BPSC CCE Prelims
Parliament Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Detailed Explanation:

The Speaker of the Lok Sabha does not vote in the ordinary course of proceedings, maintaining impartiality as the presiding officer.

Under Article 100(1) of the Constitution, the Speaker exercises a casting vote only when there is an equality of votes (a tie), ensuring that the House can reach a decision.

Detailed Explanation:

Lok Sabha MP (Lower House): Minimum age is 25 years as per Article 84(b) of the Constitution.

Rajya Sabha MP (Upper House): Minimum age is 30 years as per Article 84(b) of the Constitution.

President of India: Minimum age is 35 years as per Article 58(b) of the Constitution.

Detailed Explanation:

Article 112 of the Indian Constitution mandates the presentation of the Annual Financial Statement (Union Budget) before both Houses of Parliament for each financial year.

Article 111 deals with Presidential assent to Bills, Article 113 covers the procedure in Parliament with respect to estimates (discussion and voting on demands for grants), and Article 114 deals with the Appropriation Bills for withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund.

Detailed Explanation:

Article 253 of the Indian Constitution empowers Parliament to make laws for the whole or any part of India to implement international treaties, agreements, or conventions.

This legislative power operates without requiring consent from any state, even if the subject falls under the State List. For example, the Environment Protection Act, 1986 was enacted under Article 253 to implement decisions from the 1972 Stockholm Conference.

Detailed Explanation:

Article 98 of the Constitution governs the secretariat of each House of Parliament.

The President appoints the secretarial staff of the Lok Sabha after consultation with the Speaker, ensuring parliamentary independence from executive control.

Similarly, for Rajya Sabha, the President consults the Chairman before appointment.

Detailed Explanation:

✅ Option 1 – Correct: Forms of oath are prescribed in the 3rd Schedule of the Constitution (for Ministers, MPs, Judges, etc.).

✅ Option 2 – Correct: Allocation of seats in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) is detailed in the 4th Schedule.

❌ Option 3 – Incorrect: Administration of scheduled areas is governed by the 5th Schedule, not the 6th. The 6th Schedule deals with administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram through Autonomous District Councils.

✅ Option 4 – Correct: The Union List is part of the 7th Schedule, which contains three lists (Union, State, Concurrent).

Detailed Explanation:

✅ Statement 1 – Correct: Summoning means calling the House to meet, also known as convocation, under Article 85.

✅ Statement 2 – Correct: Prorogation ends a session of Parliament but the House continues to exist.

✅ Statement 3 – Correct: Dissolution terminates the entire Lok Sabha (not applicable to Rajya Sabha).

❌ Statement 4 – Incorrect: Prorogation is ordered only by the President (not the leader of the House) under Article 85(2).

Detailed Explanation:

Censure Motion differs from No-Confidence Motion in three key aspects: it must state specific reasons for criticism, requires permission of the Speaker to be moved, and does not compel the government to resign if passed.

✅ Option 1 – Correct: Censure Motion is indeed different from No-Confidence Motion in procedure and consequences.
❌ Option 2 – Incorrect: They are procedurally distinct motions.
❌ Option 3 – Incorrect: Specific reasons must be mentioned in a Censure Motion.
❌ Option 4 – Incorrect: Speaker's permission is mandatory before moving the motion.

Detailed Explanation:

A cut motion is a parliamentary device used by Members of Parliament to propose a reduction in the amount of a demand for grant presented in the budget.

It allows MPs to express disapproval of specific expenditure items, highlight wasteful spending, or demand policy changes by moving to reduce the budgetary allocation for a particular ministry or scheme.

Detailed Explanation:

Article 331 originally allowed the President to nominate up to 2 Anglo-Indian members to the Lok Sabha if the community was inadequately represented.

The 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019 (effective January 25, 2020) abolished this provision entirely, ending the nominated representation of the Anglo-Indian community in both Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

Detailed Explanation:

Article 102(1)(a) disqualifies a Member of Parliament from holding any office of profit under the Government of India or any State Government, unless exempted by law.

This provision prevents conflict of interest and ensures legislative independence by restricting MPs from positions offering financial benefits or executive influence.

Detailed Explanation:

✅ Statement 1 – Correct: Article 80(1)(a) provides for 12 members to be nominated by the President from persons with special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service.

✅ Statement 3 – Correct: Article 80(4) mandates that the remaining members (up to 238 representatives) are indirectly elected by the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies through proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

❌ Statement 2 – Incorrect: No direct election by citizens exists for Rajya Sabha; it is purely an indirectly elected Upper House.

Answer: Since statements 1 and 3 are correct, the answer is Option 4 (More than one of the above).

Detailed Explanation:

Article 113 of the Constitution mandates that Demands for Grants be presented to the Lok Sabha for all ministries/departments. The number varies annually based on government structure and ministries.

In Union Budget 2024-25, 109 Demands for Grants were presented, while in 2023-24, there were 103. The count fluctuates with creation/merger/reorganization of ministries and departments.

Therefore, no single fixed number exists, making Option 5 (None of the above/More than one of the above) the correct answer.

Detailed Explanation:

The Committee on Subordinate Legislation is a Parliamentary standing committee that examines rules, regulations, and bye-laws framed by the Executive under powers delegated by Parliament through parent Acts.

The other options—Executive Legislation, Administrative Legislation, and Delegated Legislation—are not official names of any Parliamentary committee in India.

Therefore, the Committee on Subordinate Legislation monitors delegated rule-making, making Option 2 the correct answer.

Detailed Explanation:

The Lok Sabha convenes in three regular sessions annually: the Budget Session (February–May), the Monsoon Session (July–August), and the Winter Session (November–December).

These sessions are constitutionally mandated to ensure Parliament meets at least twice a year with a maximum gap of six months between sessions.

Therefore, Lok Sabha has 3 regular sessions, making Option 4 the correct answer.