Indian Polity

Statement I is correct: President's pardoning power can be subjected to limited judicial review, especially on grounds like mala fides, irrelevant considerations, or arbitrariness (as held in Kehar Singh, Epuru Sudhakar cases).

Statement II is incorrect: President cannot act independently; the power must be exercised on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers under Article 74.

Statement I is Incorrect: Declaring an area "Scheduled" does not strip the State Government of its executive authority. Instead, it adds a layer of protection where the Governor acts as a custodian. The administration remains with the State, influenced by the advice of the Tribes Advisory Council (TAC).

Statement II is Incorrect: Under Paragraph 3 of the Fifth Schedule, the executive power of the Union extends only to giving directions to the State regarding the administration of Scheduled Areas. There is no provision within the Schedule for the "total takeover" of administration by the Union Government.

Statement I is Correct: Any change in the Union List alters the distribution of legislative powers and requires ratification by at least half of the State Legislatures.

Statement II is Correct: Changes affecting the extent of a State's executive power also need ratification by not less than one-half of the States.

Statement III is Incorrect: Conditions of the Governor's office can be amended by Parliament alone and do not require ratification by States.

The Constitution outlines specific roles where the Governor can act at his/her own discretion, but it does not allow the President to unilaterally intervene in State legislation without the Governor's involvement.

Statement I: Correct * The Governor can act in discretion in certain cases (e.g., reserving a bill for the President under Article 200, or appointing a CM in a hung assembly). * Article 163(2) makes the Governor's discretion final in such matters.

Statement II: Incorrect * The President cannot suo motu reserve a State bill. Only the Governor can do this under Article 200.

Statement I: Incorrect *Intermediate-level Panchayats are not mandatory in all states; states with population under 20 lakhs may skip this tier.*

Statement II: Incorrect *Minimum age to be a Panchayat member is 21 years, not 30.*

Statement III: Incorrect *State Finance Commission is constituted by the Governor, not the Chief Minister.*

Correct Answer: All three statements are incorrect.

Row 1 is Incorrect: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is responsible for investigating offences of money laundering and enforcing the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018. However, it functions under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, not the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Row 2 is Correct: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is the apex anti-smuggling agency of India. It is responsible for the enforcement of the Customs Act, 1962, and functions under the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

Row 3 is Incorrect: While the Directorate General of Systems and Data Management operates under the Department of Revenue, its primary role is the implementation and maintenance of IT systems for the CBIC. The specific function of carrying out big data analytics to assist tax officers in policy formulation and nabbing tax evaders is the mandate of the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM), which was specifically established for this analytical purpose.

Note: After the release of the UPSC ANSWER KEY 2025, we have updated it to A.

Each of these constitutional provisions is accurately linked to its correct part within the Constitution of India.

Pair I: Directive Principles of State Policy – Correct * Article 50 mandates the separation of the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State.

Pair II: Fundamental Duties – Correct * Article 51A(f) states that citizens must value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

Pair III: Fundamental Rights – Correct * Article 24 prohibits the employment of children below 14 years in hazardous work such as factories or mines.

Statement I: Incorrect Regulation of minor minerals is mainly a State subject under the MMDR Act, 1957. States have the authority to make rules for extraction concessions.

Statement II: Correct The Central Government notifies which minerals are classified as 'minor minerals' under the MMDR Act.

Therefore, Statement I is incorrect, and Statement II is correct.

Statement I: Correct The Speaker of Lok Sabha continues in office even after dissolution until just before the new House meets, ensuring continuity (Article 94).

Statement II: Incorrect No constitutional mandate requires the Speaker to resign from their political party; this is only a convention for impartiality.

Statement III: Correct The Speaker can be removed by a majority resolution with at least 14 days' prior notice (Article 94).

Therefore, statements I and III are correct.

Statement I: Incorrect The decision on disqualification under the Tenth Schedule is made by the Speaker or Chairman, not the President or the Union Council of Ministers.

Statement II: Incorrect The word 'political party' is explicitly mentioned in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Therefore, neither statement is correct.

The Indian Constitution provides legal immunities and privileges to ensure the independent functioning of constitutional offices and legislative bodies.

Statement I: Correct * As per Article 361(1), the Governor is not answerable to any court for actions taken in the course of their official duties.

