WORKING OF INSTITITIONS

1. 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) There is a joint sitting of the two Houses
2. The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are institutions that take
a) Important policy decisions b) Settles disputes between citizens and the government
c) Implements ministers decisions d) None of the above
Ans.( a) Important policy decisions
3. There are two statements marked as A (Assertion) and R (Reason). Read the statements and choose the correct options.
Options: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true and R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false
(d) A is false but R is true
Assertion (A): The Government of India had appointed the Second Backward Classes Commission in 1980 headed by B.P. Mandal.
Reason (R): The Commission recommended that 27 per cent of government jobs be reserved for the socially and educationally backward classes.
Ans. (d) A is false but R is true.
4. 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) The Lok Sabha
5. 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) By the Parliament through impeachment.
6. Why does the political executive have more powers than the permanent executive?
(a) Because hardly any expertise is required in taking policy decision
(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) Because political executive consists of the direct representatives of the people
7. What is meant by judicial review?
Ans. i. The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution of the country.
ii. They can declare any law of the legislature or the actions of the executive invalid, if they find such a law or action is against the Constitution. This is
known as the judicial review.
8. What is a Parliament? Name the two Houses of the Indian Parliament.
Ans.i. Parliament is an assembly of elected representatives which exercises supreme political authority on behalf of the people.
ii. The Parliament consists of two Houses. The two Houses are known as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
9. Point out any two differences between Permanent and Political executive.
Ans.
PERMANENT EXECUTIVES POLITICAL EXECUTIVES

i.Permanent executives are called civil servants. They are i.Political executives are those who are elected by the
appointed on a long-termbasis through the civil services people for a specific period.
examination.
ii. They remain in office even when theruling party ii. Political leaders who take the big decisionsas ministers in the
changes. government fall in this category.

iii. They work under political executive andassist them in iii. The minister decides the overall framework and objectives
carrying out the day-to-day administration. in which decisionson policy should be made.

10. What do you understand by no-confidence?

Ans. No confidence is a term which is used by the Lok Sabha in the Parliament of India to express the concern of the members about the council of ministers which
also include The Prime Minister. If it is approved by the Lok Sabha then the entire council of ministers has to be resigned or dismissed.
11. Why are the permanent executive work under the control of political executive?
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Why does the political executive have more power than the non-political (permanent) executives?
Ans. The reason is very simple:
i. In a democracy the will of the people is supreme.
ii. The minister is an elected representative of the people
iii. Thus the minister empowered to exercise the will of the people on their behalf.
iv. She is finally answerable to the people for all the consequences of her decision.
v. That is why ministers, the political executives take all the Final decisions and the permanent executives execute these.
12. Who are the council of ministers? Who constitutes this council of ministers? Explain.
Ans. Council of Ministers is the official name for the body that includes all the Ministers. It usually has 60 to 80 Ministers of different ranks.
i. Cabinet Ministers are usually top- level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in charge of the major ministries. Usually the Cabinet
Ministers meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of Ministers. Cabinet is thus the inner ring of the Council of Ministers. It comprises
about 25 ministers.
ii. Ministers of State with independent charge are usually in-charge of smaller Ministries. They participate in the Cabinet meetings only when
specially invited.
iii. Ministers of State are attached to and required to assist Cabinet Ministers.

13. Who is the most important political institution in the country?

Ans. Prime Minister
14. Explain the powers of the Prime Minister in India.
Or,
Why is the Parliamentary form of government known as the Prime Ministerial form of government?
Ans. Prime minister is the most important political institution in India. He is the head of the government and leader of the country.
Powers:
i. He chairs the cabinet meetings.
ii. He coordinates the work of different departments.
iii. His decisions are final in case disagreement arise between departments.
iv. He exercises general supervision of different ministries.
v. All ministers work under his leadership.
vi. The Prime Minister distributes and re-distributes work to the ministers.
vii. He also has the power to dismiss ministers.
viii. When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.

From the above power it can be proved that Prime Minister enjoy a crucial role and power in democratic country like India. Therefore, some
time the Parliamentary form of government is known as the Prime Ministerial form of government.
15. Explain the role of president in India.
Ans. President is the head of the state. He is the chief of executive power in the country. The powers of the President of India are as follows:
i. In our political system the President exercises only nominal powers.
ii. Like the Queen of Britain, his functions are also A large extent ceremonial.
iii. The president supervises the overall functioning of all political institutions in the country so that they operate In harmony to achieve the
objectives of the state.
iv. The President represents the country in any kind of foreign relationship.
v. He is the supreme of the defence in India.
vi. The President Appoints many institutional heads like Prime Minister, chief Justice of India, chief election Commissioner, governor of all the
states, judges of all high courts, officers of the embassy etc.
vii. President has the responsibility to appoint the prime minister in case of a situation when there is no political party who form majority or
coalition . In this situation the president can appoint the most popular leader according to his competency as the Prime Minister.

Finally it can be said that, The role of president in India is just like a ceremonial. As the President does not elected by the people directly,
he does not exercise crucial power.

16. What is impeachment?

Ans. Impeachment is the process of removing a judge of Supreme Court and High Courts where a majority of 2/3 members of both the houses Of the
Parliament accept the decision. It is nearly impossible to remove a judge. This method is also applicable to remove the President
17. Explain The functions of judiciary in India.
Ans. Judiciary is the institution which solves the disputes in the country. Supreme Court is the highest level of judiciary in India which supervises
the work of high courts. The functions of judiciary are as follows:
i. The powers and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the guardian of the fundamental rights

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 ii. Anyone can approach the courts If public interest is hard by the actions of government which is called public interest litigation.
iii. The courts intervene to prevent the miss use of the government‘s power to make decisions.
iv. The check my malpractices on the part of public officials.
v. Supreme Court and High Court has the power of judicial review if any law affect the fundamental rights of citizen.
At last it can be said that an independent judiciary which is free from the influence of legislature and executive is needed in our country to
protect the need of the people.
18. Why is the Lok Sabha more powerful than the Rajya Sabha?

Ans. i. Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both the Houses. But if there is a difference between the twoHouses, the final
decision is taken in a joint session in which members of both the Houses sit together.
Because of the larger number of members, the view of the Lok Sabha is likely to prevail in such a meeting.

ii. Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes the budget of the government or any other
money can only delay it by 14 days or suggest changes in it. The Lok Sabha may ormay not accept these changes.

iii. The Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. The leader of the majority of the members in the LokSabha is appointed the
Prime Minister. If the majority of the Lok Sabha members say they have ‘no confidence’ in the Council of Ministers, all ministers
including the Prime Minister, have to quit.
19. What are the different categories of ministers?

Ans. i. Cabinet Ministers- They are usually top level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in charge ofthe major ministries.
Cabinet Ministers meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of Ministers. It comprises about 25 ministers.

ii. Ministers of State with independent charge are usually in-charge of smaller Ministries. They participate inthe Cabinet meetings only
when specially invited.

iii. Ministers of State are attached to and required to assist Cabinet Ministers.

20. What are the different types of disputes taken up by the Supreme Court?

Ans. Supreme Court can take up any dispute regarding

a. Between citizens of the country;

b. Between citizens and government;

c. Between two or more state governments; and

d. Between governments at the union and state level.

21. How is the independence of judiciary ensured?

Ans. i) Once appointed, the Judges remain in office till the age of 65 years. Judges can be removed onlythrough the process of
impeachment.

ii. Judges’ salaries cannot be changed to their disadvantage during term of office.

iii. No discussion shall be made in Parliament with respect to conduct of any judge in the discharge of hisduties.