CBSE - Working of Institutions

In India such a national assembly of elected representatives is called Parliament. 

1. The Prime Minister decides the members of the council of Minister.

2. Prime Minister distributes the portfolios among the ministers according to his choice.

3. Prime Minister presides over the meetings of Council of Minister.

4. Prime Minister is the leader and the head of the Government. 

The President 

If you are elected as the President of India which of the following decision can you take on your own?
(a) Select the person you like as Prime Minister.
(b) Dismiss a Prime Minister who has a majority in Lok Sabha.
(c) Ask for reconsideration of a bill passed by both the Houses.
(d) Nominate the leaders of your choice to the Council of Ministers.
ANS (c) Ask for reconsideration of a bill passed by both the houses.

Who among the following is a part of the political executive?
(a) District Collector
(b) Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs
(c) Home Minister
(d) Director General of Police
ANS (c) Home Minister

Which of the following statements about the judiciary is false?
(a) Every law passed by the Parliament needs approval of the Supreme Court.
(b) Judiciary can strike down a law if it goes against the spirit of the Constitution.
(c) Judiciary is independent of the Executive.
(d) Any citizen can approach the courts if her rights are violated
ANS (a) Every law passed by the Parliament needs approval of the Supreme Court.

Which of the following institutions can make changes to an existing law of the country?
(a) The Supreme Court
(b) The President
(c) The Prime Minister
(d) The Parliament
ANS (d) The Parliament

Match the ministry with the news that the ministry may have released:

Answer

(a)- iv, (b)- v, (c) - ii, (d) - iii, (e) - i

Of all the institutions that we have studied in this chapter, name the one that exercises the powers on each of the following matters.
(a) Decision on allocation of money for developing infrastructure like roads, irrigation etc. and different welfare activities for the citizens.
(b) Considers the recommendation of a Committee on a law to regulate the stock exchange.
(c) Decides on a legal dispute between two state governments.
(d) Implements the decision to provide relief for the victims of an earthquake.

Answer

(a) Lok Sabha (The Finance Ministry)
(b) The Parliament
(c) The Supreme Court
(d) The Executive

Why is the Prime Minister in India not directly elected by the people?
Choose the most appropriate answer and give reasons for your choice.
(a) In a Parliamentary democracy only the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha can become the Prime Minister.
(b) Lok Sabha can remove the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers even before the expiry of their term.
(c) Since the Prime Minister is appointed by the President there is no need for it.
(d) Direct election of the Prime Minister will involve lot of expenditure on election.

Answer

In a Parliamentary democracy only the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha can become the Prime Minister. This is to ensure that the Prime Minister secures a majority support. This prevents him/her from being either a puppet or a dictator since he/she has to function along with a council of ministers.

This film is unrealstic. A single man can't don anything alone. He have to follow procedures and guides written in constitution. A personal rule without institutions is dangerous.

I would choose to have a majority in the Lok Sabha as it is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha. Lok Sabha members are directly elected by the people. The leader of political party which is in majority in Lok Sabha will be appointed as prime minister which is most powerful person in the country.

After reading the example of the reservation order, three students had different reactions about the role of the judiciary. Which view, according to you, is a correct reading of the role of judiciary?
(a) Srinivas argues that since the Supreme Court agreed with the government, it is not independent.
(b) Anjaiah says that judiciary is independent because it could have given a verdict against the government order. The Supreme Court did direct the government to modify it.
(c) Vijaya thinks that the judiciary is neither independent nor conformist, but acts as a mediator between opposing parties. The court struck a good balance between those who supported and those who opposed the order.

Answer

The view that Anjaiah had is corect according to my view.

