Questions & Answers

1. Preamble of the Indian constitution reveals

1)Source of authority of the Constitution
2)Nature of Indian State
3)Objectives of the Constitution
4)Date when Constitution came into effect
Select the correct answer code:

a) 1, 2, 4
b) 2, 3, 4
c) 1, 2, 3
d) 1, 2, 3, 4

Solution: c)

The Preamble reveals four ingredients or components:

1. Source of authority of the Constitution: The Preamble states that the Constitution derives its authority from the people of India.
2. Nature of Indian State: It declares India to be of a sovereign, socialist, secular democratic and republican polity.
3. Objectives of the Constitution: It specifies justice, liberty, equality and fraternity as the objectives.
4. Date of adoption of the Constitution: It stipulates November 26, 1949 as the date.

1. Consider the following statements regarding appointment of judges to the Supreme Court.

1)The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Collegium.
2)A distinguished jurist is eligible to become a judge of the Supreme Court with final approval of the President.
3)To become a judge of the Supreme court, the person should not exceed 65 years of age.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1, 2
b) 1, 3
c) 2, 3
d) 1, 2, 3

Solution: c)

• Who appoints judges to the SC?
  • In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the appointments are made by the President of India.
  • The names are recommended by the Collegium.
• Eligibility to become a Supreme Court judge:
  • The norms relating to the eligibility has been envisaged in the Article 124 of the Indian Constitution.
  • To become a judge of the Supreme court, an individual should be an Indian citizen.
  • In terms of age, a person should not exceed 65 years of age.
  • The person should serve as a judge of one high court or more (continuously), for at least five years or the person should be an advocate in the High court for at least 10 years or a distinguished jurist.
• Is the collegium’s recommendation final and binding?
  • The collegium sends its final recommendation to the President of India for approval. The President can either accept it or reject it. In the case it is rejected, the recommendation comes back to the collegium. If the collegium reiterates its recommendation to the President, then he/she is bound by that recommendation.

1. Consider the following statements regarding legislative council of a state.

1)Parliament may by law create or abolish the legislative council in a stateif the Legislative Assembly of that state passes a resolution to that effect by a simple majority.
2)As per the Indian Constitution, the total number of members in the legislative council of a state shall not exceed one sixth of the total number of the members in the legislative Assembly of that state.
3)Members of municipalities do not take part in electing the members of legislative council.
Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?

a) 1, 2
b) 1, 3
c) 2, 3
d) 1, 2, 3

Solution: d)

• Under Article 169 of the constitution, Parliament may by law create or abolish the second chamber in a state if the Legislative Assembly of that state passes a resolution to that effect by a special majority.
• As per article 171 clause (1) of the Indian Constitution, the total number of members in the legislative council of a state shall not exceed one third of the total number of the members in the legislative Assembly of that state and the total number of members in the legislative council of a state shall in no case be less than 40.
• How are members of the Council elected?
  • 1/3rd of members are elected by members of the Assembly.
  • 1/3rd by electorates consisting of members of municipalities, district boards and other local authorities in the state.
  • 1/12th by an electorate consisting of teachers.
  • 1/12th by registered graduates.
  • The remaining members are nominated by the Governor from among those who have distinguished themselves in literature, science, art, the cooperative movement, and social service.
• Legislative Councils are permanent Houses, and like Rajya Sabha, one-third of their members retire every two years.

3.1. According to the rules adopted by the legislative council of the state, the possibility of residents in online casinos is limited. Which real money casinos on the Internet are not covered by the new legislation?

• All online casinos are for real money;
• Some casinos with good exclusive bonus coupons. For example, Spin Rider, Mega 7 and Hallmark casino.
• Social casinos.

