1. Which of the following is/are compulsory provisions of the Part IX of the constitution:

1. Providing for constitution of funds for crediting all money of the panchayats.
2. Twenty- one years to be Minimum age for consenting elections to panchayat.
3. Reservation of one- third seat for women in panchayat at all three levels.
4. Determining the manner of election of the chairperson of the village panchayat.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1, 2 and 4 only
2. 2, 3 and 4 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3 only

2. Which of the following provided for non official majority in provincial legislative councils for the very first time?

1. Indian Councils Act 1909
2. Indian Councils Act of 1892
3. Government of India Act of 1919
4. Indian Councils Act 1861

3. With reference to the Parliamentary Committees (PC), consider the following statements: 

1. It is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by House or nominated by Speaker.
2. There is no mention of them in the Constitution.
3. They have their origins in British Parliament.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

4. Consider the following statements regarding death sentence :

1. If an offence is punishable with life sentence or death penalty, judgement will require to state reasons for awarding the sentence.
2. As per the Criminal Procedure Code 1973, conviction and sentencing hearings must be held on separate days.

Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

5. Consider the following statements regarding observations of NFHS 5 report.

1. Rate of full immunization among kids aged 12-23 months has exceeded 90% for the first time.
2. Total Fertility rate has gone below replacement level at the National Level.
3. The levels of stunting, wasting and underweight have all seen a decrease in comparison to previous round.

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

1. Only one statement is correct
2. Two statements are correct
3. All Three statements are correct
4. No statement is correct

Answers with Explanations

1. Which of the following is/are compulsory provisions of the Part IX of the constitution:

1. Providing for constitution of funds for crediting all money of the panchayats.
2. Twenty- one years to be Minimum age for consenting elections to panchayat.
3. Reservation of one- third seat for women in panchayat at all three levels.
4. Determining the manner of election of the chairperson of the village panchayat.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1, 2 and 4 only
2. 2, 3 and 4 only
3. 2 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3 only

Answer: 3

Explanation

The compulsory (obligatory or mandatory) and voluntary (discretionary or optional) provi- sions (features) of the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (1992) or the Part IX of the Constitution:

Compulsory Provisions:

• Organisation of Gram Sabha in a village or group of villages.
• Establishment of panchayats at the village, intermediate and district levels.
• Direct elections to all seats in panchayats at the village, intermediate and dis- trict levels.
• Indirect elections to the post of chairperson of panchayats at the inter- mediate and district levels.

Voting rights of the chairperson and other members of a panchayat elected directly or indirectly.

• 21 years to be the minimum age for contesting elections to panchayats.
• Reservation of seats (both members and chairpersons) for SCS and STS in panchayats at all the three levels.
• Reservation of one-third seats (both members and chairpersons) for women in panchayats at all the three levels.
• Fixing tenure of five years for panchayats at all levels and holding fresh elections within six months in the event of supersession of any panchayat.
• Establishment of a State Election Commission for conducting elections to the panchayats.

Voting rights of the chairperson and other members of a panchayat elected directly or indirectly.

• 21 years to be the minimum age for contesting elections to panchayats.
• Reservation of seats (both members and chairpersons) for SCS and STS in panchayats at all the three levels.
• Reservation of one-third seats (both members and chairpersons) for women in panchayats at all the three levels.
• Fixing tenure of five years for panchay- ats at all levels and holding fresh elec- tions within six months in the event of supersession of any panchayat.
• Establishment of a State Election Commission for conducting elections to the panchayats.

Constitution of a State Finance Commission after every five years to review the financial position of the panchayats. 

2. Which of the following provided for non official majority in provincial legislative councils for the very first time?

1. Indian Councils Act 1909
2. Indian Councils Act of 1892
3. Government of India Act of 1919
4. Indian Councils Act 1861

Answer : 1

3. With reference to the Parliamentary Committees (PC), consider the following statements: 

1. It is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by House or nominated by Speaker.
2. There is no mention of them in the Constitution.
3. They have their origins in British Parliament.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: 3

Explanation

Parliamentary Committees

What is a PC

• It is a Committee which is 
  • appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker
  • works under the direction of the Speaker 
  • presents its report to the House or to the Speaker 
  • Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha
• Need of PC when we already have LS/RS to execute work of Parliament
• Work done by the Parliament in modern times is not only varied and complex in nature but also considerable in volume. 
• The time at its disposal is limited.
• It cannot, therefore, give close consideration to all the legislative and other matters that come up before it.
• Therefore, it is assisted by several committees in the discharge of its duties.

Mention in the constitution of India

• Parliamentary committees draw their authority from Article 105 (on privileges of Parliament members) and Article 118 (on Parliament’s authority to make rules for regulating its procedure and conduct of business).
• However, the constitution does not make any specific provisions regarding their composition, tenure, functions, etc. 
• All these matters are dealt with by the rules of two Houses respectively.

4. Consider the following statements regarding death sentence :

1. If an offence is punishable with life sentence or death penalty, judgement will require to state reasons for awarding the sentence.
2. As per the Criminal Procedure Code 1973, conviction and sentencing hearings must be held on separate days.

Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: 2

Explanation

• On September 19th, 2022, a 3-judge bench of the Supreme Court referred certain issues of death penalty sentencing to a larger  5 judge constitutional bench.
•  One of these issues relates to the amount of time required to collect and present mitigation evidence at the stage of sentencing. 
• S. 235(2), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) divides criminal trials into two stages: a hearing on conviction and a separate hearing on sentencing. 
• This bifurcated trial was not prescribed by the old 1898 CrPC. It was introduced after the 48th Law Commission of India (1971) recommended.
• But there is no explicit mention of hearing being on different dates.
• In death penalty cases, S. 354(3), CrPC requires that judges give special reasons before imposing a death sentence.

5. Consider the following statements regarding observations of NFHS 5 report.

1. Rate of full immunization among kids aged 12-23 months has exceeded 90% for the first time.
2. Total Fertility rate has gone below replacement level at the National Level.
3. The levels of stunting, wasting and underweight have all seen a decrease in comparison to previous round.

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

1. Only one statement is correct
2. Two statements are correct
3. All Three statements are correct
4. No statement is correct

Answer: 2

Explanation

Statement 1 : Incorrect – 

Full immunization in kids aged 12-23 months- 76%

Statement 2 : Correct 

Total Fertility Rate 

National Level : 2.0 

Highest : Bihar 3.0

Lowest : Sikkim 1.1

Statement 3 : Correct

Stunting : 36%(38%)

Wasting : 19% (21%)

Underweight : 32.1% (35.8%)

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