Chapter 6 Union Government

Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 10 Social Science Solutions Chapter 6 Union Government.

In this article we will discuss short question, very short question and long question and answers of the Chapter 6 Union Government.

Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 10 Social Science Solutions Chapter 6 Union Government

Textbook Questions Solved

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Who appoints the Prime Minister?
Answer:
President

Question 2.
The President is elected by which system?
Answer:
Single Transferable Vote through Proportional Representation

Question 3.
Who is the ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha?
Answer:
Vice President

Question 4.
Who chairs the central cabinet?
Answer:
Prime Minister

Question 5.
President can pass an order under special conditions when the house is not in session. What is the name of this order?
Answer:
Ordinance

Question 6.
Supreme Court and High Court have got original jurisdiction on which subjects?
Answer:
Supreme Court and High Courts have got original jurisdiction on disputes between two or more states and on matter related to breach of fundamental rights.

Question 7.
A person needs to practice as advocate for at least how many years in Supreme Court to become a judge of the Supreme Court?
Answer:
10 years

Question 8.

A judge of the Supreme Court can continue in office up to which age?
Answer:
65 years

Question 9.
What is the meaning of ‘Court of Records?
Answer:
Court of Records has two meanings:

1. Decision of this court shall be accepted as proof at every place and no question can be raised on the authenticity of such decision in any court.
2. This court can give any punishment for ‘Contempt of Court’.

Union Government Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Explain the process of election of Vice President.
Answer:
Article 63 of the Indian Constitution gives the provision for the post of Vice President. Vice President is elected in a joint session of both the houses of Parliament. The election happens by secret voting through single transferable voting method of proportional representation.

Question 2.
What are the eligibility criteria for the post of President?
Answer:
A person should fulfill following criteria to become the President of India:

1. The person should be a citizen of India.
2. He should be at least 35 years old.
3. The person should be eligible to become a member of parliament.
4. The person should not hold any post of profit under any level of government or under any other organization.
5. The person shall not be a member of parliament of any of the state legislatives.

Question 3.
The President can be removed from his post through which system?
Answer:
The tenure of the President of India is for 5 years. But Article 61 of the Constitution says that in case of violation of the Constitution, the President can be removed through impeachment. Each member of the Parliament has the right to bring impeachment motion against the President. Signature of at least one-fourth members of the house is necessary to move the impeachment motion.

Once the motion is presented in the house, the house will discuss on it after 14 days. If the impeachment motion is passed by two-thirds majority of the house then the motion is sent to another house of Parliament. The second house will either investigate on impeachment clauses or will appoint a special committee for the purpose. If the allegations against the President are proved in this house, and the house passes the impeachment motion by at least two-third majority, then the President is considered to be removed from his post wef date of passage of motion.

Question 4.
The President can announce emergency under which articles?
Answer:
Article 352 says that the President can announce emergency if he is convinced about fear of war, external attack, internal disturbance in the whole country or in any part of the country. The announcement can be enforced for two months even without approval of the Parliament. This can be enforced till as long as required if it is approved by the Parliament.

Question 5.
For President’s election the value of each member of the Parliament and the value of each member of state assemblies is based on which factor?
Answer:
Each voter casts a different number of votes. The general principle is that the total number of votes cast by Members of Parliament equals the total number of votes cast by State Legislators. Also, legislators from larger states cast more votes than those from smaller states. Finally, the number of legislators in a state matters if a state has few legislators, then each legislator has more votes if a state has many legislators, then each legislator has fewer votes.

Question 6.
Explain the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Answer:
The Supreme Court is the last appellate court in India. It has the right to hear on the appeal against any of the High Court in India. The appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court can be divided into four categories, viz. constitutional, criminal, civil and special. Cases pertaining to the laws of interpretation of the Constitution come under ‘constitutional’ category. Any civil case can come for hearing in the Supreme Court through the appellate system. If a person is punished by the High Court with death sentence but was originally proven innocent then the case can be appealed in the Supreme Court.

Question 7.
Civil and criminal cases can be appealed in the Supreme Court under which conditions?
Answer:
1. Civil Cases: Originally, it was specified that only those civil cases can be appealed in the Supreme Court in which the amount of compensation was more than Rs. 20,000. But the 20th Amendment of Constitution in 1973 in Article 133 has removed the limitation of 20,000 and now any civil case can be appealed in the Supreme Court.
2. Criminal Cases: Those criminal cases can be appealed in the Supreme Court which fulfill following criteria:

• A case in which the High Court had given capital punishment to the accused in spite of the fact that the accused was proven innocent by a lower court.
• High Court transferred a case from a lower court and announced capital punishment for the accused.
• High Court proves that the case is suitable for appeal in the Supreme Court.

