ASSIGNMENT WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS

CLASS IX

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Who exercises all governmental powers?

ANS. B:

(a) President

(b) Prime Minister

(c) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

(d) Chief Election Commission\

2. Which one of the following statement about the President is wrong?

ANS. D:

(a) He is the head of the state.

(b) He is the highest formal authority in the country

(c) He exercises only nominal powers

(d) He is elected directly by the people.

3. What do the Civil Servants do?

ANS. B:

(a) They take important policy decisions

(b) They implement the ministers' decisions

(c) They settle the disputes

(d) none of the above

4. Who appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts?

ANS. C:

(a) President, according to his own wishes

(b) President, on the advice of the PM

(c) President on the advice of the PM in consultation with the Chief Justice of India

(d) None of the above

5. Two features of Indian judicial system are:

ANS. D:

(a) Independent Judiciary

(b) Integrated Judiciary

(c) Dependent Judiciary

(d) Both (a) and (b)

6. Why does the political executive have more powers than the permanent executive?

ANS. B:

(a) Because hardly any expertise is required in taking policy decisions

(b) Because political executive consists of the direct representatives of the people

(c) Political leaders are more educated

(d) None of the above

7. Which organ of the government has the power to interpret the Constitution

ANS. C:

(a) Supreme Court

(b) District Court

(c) High Court

(d) Both (a) and (C)

8. Whom does the President appoint as the Prime Minister?

ANS. B:

(a) Anyone he likes

(b) Leader of the majority party

(c) MP who has secured the largest number of votes

(d) None of the above

9. What is a Public Interest Litigation?

ANS. A:

(a) Filing a case in the court in the interest of the public

(b) Reviewing of Supreme Court judgements of a judge

(c) Procedure of removal

(d) None of the above

10. Which of these are correct so far as powers of the Parliament are concerned, apart from making laws?

ANS. D:

(a) Exercising control over the government

(b) Controlling finance of the country

(c) Serving as the highest forum of discussion and debate

(d) All the above

1. Why do we need Political Institutions?

ANS. A democracy works well when the political institutions, like the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, the Civil Servants, the Supreme Court, etc., perform functions assigned to

them. The need for these political institutions are

(i) To take decisions Countries need political institutions to take decisions regarding the welfare of the people. Institutions formulate various policies and welfare schemes.

(ii) To implement the decisions The decisions which have been taken care of are to be implemented. So, countries need institutions to implement the decisions.

(iii) To solve the disputes Institutions are needed to solve the disputes between various institutions.

(iv) To take right decisions Institutions are also needed to help the government to take the right decisions. They determine what is wrong and what is right.

2. What was the Mandal Commission? Why was it formed? What were its recommendations?

ANS. The Government of India appointed the Second Backward Classes Commission in the year 1979. B P Mandal was the head of the Commission. it was also known as Mandal

Commission.

It was formed in order to

 (i) determine the criteria to identify the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBCs) in India.

(ii) to recommend steps to be taken for their advancement.

The commission gave its report in 1980 and made following recommendations

27% of the government jobs be reserved for the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes.

The report and recommendations were discussed in the Parliament. On 6 th August 1990, the Government of India took a formal decision to implement the recommendations.

3. In which three ways Lok Sabha is more powerful than Rajya Sabha.

ANS. In our country, the Parliament consists of the President and two houses, i.e. the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).

Lok Sabha is more powerful than Rajya Sabha in the following ways

1. 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. In this session, the view

of Lok Sabha is likely to prevail because of its larger number of members.

2. Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes the budget of the government or any other money-related law or Money B ill, the Rajya Sabha

cannot reject it.

3. The Rajya Sabha can only delay money bill by 14 days or suggest to change it. But, the Lok Sabha may or may not accept these changes.

4. The Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. Only a person who enjoys the support of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha is appointed as the Prime Minister. If

the majority of the Lok Sabha members say that they have ‘no confidence’ in the Council of Ministers, all ministers including the Prime Minister have to quit. But, the Rajya

Sabha does not have this power.

4. Explain any three differences between permanent and political Executives in India.

ANS. In a dem ocratic country, two categories make up the executive. They are Political executive and Perm anent executive.

(i) Political Executive They are elected by the people for a specific period. They take major decisions. Political leaders fall in this categories.

(ii) Permanent Executive They are appointed on a long-term basis. They are also known as civil servants.