Statement II: Correct * Article 361(2) states that no criminal proceedings can be initiated or continued against a Governor during their term.

Statement III: Correct * Article 194(2) grants immunity to State Legislators for anything said or any vote given within the House or its committees.

An Ordinance is a temporary law issued by the President (Article 123) or Governor (Article 213) when the legislature is not in session. It holds the same force as a regular law, but must adhere to constitutional limits.

Statement I: Correct * An Ordinance can amend any Central Act, just like a Parliamentary law, subject to constitutional provisions.

Statement II: Incorrect * Ordinances cannot abridge Fundamental Rights as per Article 13(2) of the Constitution. Any such provision is void.

Statement III: Correct * Ordinances can be given retrospective effect, i.e., they can be enforced from a past date.

Among the listed bodies, only the Inter-State Council is established by the Constitution of India. The others are based on statutory or executive provisions.

I. Inter-State Council – Correct * Established under Article 263 of the Constitution to facilitate Centre-State coordination.

II. National Security Council – Incorrect * Formed in 1998 by an executive order, not mentioned in the Constitution.

III. Zonal Councils – Incorrect * Established under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, a statutory but non-constitutional body.

Statement I: Incorrect Lokpal's jurisdiction includes all Indian public servants, even those posted abroad.

Statement II: Incorrect Chairperson need not be only the CJI; former judges or eminent persons with 25+ years' expertise can also be appointed.

Statement III: Correct Minimum age to be Chairperson or Member is 45 years.

Statement IV: Incorrect Lokpal can inquire against a sitting PM, but with safeguards and restrictions in sensitive areas.

Therefore, only Statement III is correct.

Statement 1 is Correct: Under Article 112, the President causes the Annual Financial Statement (Union Budget) to be laid before Parliament. In practice, the Union Finance Minister presents the Budget on behalf of the President before both Houses of Parliament.

Statement 2 is Correct: Article 113(3) of the Constitution explicitly provides that no demand for a grant shall be made except on the recommendation of the President of India. This ensures executive control over the proposal of expenditures from the Consolidated Fund of India.

Statement 1 is Correct: The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha was first constituted as an ad-hoc committee by the Speaker in 2000. It became a permanent standing committee of the House only in 2015.

Statement 2 is Incorrect: Any person can make a complaint of unethical conduct against a member of the Lok Sabha. While a complaint made by an outsider must be forwarded by a member of the Lok Sabha, the initiator of the complaint does not necessarily have to be a member of the House.

Statement 3 is Correct: According to the Rules of Procedure, the Ethics Committee cannot take up any matter that is sub-judice, meaning a matter that is currently under consideration or trial by a court of law.

1. Permanent Chairman of Chiefs of Staff Committee: This is correct. The CDS is designated as the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), which includes the chiefs of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

2. Exercise military command over the three Service Chiefs: This is incorrect. The CDS does not have direct operational command authority over the three service chiefs. The service chiefs continue to exercise operational command over their respective services. The CDS acts as a coordinator and advisor, promoting jointness and integration among the services.

3. Principal Military Advisor to Defence Minister on all tri-service matters: This is correct. The CDS acts as the single-point military advisor to the Defence Minister on matters related to all three services. This ensures streamlined and integrated military advice to the political leadership.

4. Additional Information - The creation of the post of the Chief of Defence Staff was recommended by these committees: Group of Ministers (2001), Naresh Chandra Committee and D.B. Shekatkar Committee.

Therefore, the correct statements are 1 and 3.

Pair 1 is incorrect: A Brigadier (Army) is equivalent to an Air Commodore (Air Force) and a Commodore (Navy). A Commander in the Navy is actually two ranks junior to a Brigadier.

Pair 2 is incorrect: A Major General (Army) is equivalent to an Air Vice Marshal (Air Force) and a Rear Admiral (Navy). A Vice Admiral is a rank higher (equivalent to a Lieutenant General).

Pair 3 is correct: A Major (Army) is equivalent to a Squadron Leader (Air Force) and a Lieutenant Commander (Navy).

Pair 4 is incorrect: A Lieutenant Colonel (Army) is equivalent to a Wing Commander (Air Force) and a Commander (Navy). A Group Captain and Captain (Navy) are equivalent to a Colonel in the Army.

