Question Discussion & Solution

The correct answer is Japan.

Key Points

• The 'Procedure established by Law' was taken from the Japanese Constitution.
• The “Procedure Established by Law” means that a law is duly enacted by the legislature or the concerned body is valid only if the correct procedure has been followed to the letter.
• By adopting the phrase "procedure established by law" the Constitution gave the legislature the final word to determine the law.

Additional Information

• Some important borrowings in Indian Constitution
• Strong federation of Center - Canada
• Parliament - Britain
• Preamble - USA
• DPSP - Ireland
• Fundamental Duties -Russia/USSR
• Election of President - Ireland
• Emergency - Germany  

The correct answer is 1 only.

Confusion Points

• The Northern Zonal Council, The Central Zonal Council, The Eastern Zonal Council, The Western Zonal Council and The Southern Zonal Council are established by an Act of the Parliament, that is, the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. 
• In addition to the above Zonal Councils, a North-Eastern Council was created by a separate Act of Parliament i.e. the North-Eastern Council Act of 1971. Hence, statement 3 is NOT correct.

Key Points

• Zonal Councils:
  • The Zonal Councils are the statutory (and not the constitutional) bodies. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • They are established by an Act of the Parliament, that is, the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. 
  • There are 5 five Zonal councils:
    • The Northern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, National Capital Territory of Delhi, and Union Territory of Chandigarh.
    • The Central Zonal Council, comprising the States of Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
    • The Eastern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, and West Bengal.
    • The Western Zonal Council, comprising the States of Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and the Union Territories of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.
    • The Southern Zonal Council, comprising the States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
  • North-Eastern Council
    • In addition to the above Zonal Councils, a North-Eastern Council was created by a separate Act of Parliament i.e. the North-Eastern Council Act of 1971.
    • Its functions are similar to those of the zonal councils, but with few additions.
    • Its members include Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Sikkim.
  • While forming these zones, several factors have been taken into account which includes:
    • The natural divisions of the country, the river systems and means of communication, the cultural and linguistic affinity, and the requirements of economic development, security, and law and order.
    • They are only deliberative and advisory bodies.
• Composition:-
  • Chairman: The Union Home Minister is the Chairman of each of these Councils. Hence, statement 2 is NOT correct.
  • Vice-Chairman: The Chief Ministers of the States included in each zone act as Vice-Chairman of the Zonal Council for that zone by rotation, each holding office for a period of one year at a time.
  • Members: Chief Minister and two other Ministers as nominated by the Governor from each of the States and two members from Union Territories included in the zone.
  • Advisers: One person nominated by the Planning Commission (which has been replaced by NITI Ayog now) for each of the Zonal Councils, Chief Secretaries, and another officer/Development Commissioner nominated by each of the States included in the Zone.
  • Union Ministers are also invited to participate in the meetings of Zonal Councils depending upon necessity.

The correct answer is I, II, IV.

Key Points

• Under the purview of enquiry of 'LOKAYUKTA' in Rajasthan
  • Ministers
  • Secretaries
  • Chairpersons of autonomous institutions

Additional Information 

• The Lokayukta has been empowered under Section 7 of the Rajasthan Lokayukta and Sub-Lokayukta Act, 1973 to investigate allegations against ministers and public servants, in certain cases.
• According to the definition of public servant given in section 2 (i) of the Act, the Lokayukta has the jurisdiction to investigate against the following:
  • A member of the Council of Ministers of the State of Rajasthan (other than the Chief Minister and Governor), by whatever name is known, namely, Minister, Minister of State or Deputy Minister,
  • A person appointed to public service or a public post in relation to the activities of the State of Rajasthan,
• Every head and deputy head of the Zilla Parishad, the head and deputy head of the:
  • Panchayat Samiti and the chairman of any standing committee constituted by or under the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Act.
  • Every Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Municipal Corporation, each Chairman and Vice- Chairman of the Municipal / Council, the Chairman of the Municipal Board, and the Vice- Chairman and the Chairman of any committee constituted under the Rajasthan Municipal Act.
• Every person who is in the service of the following or has been paid his salary, namely:
  • Any local authority in the State of Rajasthan, to be notified on this behalf by the State Government in the Gazette,
  • Any corporation (not being a local authority), established by or under a State Act and owned or controlled by the State Government.
  • Any Government company under section 617 of the Companies Act, in which twenty-one per cent of the paid-up share capital is held by the State Government or any company which is a subsidiary of any such company in which the State Government is holding fifty-one per cent of the paid-up share capital.

The correct answer is N. K. Singh.

• N. K. Singh is the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission.

Additional Information

• 15th Finance Commission
  • The Finance Commission (FC) is a constitutional body, that determines the method and formula for distributing the tax proceeds between the Centre and states, and among the states as per the constitutional arrangement and present requirements.
  • Under Article 280 of the Constitution, the President of India is required to constitute a Finance Commission at an interval of five years or earlier.
  • The 15th Finance Commission was constituted by the President of India, under the chairmanship of NK Singh.
  • Its recommendations will cover a period of five years from the year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
  • Grants Devolution Criteria
    • Population:
      • The population of a State represents the needs of the State to undertake expenditure for providing services to its residents.
      • It is also a simple and transparent indicator that has a significant equalising impact.
    • Area:
      • The larger the area, the greater is the expenditure requirement for providing comparable services.
    • Forest and Ecology:
      • By taking into account the share of the dense forest of each state in the aggregate dense forest of all the states, the share on these criteria is determined.
    • Income Distance:
      • Income distance is the distance of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of a particular state from the state with the highest GSDP.
      • To maintain interstate equity, the states with lower per capita income would be given a higher share.
    • Demographic Performance:
      • It rewards efforts made by states in controlling their population.
      • This criterion has been computed by using the reciprocal of the total fertility ratio of each state, scaled by 1971 population data.
    • Tax Effort:
      • This criterion has been used to reward states with higher tax collection efficiency.

The correct answer is the Right to education.

Important Points

• The right to education was added in the Indian Constitution by the 86th Constitutional amendment in 2002.
  • Right to education was inserted in Article 21A.
  • It included the right to education in the fundamental rights category.
• Equality before the law is a fundamental right.
  • It is given in Article 14.
• The abolition of untouchability and the prohibition of its practice is also a fundamental right.
  • It is given in Article 17.
• The abolition of titles except for military and academic is also a fundamental right.
  • It is given in Article 18.