Question 8.
The Supreme Court is also called the ‘Court of Record’. Why?
Answer:
Article 129 gives the status of Court of Record to the Supreme Court. Court of Record has two meanings:
First: Decision of this court shall be accepted as proof at every place and no question can be raised on the authenticity of such decision in any court.
Second: This court can give any punishment for ‘Contempt of Court’.

Question 9.
Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts can be removed by whom and how?
Answer:
Generally, a judge can continue in office till 65 years of age. He can voluntarily resign from his post. He can be removed from the post in case of corruption or inefficiency. If each house of the Parliament passes the motion of impeachment by two-thirds majority then the judge can be removed from his post on order from the President.

Question 10.
Explain the importance of judicial review.
Answer:
If the Parliament or state assemblies bypass the constitution or make laws against fundamental rights; then such a law can be termed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. This power of the Supreme Court is called the ‘Power of Judicial Review’. Power of Judicial Review is highly important for protection of fundamental rights and for conservation of the Constitution. With this power, the Supreme Court can prevent the possibility of autocratic decisions by a party in majority.

Union Government Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Explain the process of election of the President of India.
Answer:
The President is elected through indirect election and this system is based on Single Transferable Voting of proportional representation. This system is as follows:

1. Indirect Election: The President is elected indirectly by an electoral college which comprises.
2. Elected members of both houses of the Parliament.
3. Members of state assemblies and assemblies of union territories (as per 70th amendment 1992).
4. Single Transferable Method of Voting: Members of Parliament and assemblies of states and union territories elect the president through a special system of voting, which is called Single Transferable Vote System. Voting takes place through secret ballot and the candidate has to ensure the ‘minimum quota’ of votes to become the winner. The minimum quota is
5. derived by following formula:
   Number of valid
   votes cast 100
   Minimum Quota = ………………….
   Number of candidates for election

Question 2.
Analyse the powers and duties of the President under normal conditions.
Answer:
The Constitution has provided certain powers to the President for normal conditions. They are as follows:

1. Executive or Administrative Powers: Article 53 says, “The executive powers of the Union are with the President and he will use them himself or through his subordinate officials as per the constitution.” Thus, all works of government are done in the name of the President and all decisions of government are considered as President’s decisions.

2. Appointment and Removal of Important Officials: The President appoints many important officials of Indian Union, e.g. ministers (on advice of Prime Minister), governors of states, Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and High Courts, Comptroller & Auditor General, Chairman of UPSC, ambassadors to other countries, etc.

3. Power Related to Governance: The President can make various rules for governance. He makes the rules related to joint session of both houses of Parliament, appointment of officials and staffs of the Supreme Court, and powers of Comptroller & Auditor General. He allocates the departments among members of the Council of Ministers.

4. Power in Foreign Affairs: By virtue of being the constitutional head of Indian Union, the President represents the country in foreign countries. He appoints ambassadors and diplomatic representatives for the Indian Embassies in foreign countries. He accepts the credentials of ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from other countries. Treaties and agreements with other countries are done in the name of the President.

5. Powers in Military Affairs: The President is the Supreme Commander of the armed forces, but he can exercise this right only according to the law. Only the Parliament has the right to make laws regarding defence services, war and peace. Hence, the President can neither announce a war nor utilize the militaiy without the assent of the Parliament.

Question 3.
Analyse the emergency powers of the President.
Answer:
The Constitution has given special powers to the President for emergencies. Following are the provisions of emergency as per Constitution. War, External Attack or Internal Disturbance:

1. Announcement: Article 352 says that the President can announce emergency if he is convinced about fear of war, external attack, internal disturbance in the whole country or in any part of the country. The announcement can be enforced for two months even without approval of the Parliament. This can be enforced till as long as required if it is approved by the Parliament. After the 44th Amendment in the Constitution, following are the clauses of emergency:

• First: Emergency can only be announced in case of war, external attack or armed revolt or in case of a threat of such mishaps. Emergency cannot be announced only in the name of internal disturbance.
• Second: The President can only announce emergency under Article 352 when the Council of Ministers gives a written advice to him.
• Third: Within a month the announcement needs to be ratified by the Parliament by special majority (by two-thirds majority of members who have attended and voted for each house separately). To continue to enforce emergency for further duration, it has to be ratified by the Parliament after every six months.
• Fourth: Emergency can be ended by a simple majority of members of Lok Sabha.