The correct equivalent rank in the three services of Indian Defence forces are:


| Indian Army | Indian Navy | Indian Air Force | | --------------- | ---------------------- | -------------------------- | | Field Marshal | Admiral of the fleet | Marshal of the Air Force | | General | Admiral | Air Chief Marshal | | Lt. General | Vice Admiral | Air Marshal | | Major General | Rear Admiral | Air Vice Marshal | | Brigadier | Commodore | Air Commodore | | Colonel | Captain | Group Captain | | Lt. Colonel | Commander | Wing Commander | | Major | Lt. Commander | Squadron Leader | | Captain | Lieutenant | Flight Lieutenant | | Lieutenant | Sub Lieutenant | Flying Officer |

Thus only pair 3 is correctly matched, hence option D is the correct answer

Statement 1 is incorrect: The President of India, not the Governor of a State, has the power to specify a community as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) for a particular state or Union Territory. This is done through a notification in the Official Gazette, after consultation with the concerned State government. Statement 2 is correct: The specification of Scheduled Tribes is not uniform across the country. A community recognized as an ST in one State may not be recognized as such in another State. This is because the criteria for scheduling are based on social, educational, and economic backwardness, which can vary across regions.

* Statement 1 is correct: In India, the Constitution Day is celebrated in India on 26 November every year to commemorate the adoption of the Constitution of India and also it was celebrated to promote constitutional values among the citizens of India.

* Statement 2 is incorrect: On 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, to prepare a Draft Constitution for India. On 26 November 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950.

* Statement 1 is incorrect: If the election of a person as President is declared void by the Supreme Court, acts done by him before the date of such declaration of the Supreme Court are not invalidated and continue to remain in force.

* Statement 2 is incorrect: The Supreme Court in 1974 held that the dissolution of the state legislative assembly would not be a ground for preventing the holding of the election on the expiry of the term of the President. Nor can it be grounds to suggest that the election to the office of the President could be held only after the election to the state is held, where the Legislative Assembly of a State is dissolved.

* Statement 3 is incorrect: The Constitution of India does not prescribe any time limit within which the President has to decide concerning a bill presented to him/her for his/her assent. Thus the President of India can simply keep the bills pending for an indefinite period.

Statement 1 is Incorrect: The electoral college for the Presidential election consists only of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States (including the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union Territory of Puducherry). Nominated members of either House of Parliament or State Assemblies are not eligible. Currently, the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir is not included in the electoral college under Article 54.

Statement 2 is Incorrect: The value of an MLA's vote is calculated by dividing the total population of the State (based on the 1971 Census) by the total number of elected members in the Legislative Assembly, and then dividing the result by 1000. A higher number of elective seats (the denominator) does not automatically mean a higher vote value; rather, it depends on the ratio of the population to the number of seats.

Statement 3 is Incorrect: Based on the 1971 Census data used for elections, the value of the vote of each MLA of Madhya Pradesh is 131, whereas the value of the vote of each MLA of Kerala is 152. Therefore, the value is higher for Kerala.

Statement 4 is Correct: The value of the vote of each MLA of Puducherry (16) is higher than that of Arunachal Pradesh (8). This is because the ratio of the total population to the total number of elective seats in Puducherry is greater than the corresponding ratio in Arunachal Pradesh.

* The National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC): This body is a constitutional body. It was given constitutional status by the 102nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2018, which inserted Article 338B into the Indian Constitution.

* The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC): This body is not a constitutional body. It is a statutory body established under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.

* The National Law Commission: This body is not a constitutional body. It is an executive body established by an executive order of the Government of India.

* The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC): This body is not a constitutional body. It is a statutory body set up under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986 (replaced by the Consumer Protection Act 2019).

* Statement I is correct: It has frequently been argued that reservation is contrary to efficiency and merit. Even the Supreme Court of India appeared to have agreed with this argument in some of its judgments, holding that Article 335 mention of the term efficiency of administration will limit the scope of Article 16(4) provision for reservation in services.

* Statement II is incorrect: Article 335 of the Constitution of India states that the claims of the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes shall be taken into consideration, consistently with the maintenance of efficiency of administration, in the making of appointments to services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State.

