UPSC Static Quiz – Polity : 21 May 2025

Solution: a)

• Statement 1 is correct. Both India and the USA are federal republics, meaning they have a constitutional division of powers between a central (federal) government and state governments.
• Statement 2 is correct. India follows a Parliamentary system of government, where the executive is responsible to the legislature. The USA follows a Presidential system, characterized by a separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, and a President who is both Head of State and Head of Government.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. In India (Parliamentary system), the Head of State is the President (nominal executive), while the Head of Government is the Prime Minister (real executive). In the USA (Presidential system), the President is both the Head of State and the Head of Government.

Solution: b)

• The Inter-State Council (ISC) is established under Article 263 to effect coordination between states and between the Centre and states.
• Statement 1 is incorrect. Adjudicating legal disputes between states (e.g., original jurisdiction) is primarily the role of the Supreme Court under Article 131. The ISC is more of a recommendatory and coordinating body. For inter-state water disputes, tribunals are set up under Article 262.
• Statement 2 is correct. One of the duties of the ISC is to inquire into and advise upon disputes which may have arisen between states.
• Statement 3 is correct. The ISC is also tasked with investigating and discussing subjects in which some or all of the states, or the Union and one or more of the states, have a common interest, with the aim of making recommendations for better coordination of policy and action.
• Statement 4 is incorrect. The ISC makes recommendations, but its decisions are advisory and not binding. The allocation of financial resources is primarily guided by the recommendations of the Finance Commission (Article 280).

Solution: b)

• Statement 1 is correct. Statutory grants under Article 275 are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India each year as grants-in-aid of the revenues of such States as Parliament may determine to be in need of assistance. These are not given to every state but are based on need, particularly for promoting the welfare of Scheduled Tribes or raising the level of administration of Scheduled Areas. The Finance Commission makes recommendations regarding these grants.
• Statement 2 is correct. Article 282 empowers both the Union and the States to make grants for any public purpose, notwithstanding that the purpose is not one with respect to which Parliament or the Legislature of the State, as the case may be, may make laws. These are discretionary grants and are not limited by legislative competence over the subject matter of the grant.
• Statement 3 is incorrect. The recommendations of the Finance Commission, including those regarding statutory grants under Article 275, are advisory in nature and not binding on the government. However, traditionally, the government largely accepts these recommendations.

Solution: c)

• Statement-I is correct. The ‘Basic Structure’ doctrine, which evolved through landmark cases like Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), indeed imposes limitations on the Parliament’s constituent power under Article 368. It holds that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution, including Fundamental Rights, but it cannot alter or destroy the ‘basic structure’ or fundamental features of the Constitution.
• Statement-II is incorrect. The Constitution of India does not explicitly define the term ‘basic structure’ or list its constituent elements. The concept of ‘basic structure’ is a judicial innovation, and its contents have been gradually elucidated by the Supreme Court through various judgments over time. Features like supremacy of the Constitution, rule of law, judicial review, federalism, secularism, democratic and republican form of government, etc., have been identified as part of the basic structure by the judiciary.

Solution: a)

• The Indian Independence Act, 1947, was a landmark legislation by the British Parliament that partitioned British India and granted independence.
• Statement 1 is correct. The Act declared the Constituent Assembly of India (and Pakistan) to be fully sovereign bodies, free from any control of the British Parliament.
• Statement 2 is correct. As sovereign bodies, the Assemblies were empowered to frame and adopt any constitution they deemed fit for their respective dominions and to repeal any act of the British Parliament, including the Independence Act itself.
• Statement 3 is correct. The Act provided for the partition of India and the creation of two independent dominions, India and Pakistan. Consequently, the existing Constituent Assembly was effectively divided, with members representing territories that became Pakistan forming their own Constituent Assembly. The Muslim League members from Indian territories largely joined the Indian Constituent Assembly.
• Statement 4 is incorrect. The Indian Independence Act, 1947, set the date for independence as August 15, 1947. It did not fix the date for the Constitution’s enforcement. The date January 26, 1950, was chosen by the Constituent Assembly itself for symbolic reasons (Purna Swaraj Day).