, as the case may be, on or before the date of the decision of the Supreme Court shall not be invalidated by reason of that declaration. … The election of a person as President or Vice-President shall not be called in question on the ground of the existence of any vacancy for whatever reason among the members of the electoral college electing him. … An election to fill a vacancy caused by the expiration of the term of office of President shall be completed before the expiration of the term. … it shall be presented to the President, and the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds assent therefrom”

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 ·

Prelims 2023 · Q37

Hard

With reference to Finance Bill and Money Bill in the Indian Parliament, consider the following statements:

  1. 1.When the Lok Sabha transmits Finance Bill to the Rajya Sabha, it can amend or reject the Bill.
  2. 2.When the Lok Sabha transmits Money Bill to the Rajya Sabha, it cannot amend or reject the Bill, it can only make recommendations.
  3. 3.In the case of disagreement between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, there is no joint sitting for Money Bill, but a joint sitting becomes necessary for Finance Bill.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) Only two

UPSC's official answer: (b) · the answer UPSC accepted, and the one that counts in the exam

Also defensible: (a)

  • Statement 2 is correct on any reading: under Article 109(2) the Rajya Sabha must 'return the Bill to the House of the People with its recommendations' within fourteen days.
  • Statement 3 fails on 'becomes necessary': Article 108 only says the President 'may' summon a joint sitting on a non-Money Bill; it is never compulsory, and a Money Bill has no joint sitting at all.
  • Statement 1 depends on what 'Finance Bill' means. UPSC's key treats it as a financial Bill that is not a Money Bill, which the Rajya Sabha can amend or reject like any other Bill, so 1 and 2 are correct: two, option (b).
  • But the Finance Bill of the Budget, defined in Lok Sabha Rule 219 as 'the Bill ordinarily introduced in each year to give effect to the financial proposals of the Government of India', is certified a Money Bill: 'A Finance Bill is a Money Bill but not all money bills are Finance Bills' (Arthapedia, Indian Economic Service). On that reading the Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject it, 1 fails too, and only 2 holds: option (a).

UPSC's key is (b), reading 'Finance Bill' as the non-Money financial Bill; read as the annual Finance Bill, a Money Bill, only statement 2 survives, giving (a). In the exam, when UPSC sets 'Finance Bill' against 'Money Bill', read it as the non-Money financial Bill, and never let 'necessary' pass for 'possible'.

This box is Minimalist IAS's analysis, with its sources; it does not change UPSC's answer.

Statements 1 and 2 are correct and statement 3 is not, so two are correct. The question sets a Finance Bill against a Money Bill, so the Finance Bill here is a financial Bill that is not a Money Bill: the Rajya Sabha can amend or reject it like any other Bill (1), while a Money Bill it can only return with recommendations within 14 days (2). Statement 3 fails on 'becomes necessary': Article 108 lets the President summon a joint sitting on a non-Money Bill, but it is never compulsory.

  • ✓ 1. Article 117(1) restricts a financial Bill only at introduction: the President's recommendation, and no introduction in the Rajya Sabha. Once transmitted, the Rajya Sabha can amend or reject it; Article 108 itself contemplates such a Bill being 'rejected by the other House' or the Houses disagreeing on amendments.
  • ✓ 2. Article 109(2): the Council of States must return a Money Bill within fourteen days with recommendations, and the House of the People may accept or reject any of them.
  • ✗ 3. No joint sitting for a Money Bill is right (Article 108 proviso), but a joint sitting never 'becomes necessary': on a disagreement the President 'may' notify a joint sitting, and the Bill may simply lapse. A possible remedy is not a necessary one.

Remember · Money Bill: Lok Sabha only; Rajya Sabha may only recommend within 14 days; no joint sitting. Other financial Bills: Rajya Sabha can amend or reject; a joint sitting is possible (the President 'may' summon one), never necessary.

Sources

  • Constitution of India, Article 109(2) (Legislative Department) ↗ “the Council of States shall within a period of fourteen days from the date of its receipt of the Bill return the Bill to the House of the People with its recommendations … his intention to summon them to meet in a joint sitting for the purpose of deliberating and voting on the Bill: Provided that nothing in this clause shall apply to a Money Bill. … and a Bill making such provision shall not be introduced in the Council of States … (a) the Bill is rejected by the other House; or (b) the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the Bill … the President may, unless the Bill has elapsed by reason of a dissolution of the House of the People, notify to the Houses by message if they are sitting or by public notification if they are not sitting, his intention to summon them to meet in a joint sitting”

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 ·

Prelims 2023 · Q80

Hard

Consider the following statements in respect of election to the President of India:

  1. 1.The members nominated to either House of the Parliament or the Legislative Assemblies of States are also eligible to be included in the Electoral College.
  2. 2.Higher the number of elective Assembly seats, higher is the value of vote of each MLA of that State.
  3. 3.The value of vote of each MLA of Madhya Pradesh is greater than that of Kerala.
  4. 4.The value of vote of each MLA of Puducherry is higher than that of Arunachal Pradesh because the ratio of total population to total number of elective seats in Puducherry is greater as compared to Arunachal Pradesh.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) Only one

Only statement 4 is correct. The Electoral College has only elected members, and the value of each MLA's vote equals the 1971 population of the State divided by its number of elected MLAs (then divided by 1,000), so more seats make each vote worth less, not more.

  • ✗ 1. Article 54 limits the Electoral College to the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and of the State Legislative Assemblies. Nominated members are not eligible.
  • ✗ 2. Under Article 55(2)(a) the number of elected MLAs is the divisor, so for a given population, more elective seats means a lower value for each MLA's vote.
  • ✗ 3. Using 1971 Census population, each MLA vote is worth 152 in Kerala (about 2.13 crore people, 140 seats) and 131 in Madhya Pradesh (about 3.00 crore people, 230 seats). Madhya Pradesh's value is lower, not greater.
  • ✓ 4. Puducherry (1971 population 4,71,707; 30 elected seats) gives 16 per MLA, while Arunachal Pradesh (4,67,511; 60 seats) gives 8. The populations are almost equal but Puducherry has half the seats, so its ratio of population to seats is higher.

Remember · Value of an MLA's vote = (State's 1971 population ÷ elected MLAs) ÷ 1,000, rounded. Only elected members vote, and states with fewer seats per head of population get a higher vote value.

Sources

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 ·

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