Q.1. What is meant by ‘Office Memorandum’?
(a) Order issued by the Government of India (b) Memoirs of the leaders of the past
(c) Important defence documents (d) None of the above
Ans. (a)
Q.2. When was the Second Backward Class Commission appointed?
(a) 1989 (b) 1979 (c) 1999 (d) 2001
Ans. (b)
Q.3. Why did people react strongly to the Mandal Commission Report?
(a) It left out many backward communities (b) It affected thousands of job opportunities
(c) Some high castes wanted to be included in it
(d) Both (a) and (c)
Ans. (b)
Q.4. What do the Civil Servants do?
(a) They take important policy decisions (b) They implement the ministers’ decisions
(c) They settle the disputes (d) None of the above
Ans. (b)
Q.5. What is ‘Parliament’?
(a) Assembly of elected representatives at the national level
(b) A body consisting of appointed ministers
(c) Body comprising judges (d) Assembly of only appointed members
Ans. (a)
Q.6. Which of these are correct so far as powers of the Parliament are concerned, apart from making laws?
(a) Exercising control over the government (b) Controlling finance of the country
(c) Serving as the highest forum of discussion and debate
(d) All the above
Ans. (d)
Q.7. Apart from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, who else constitutes the Parliament?
(a) Prime Minister (b) Chief Minister (c) Governor (d) President
Ans. (d)
Q.8. What happens if there is a difference of opinion between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha over an ordinary bill?
(a) The President decides the matter (b) The will of Rajya Sabha prevails
(c) There is a joint sitting of the two Houses (d) The bill is cancelled
Ans. (c)
Q.9. For how long can the Rajya Sabha delay a Money Bill?
(a) 15 days (b) 1 month (c) 3 months  (d) 14 days
Ans. (d)
Q.10. Who is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha?
(a) Speaker (b) Vice President (c) President (d) Prime Minister
Ans. (a)
Q.11. Two features of Indian judicial system are:
(a) Independent Judiciary (b) Integrated Judiciary (c) Dependent Judiciary (d) Both (a) and (b)
Ans. (d)
Q.12. Which of these disputes can the Supreme Court take?
(a) Between citizens of the country (b) Between citizens and the government
(c) Between two or more state governments (d) All the above
Ans. (d)
Q.13. Who appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts?
(a) President, according to his own wishes (b) President, on the advice of the PM
(c) President on the advice of the PM in consultation with the Chief Justice of India
(d) None of the above
Ans. (c)
Q.14. How can a judge of the Supreme Court be removed?
(a) By the Supreme Court itself (b) By the Parliament through impeachment
(c) By the President alone (d) By the Police
Ans. (b)
Q.15. What is the power of the Supreme Court to judge the constitutional validity of a law passed by the Parliament or an action of the Executive called?
(a) Judicial Revision (b) Judicial Review (c) Judicial Consent (d) Judicial Permission
Ans. (b)
Q.16. Which of the following institutions can make changes to the existing law of the country?
(a) The Supreme Court (b) The President (c) The Prime Minister (d) The Parliament
Ans. (d)
Q.17. What does the Supreme Court say over the Parliament’s power of amendment of the Constitution?
(a) Parliament can amend the entire Constitution
(b) Parliament can amend only the basic structure of the Constitution
(c) Parliament cannot amend the basic structure of the Constitution
(d) None of the above
Ans. (c)
Q.18. Which body acts as the guardian of Fundamental Rights?
(a) District Courts (b) Supreme Court (c) Election Commission (d) Legislature
Ans. (b)

Q.19. What is a Public Interest Litigation?
(a) Filing a case in the court in the interest of the public
(b) Reviewing of Supreme Court judgements
(c) Procedure of removal of a judge (d) None of the above
Ans. (a)
Q.20. What are the two types of ‘Executives’ in India?
(a) Political Executive (b) Permanent Executive (c) Judicial Executive (d) Both (a) and (b)
Ans. (d)
Q.21. Why does the political executive have more powers than the permanent executive?
(a) Because hardly any expertise is required in taking policy decisions
(b) Because political executive consists of the direct representatives of the people
(c) Political leaders are more educated (d) None of the above
Ans. (b)
Q.22. Who holds the most important and powerful position in the government?   
(a) President (b) Vice President (c) Prime Minister (d) Speaker
Ans. (c)
Q.23. Whom does the President appoint as the Prime Minister?
(a) Anyone he likes (b) Leader of the majority party
(c) MP who has secured the largest number of votes
(d) None of the above
Ans. (b)
Q.24. What is the tenure of office of the Prime Minister?
(a) 5 years (b) 6 years (c) As long as he wants (d) He does not have a fixed tenure
Ans. (d)
Q.25. What is the government formed by an alliance of two or more political parties called?
(a) Cooperation government (b) Coalition government 
(c) Consensus government (d) Cooperative government
Ans. (b)
Q.26. Who among the following is a part of the political executive?
(a) Home Minister (b) District Collector
(c) Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs
(d) Director General of Police
Ans. (a)
Q.27. Which organ of the government has the power to interpret the Constitution?
(a) Supreme Court (b) District Court (c) High Court (d) Both (a) and (c)
Ans. (a)
Q.28. About how many ministers are there in the Cabinet?
(a) 80 (b) 60 (c) 20 (d) 10
Ans. (c)
Q.29. Which of these options is/are correct regarding the powers of the Prime Minister?
(a) He chairs the Cabinet meetings
(b) He distributes work to the different departments
(c) He can dismiss ministers (d) All the above
Ans. (d)
Q.30. What is the position of the President?
(a) Nominal head of the state (b) Real head of the state 
(c) Hereditary head of the state (d) None of the above
Ans. (a)
Q.31. Which of the following statements is not true?
(a) The Judiciary safeguards the laws (b) The Legislature implements the laws
(c) The political executives are more powerful than the permanent executives
(d) The permanent executives comprises the civil servants
Ans. (b)
Q.32. The Council of Ministers at the centre is responsible to :
(a) The President (b) The Prime Minister  (c) The Rajya Sabha (d) The Lok Sabha
Ans. (d)
Q.33. The president of India is elected by
(a) Direet Election by citizens ... 18 yers of age           (b) Indirect Election by the Electoral College
(c) The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers    (d) None of the above
Ans. (b)
Q.34. President of India is :
(a) Head of the Government (b) Head of the State (c) Head of the parliament (d) None of the above
Ans. (b)
Q.35. The judges of Supreme Court are appointed by :
(a) President (b) Prime Minister (c) Chief Justice (d) Law Minister
Ans. (a)