They remain in office even when the ruling party changes. They work under political executive and assist them for carrying out daily administration.

three differences between permanent and political Executives in India are:

Political executive Permanent executive

Elected by the people Not elected by the people
May or may not be educated Are educated
Implement the law advised by the permanent executive Advice the political executive
5. What is meant by the Council of Ministers? In what way are Cabinet Ministers different from other ministers?

ANS. The 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. The council of ministers have

collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha, it includes three types of ministers.

(i) Cabinet Ministers They are usually top leaders of the ruling party or parties who are incharge of the major ministries. They meet to take decisions in the name of the council of

ministers. Cabinet is the inner ring of the council of ministers.

(ii) Ministers of State with Independent Charge They are usually incharge at smaller ministries. They participate in the Cabinet meetings only when specially invited.

(iii) Ministers of State They are attached to and required to assist Cabinet members.

6. Describe the functions and powers of the Parliament.

ANS. Parliament is a set of people elected regularly by the people of the country, directly (through direct elections) or Indirectly (through indirect election). All the decision taken

by the government, before implementation are put in the Parliament for discussion. Decisions can be implemented only after the approval by the Parliament.

Functions of parliament are:

1. Parliament is the final authority for making new laws and changing existing laws in our country.

2. In India, the control of Parliament over the government is direct and full. Those who run the government can take decisions only as long as they enjoy support of the

Parliament.

3. Parliament controls all the money that government has.

In most countries, the public money can be spent only when the Parliament sanctions it.

4. Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national policy in any country.

Parliament can seek information about any matter.

Indian Parliament consists of two houses or chambers.

1. Lok Sabha (House of the People) or Lower Chamber It is usually directly elected by the people and exercises the real power on behalf of the people.

2. Rajya Sabha (Council of States) or Upper Chamber It is indirectly elected and performs special functions such as interest of various states, regions or federal units.

The powers of parliament are:

1. 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. In this session, the view

of Lok Sabha is likely to prevail because of its larger number of members.

2. Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes the budget of the government or any other money-related law or Money B ill, the Rajya Sabha

cannot reject it.

3. The Rajya Sabha can only delay money bill by 14 days or suggest to change it. But, the Lok Sabha may or may not accept these changes.

4. The Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. Only a person who enjoys the support of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha is appointed as the Prime Minister. If

the majority of the Lok Sabha members say that they have ‘no confidence’ in the Council of Ministers, all ministers including the Prime Minister have to quit. But, the Rajya

Sabha does not have this power.

7. How is the Prime Minister of India appointed? Briefly explain any three functions of the Prime Minister.

ANS. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and actually exercises all the government powers. The President appoints the leader of the majority party or the coalition

of parties that commands a majority in the Lok Sabha as a Prime Minister. In case, no single party gets a majority, the President appoints the person most likely to secure a

majority support. The Prime Minister does not have a fixed tenure. He continues in power as long as he remains the leader of the Majority or coalition party.

The powers of prime minister are as follows:

1. The Prime Minister is free to choose ministers, as long as they are Members of Parliament.

2. He chairs and takes most of the decisions in the Cabinet meetings.

3. He coordinates the work of different departments and his decisions are final in case disagreements between departments.

4. He exercises general supervision of different ministries and all ministers work under his leadership.

5. He distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.

6. He also has the power to dismiss ministers. When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.

8. Describe the powers and functions of the President of India.

ANS. The President is the head of the state. In our political system, the head of the state exercises only nominal powers.

The powers and functions of the president are:

1. All governmental activities take place in the name of the President. All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in her name.

2. 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 the High

Courts of the states, the Governors of the states, the Election Commissioners, Ambassadors to other countries, etc.

3. All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President. The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India. She has emergency

powers i.e. powers to deal with an unexpected and critical situation, e.g. power to declare emergency or President’s rule and issuing an ordinance.
9. "Judicial Review is one of the major roles played by the judiciary." Support the statement.

ANS. The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution of the country. They can declare invalid any law of the legislature or the actions of the

executive, whether at the Union level or state level, if they find such a law or action is against the Constitution. 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 the judicial review.

10. What do you understand about a Unified, powerful and independent judiciary?

ANS. Judiciary refers to an institution empowered to administer justice and provide a mechanism for the resolution of legal disputes. The Indian judiciary consists of a Supreme

Court for the entire nation, High Courts and Subordinate Courts in the states, District Courts and the courts at local level and Lok Adalats. India has an integrated, powerful or

unified judiciary. It means that the Supreme Court controls the judicial administration in the country. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the country.