* Article 335 of the Indian Constitution only mentions the efficiency of administration and does not define the same.

* Statement 1 is incorrect: Home Guards are raised under the Home Guards Act and Rules of the States/Union Territories (not the central Government). They are recruited from all classes of people and walks of life, who give their spare time to the organisation for the betterment of the community.

* Statement 2 is correct: The role of Home Guards is to serve as an auxiliary force to the Police in the maintenance of internal security situations, help the community in any kind of emergency such as an air raid, fire, cyclone, earthquake, epidemic, etc., help in the maintenance of essential services, promote communal harmony and assist the administration in protecting weaker sections, participate in socio-economic and welfare activities and perform Civil Defence duties.

* Statement 3 is correct: Fifteen Border Wing Home Guards (BWHG) Battalions have been raised in the border States viz. Punjab (6 Bns.), Rajasthan ( 4 Bns.), Gujarat (2 Bns.), and one each Battalion for Meghalaya, Tripura, and West Bengal to serve as an auxiliary to Border Security Force for preventing infiltration on the international border/coastal areas, guarding of VA/VPs and lines of communication in the vulnerable area at the time of external aggression.

Therefore, only two statements are correct.

* Statement 1 is correct: According to Article 355 of the Indian Constitution, it shall be the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.

* Statement 2 is correct: Article 22(3)(b) mentions that individuals detained under preventive detention laws are not initially entitled to consult or be defended by a legal practitioner until the grounds of detention are disclosed to them. Although the constitution allows for exceptions in preventive detention cases, it does not prohibit state governments from providing legal counsel to the detained person. The state has the discretion to offer legal assistance if it wishes.

* Statement 3 is incorrect: Section 32(1) of POTA 2002 allows confessions made to a police officer of at least Superintendent rank, overriding certain provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act.

* The Constitution contains the basic principles and laws of a nation that determine the powers and duties of the government. A constitution serves multiple purposes. It provides a legitimate legal and political basis for the Government to propose and enact laws, organising public service and settling disputes.

* Although the Constitution determines the objectives (DPSP) for the making of necessary laws and aims to promote social, economic and political democracy, its chief purpose is to limit the power of government. In fact the Constitutional government is by definition limited government.

Statement 1 is correct: While a Finance Bill (Category I under Art 117) is introduced only in the Lok Sabha (similar to a Money Bill), it is passed according to the ordinary legislative procedure. Therefore, the Rajya Sabha has the power to reject or amend it.

Statement 2 is correct: A Money Bill (Article 110) cannot be rejected or amended by the Rajya Sabha. It can only make recommendations which the Lok Sabha may accept or reject.

Statement 3 is incorrect: While a Joint Sitting is not provided for Money Bills, it is available for Finance Bills. However, it is not "necessary" (mandatory) to hold one. Under Article 108, the President "may" summon a Joint Sitting to resolve the deadlock, but is not obliged to do so; the bill could simply be allowed to lapse.

* Statement 1 is correct: As per Article 244(1) of the Constitution's Fifth Schedule, Scheduled Areas are areas that the President may declare to be such by order after consultation with the Governor of that State.

* Statement 2 is correct: District is considered as the largest administrative unit which forms the Scheduled Area while the lowest administrative unit is the cluster of villages in the Block.

* Statement 3 is incorrect: The Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of India states in para 3 that the Governor of each State having Scheduled Areas therein shall annually, or whenever so required by the President, make a report to the President regarding the administration of the Scheduled Areas in that State and the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of directions to the State as to the Administration of the said areas.

The Prisons Act 1894 is one of the oldest pieces of legislation in India dealing with laws enacted in relation to prisons in India.

* Statement 1 is correct: Prison is a State subject under List-II of the Seventh Schedule in the Constitution. States have the primary role, responsibility, and power to change the current prison laws, rules, and regulations. Hence it is true that prisons are managed by the state governments with their own rules and regulations.

* Statement 2 is correct: The management and administration of Prisons falls exclusively in the domain of the State Governments and is governed by the Prisons Act, of 1894 and the Prison Manuals of the respective State Governments.

* Hence it is true that the Prisons Act of 1894 kept the subject of prisons in the Provincial government (State governments) and this explains why State governments have the power to frame their own rules and regulations regarding prison management.