Indian Politics - General Knowledge Questions and Answers - in Hindi

The Finance Commission is constituted by the President under article 280 of the Constitution, mainly to give its recommendations on distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States and amongst the States themselves.

On 28 December 1885, the Indian National Congress (INC), popularly known as the Congress, was founded at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College in Bombay, under the guidance of British civil servant Allan Octavian Hume.
It is the country’s oldest political party.

The Legislative Council of a state comprises not more than one third of total number of members in legislative assembly of the state and in no case fewer than 40 members (Legislative Council of Jammu and Kashmir has 36 members vide Section 50 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir).

Amending the Constitution of India is laid down in Part XX (Article 368) of the Constitution of India, deals with the powers of the Parliament to amend (i.e. to modify) the Constitution and its procedure. But no change can be done in the basic structure of the constitution.

The constitution can be amended in three ways:

1. Amendment by simple majority of the parliament
2. Amendment by special majority of the parliament
3. Amendment by special majority of the parliament and the ratification of half of the state legislatures.

The constitution of india had, 395 articles in 22 parts and 8 schedules when it was written.
Additional articles and parts are inserted later through various amendments.

The Indian Constitution is unique in its contents and spirit. Although it had picked up many best features from other constitutions of the world.
India borrowed the concept of Fundamental Duties from the Soviet Constitution (USSR, now Russia)

Article 51A, Part IVA of the Indian Constitution, specifies the list of fundamental duties of the citizens.

at present there are overall 11 Fundamental Duties in Indian Constitution which are given below :

To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions , the National Flag and the National Anthem ;
To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom ;
To uphold and protect the sovereignty , unity and integrity of India ;
To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so ;
To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious , linguistic and regional or sectional diversities and to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women ;
To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture ;
To protect and improve the natural environment including forests , lakes , rivers and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures ;
To develop scientific temper , humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform ;
To safeguard public property and to abjure violence ;
To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement ;
To provide opportunities for education by the parent or guardian to his child or ward between the age of 6 and 14 years . This duty was added to the Indian Constitution by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act , 2002 .

The Vice-President is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament.

The Vice-President is not a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of a Legislature of any state. If a member of either House of Parliament or of a House of a Legislature of any state is elected as Vice-President, he is deemed to have vacated his seat in that House on the date he/she enters his office as Vice-President.

A person cannot be elected as Vice-President unless he -
is a citizen of India;
has completed the age of 35 years, and
is qualified for election as a member of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).

A person is not also eligible if he holds any office of profit under the Government of India or a State Government or any subordinate local authority.

The Planning Commission is a non-constitutional and non-statutory body and is responsible to formulate five years plan for social and economic development in India.

A formal model of planning was adopted, and accordingly the Planning Commission, reporting directly to the Prime Minister of India, was established on 15 March 1950, with Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as the Chairman.

Article 24 deals with prohibition of employment of children in factories, etc.

It mandates that No child below age of 14 years shall be employed to work any factory or mine or engaged in any other hazardous employment.

That is part of Fundamental Rights (Articles 14-18, 19-22, 23-24, 25-28, 29-30, 32)

Article 134 in The Constitution Of India 1949 [Constitution] Central Government Act

The chairman and other members of the Union Public Service Commission will be appointed by the Central Commission or the Joint Commission, by the President and in the case of the State Commission by the Governor of the State.

Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951, enacted in 1951, It was moved by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, on 10 May 1951 and enacted by Parliament on 18 June 1951.

The amendment added 2 new Articles- 31-A and 31-B, to validate certain Land Reforms Laws (Zamindari Abolition Law).

The Governors and Lieutenant-Governors/Administrators of the states and union territories of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at Union level.

The governor can return a bill to the state legislature, if it is not a money bill, for reconsideration.

Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the Assemblies of States and Union territories in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.

The Fundamental Rights can be suspended during the Emergency under Article 359 of the Constitution by the President of India.

At present, The Lok Sabha consists of 545 members. Of these, 530 members are directly elected from the States and 13 from Union Territories, while two are nominated by the President to represent the Anglo-Indian community.