1. Consider the following statements about Directive Principles

1)They have been derived from the Irish Constitution.
2)Similar instructions to the State also existed in Government of India Act, 1935
3)The explicit provision to minimise inequalities was not there in the original Constitution.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1 only
b) 2, 3
c) 3 only
d) 1, 2, 3

Solution: d)

• The idea of Directive Principles of State Policy was borrowed from Irish Constitution of 1937.
• Directive Principles resemble the ‘Instrument of Instructions’ enumerated in the Government of India Act of 1935. 
• The only difference is that they are instructions to the legislature and the executive’.
• 44th Amendment Act of 1978 added one more Directive Principle, which requires the State to minimise inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities (Article 38).

1. Which of the following are true about qualifications for a Supreme Court Judge

1)A naturalised citizen is eligible.
2)Should be of age more than 35 years.
3)Should have been a judge of High Court for 10 years.
Select the correct answer code

a) 1 only
b) 1, 2
c) 2, 3
d) 1, 3

Solution: a)

A person to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court should have the following qualifications:

• He should be a citizen of India.
• (a) He should have been a judge of a High Court (or high courts in succession) for five years; or (b) He should have been an advocate of a High Court (or High Courts in succession) for ten years; or (c) He should be a distinguished jurist in the opinion of the president.
• Constitution has not prescribed a minimum age for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court.

6.The ‘Freedom on the Net’ (FoTN) report is released by

a) Freedom House
b) Transparency International
c) World Economic Forum
d) None of the above

Solution (a)

The Freedom House, an international internet rights group, released its ‘Freedom on the Net’ (FoTN) report for the year 2019, titled ‘The Crisis of Social Media’, recording an overall decline in global internet freedom between June 2018 and May 2019.

7.Which of the following statements is/are correct?

1)Compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles require a greater amount of space for fuel storage than conventional gasoline-powered vehicles.
2)CNG is stored at low temperature and nearly ambient pressure.
Select the correct statements

a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) None
d) Both

Solution (a)

• Compressed natural gas is often confused with LNG (liquefied natural gas).
• Both are stored forms of natural gas.
• The main difference is that CNG is stored at ambient temperature and high pressure, while LNG is stored at low temperature and nearly ambient pressure.
• In their respective storage conditions, LNG is a liquid and CNG is a supercritical fluid.
• CNG has a lower cost of production and storage compared to LNG as it does not require an expensive cooling process and cryogenic tanks.
• Compressed natural gas vehicles require a greater amount of space for fuel storage than conventional gasoline-powered vehicles.

8.Consider the following statements with respect to ‘Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD)’

1)It was first identified in 1957 in forests of Congo.
2)Monkeys are common hosts for Kyasanur forest disease virus (KFDV) after being bitten by an infected tick.
Select the correct statements

a) 1 Only
b) 2 Only
c) Both
d) None

Solution (b)

• Kyasanur Forest disease (KFD) is caused by Kyasanur Forest disease virus (KFDV), a member of the virus family Flaviviridae.
• KFDV was identified in 1957 when it was isolated from a sick monkey from the Kyasanur Forest in Karnataka (formerly Mysore) State, India.
• Rodents, shrews, and monkeys are common hosts for KFDV after being bitten by an infected tick. KFDV can cause epizootics with high fatality in primates.

9.‘Wastelands Atlas – 2019’ is released by

a) Ministry of Rural Development
b) Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
c) Ministry of Agriculture
d) Ministry of Jal Shakti

Solution (a)

• Realizing the importance of availability of reliable database on the wastelands of the country, the Ministry of Rural Development has released the Wastelands Atlas – 2019.
• The new wastelands mapping exercise, carried out by NRSC using the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite data is brought out as the fifth edition of Wastelands Atlas – 2019.
• The department of land resources in collaboration with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Department of Space has published Wastelands Atlases of India – 2000, 2005, 2010 & 2011 editions. 

1. The term ‘Shadow Banning’ is associated with

a) Cryptocurrency
b) Social Media
c) Interconnect usage charge
d) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Solution (b)

Shadow banning (also called stealth banning, ghost banning or comment ghosting) is the act of blocking or partially blocking a user or their content from an online community such that it will not be readily apparent to the user that they have been banned.