Short Answer Type Questions

1. How does Lok Sabha exercise money powers?

Answer: Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes
the budget of the government or any other money related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject
it. The Rajya Sabha can delay it by 14 days or suggest changes in it. The Lok Sabha may or
may not accept these changes.

21. What is Judicial review?

Answer: Supreme court can declare invalid any law of the legislative. They can determine
the constitutional validity of any legislation or action of the executive in the country, when it
is challenged before them. This is known as Judicial review.

3. What is the need for political institutions?

Answer: (i) The government is responsible for ensuring security to the citizens and providing
facilities for education and health to all.
(ii) It collects taxes and spends the money thus raised on administration, defence and
development programmes.
(iii) It formulates and implements several welfare schemes. To attend to all these tasks,
several arrangements are made in all modern democracies. Such arrangements are called
Political Institutions.

4. What is Impeachment Motion?

Answer: (i) A judge can be removed only by an impeachment motion passed separately by
two-third members of the two Houses of the Parliament.
(ii) Similarly, with impeachment, even President of India can be removed. It is passed by
both the Houses of Parliament by two-third members majority.

5. Describe the functions and powers of the Parliament.

Answer: Functions and powers of the Parliament:

(i) Final Authority for making laws. (ii) Power to amend the Constitution.
(iii) Controls and checks the Council of Ministers.
(iv) Can remove the President from office through the process of impeachment.
(v) Controls all the money that governments have.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. What are the basic powers and functions of each institution in India?

Answer: (i) The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are institutions that take all important policy
decisions.
(ii) The Civil Servants, who work together with the ministers, are responsible for taking steps
to implement the ministers’ decisions.
(iii) The Supreme Court is an institution where disputes:
(a) between citizens of the country,
(b) between citizens and the government,
(c) between two or more state governments and
(d) between union and state governments are finally settled.

2. State how working with institutions is not an easy task.

Answer: (i) Institutions involve rules and regulations. This can bind the hands of the leaders.
(ii) Institutions involve meetings, committees and routines. This often leads to delays and
complications. Therefore, dealing with institutions can be frustrating.
(iii) Some of the delays and complications introduced by the institutions are very useful.
They provide an opportunity for a wider set of people to be consulted in any decision-
making.
(iv) Institutions make it difficult to take good decisions very quickly, but they also make it
equally difficult to rush through a bad decision.

3. In what ways does the Lok Sabha exercise more powers than the Rajya Sabha?

Answer:(i) Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both the Houses. But if there is a
difference between the two Houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session. However,
since the number of members in the Lok Sabha are more; their view or decision is more
likely to prevail.
(ii) The Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes the
budget of the government or any other money related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it.
The Rajya Sabha can delay it only by 14 days or can suggest changes in it. The Lok Sabha
may or may not accept the change.
(iii) The Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. If the majority of the Lok Sabha
members say that they have ‘no confidence’ in the Council of Ministers; all the ministers

4. How are the Council of Ministers categorised?

Answer: The Council of Ministers are classified as follows:

(i) Cabinet Ministers: They 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.
(ii) Ministers of State with Independent Charge: They are usually in charge of smaller
ministries. They participate in the cabinet meeting only when they are specially invited.
(iii) Ministers of State: They are attached to and are required to assist the Cabinet Ministers.

5. What powers rest with the Prime Minister of India?

Answer: As head of the government, the Prime Minister has wide-ranging powers.
(i) He chairs the Cabinet meetings.
(ii) He coordinates the work of different departments.
(iii) He supervises different ministries.
(iv) decisions are final in case disagreements arise between departments.
(v) He distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.
(vi) He also has the power to dismiss ministers. When the Prime Minister quits, the entire
ministry quits.

6. What are the discretionary powers of the President?

Answer: (i) The President appoints the Prime Minister. When a party or coalition of parties
secures a clear majority in the elections, the President has to appoint the leader of the
majority party or the coalition that enjoys majority support in the Lok Sabha.
(ii) When no party or coalition gets a majority in the Lok Sabha, the President exercises his or
her discretion. The President appoints a leader who, in her opinion, can muster majority
support in the Lok Sabha. In such a case, the President can ask the newly appointed Prime
Minister to prove a majority support in the Lok Sabha within a specified time.

7. What does ‘integration of judiciary’ mean?

Answer: It means that the Supreme Court controls the judicial administration in the country.
Its decisions are binding on all the other courts of the country. It can take up any dispute:
(i) between the citizens of the country;
(ii) between citizens and the government;
(iii) between two or more state governments; and
(iv) between the union and state governments. It is the highest court of appeal in civil and
criminal cases. It can hear appeals against the decisions of the high courts.

8. What do you understand by Public Interest Litigation?

Answer: (i) In recent years, the courts have given several judgements and directives to
protect public interest and human rights.
(ii) Anyone can approach the courts, if public interest is hurt by the actions of the
government. This is called Public Interest Litigation.
(iii) The courts intervene to prevent the misuse of the government’s power to make decisions.
They check malpractices on the part of the public officials.

.
9. Why was the Mandal Commission appointed by the Indian government?

Answer:(i) The government of India had appointed the Second Backward Classes
Commission in 1979. It was headed by B.P. Mandal.
(ii) Hence, it was popularly called the Mandal Commission.
(iii) It was asked to determine the criteria to identify the socially and educationally backward
classes in India and recommend steps to be taken for their advancement.
(iv) The Commission gave a report in 1980 and made many recommendations. One of these
was that 27 per cent of the government jobs to be reserved for the socially and economically
backward classes.

10. Who resolved the dispute of the Mandal Commission? How did it materialise later
on?

Answer: (i) Some persons and associations opposed this order and filed a number of cases in
the courts.
(ii) They appealed to the court’s to declare the order invalid and stop its implementation. (iii)
The Supreme Court of India bunched all these cases together. This case was known as ‘Indira
Sawhney and others Vs Union of India case’.
(iv) Eleven judges of the Supreme Court heard the arguments of both sides.
(v) By a majority, the Supreme Court judges in 1992 declared that this order of the
Government of India was valid.
(vi) At the same time, the Supreme Court asked the government to modify its original order.
(vii)It said that well-to-do persons among the backward classes should be excluded from
getting the benefit of reservation.
(viii) Accordingly, the Department of Personnel and Training issued another Memorandum
on September 8, 1993. The dispute thus came to an end and this policy has been followed
since then.

11. State the powers of the President.

Answer: (i) All government activities take place in the name of the President.
(ii) All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in her name.
(iii) All major appointments are made in the name of the President. These include the
appointment of the Chief Justice of India, the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts
of the states, the governors of the states, the Election Commissioners, and ambassadors to
other countries, etc.
(iv) All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President.
(v) The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.

12. How are the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts appointed and how can
a judge be removed?

Answer: Appointment:
(i) The judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President on the
advice of the Prime Minister and in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
(ii) The senior most judge of the Supreme Court is usually appointed by the Chief Justice.

Removal:
(i) Once a person is appointed as judge’ of the Supreme Court or the High Court, it is nearly
impossible to remove him or her from that position. It is as difficult as removing the
President of India.
(ii) A judge can be removed only by an impeachment motion passed separately by two-third
members of the two Houses of the Parliament.

13. Explain any five powers of the Supreme Court of India.

Answer: (i) The Supreme Court can take up disputes between governments, citizens and
government, governments at the union and state level.
(ii) Highest Court of justice and hears appeals against High Court decisions, civil and
criminal cases.
(iii) Guardian of our constitution and fundamental rights.
(iv) It can declare any law of the legislature or executive invalid.
(v) People can approach Supreme Court if their rights are violated.

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