2. Emergency in case of Failure of Constitutional Mechanisms in States:
Announcement:Article 356 says that the President can announce emergency in states under following conditions:1. On the recommendation of the Governor.
2. A situation has come under which it is impossible to continue the governance in that state as per the provisions of the Constitution.
The promulgation of emergency cannot continue for more than two months without ratification by the Parliament. But the President’s Rule can be promulgated for 6 months if the proposal is passed by the Parliament. Such a proposal needs to be passed by simple majority separately by each house of the Parliament. Under any condition, President’s Rule cannot be enforced for more than 3 years in a state.

3. Announcement of Financial Emergency:
Article 360 says that the President can announce financial emergency if he is convinced that situation has become so grim that it presents a danger to financial stability or credibility of India. Same period has been fixed for this emergency, which has been fixed for the first type of emergency.

Question 4.
Analyse the constitution and powers of the cabinet.
Answer:
In theory the President has all the executive power and arrangement for the Council of Ministers (led by Prime Minister) has been made to assist and advise the President. But according to the parliamentary government as per our Constitution the President is just the Constitutional ruler. In practice all the power of the executive is inherent in this committee which is made for ‘assisting and advising’ the President.
Following are the powers of the cabinet:

1. Formulation of national policies: Formulation of national policies is the most important task of the cabinet. Cabinet decides the policies about internal administration by different departments. It decides the policies about relations with other countries.

2. Controlling the making of law: The duty of cabinet is not limited to policy making but it also takes the ownership of formation of laws. Programme of legislation is decided only after the formation of a particular policy by the cabinet. Members of cabinet have the responsibility to introduce important bills into the Parliament.

3. Highest control on national executive: Theoretically, the President has all the powers of the Union Government but in practice these powers are utilized by the cabinet. Heads of different departments are present in the cabinet. They conduct the work of their departments and supervise their works.

4. Financial Duties: Cabinet has the responsibility to formulate economic policies of the country. For this, the cabinet present the annual budget (account projected income and expenses of the country) every year to the Parliament. The Finance Minister prepares the budget as per the policy formed by the cabinet, and presents the budget in the Lok Sabha. Other money bills too are presented by the cabinet in the Lok Sabha.

5. Implementation of Foreign Policies: Cabinet implements the foreign policy of the country. It makes announcements about war and peace. It decided on the type of relation with a particular country.

6. Appointment related duties: The power of appointment of certain officials is given to the President. In practice, these appointments are made by the cabinet.

Question 5.
Explain the constitution, power and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
Answer:
Number of judges was increased to 31 (which include the Chief Justice) in 2008. The President appoints the judges of the Supreme Court. In the matter of appointment of the Chief Justice, the President takes advice from those judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts which he considers appropriate to be consulted. At present, the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed through a system of collegiums. As per this system, a group of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and four senior judges propose the names to the President. The President appoints the judges from that list.
Jurisdiction of Powers & Functions of the Supreme Court:

The Constitution of India has given very wide jurisdiction to the Supreme Court. This is explained below.
1. Original Jurisdiction: The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court can be kept under two categories.
2. Original Sole Jurisdiction: The original sole jurisdiction is related to those cases which can be only heard by the Supreme Court.
Following subject come under this jurisdiction:
Dispute between a state or many states and Union government, or conflict between two or more states.
Dispute between two or more states on any constitutional topic.
3. Original Concurrent Jurisdiction: Both Supreme Court and High Courts have been given the power to ensure enforcement of fundamental rights as given by the Constitution. Hence, any dispute related to breach of fundamental rights can be first heard by the High Court and can directly come for hearing at the Supreme Court.
4. Appellate Jurisdiction: Apart from the original sole jurisdiction, the Supreme Court has also got appellate jurisdiction from the Constitution. This is the last appellate court in India. The Supreme Court has the right to hear on the appeal against any of the High Court in India. The appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court can be divided into four categories, viz. constitutional, criminal, civil and special.
5. Right to give special order for appeal: Article 136 says that the Supreme Court has the right to give permission for appeal against decision of any court or tribunal except military court. There is no constitutional restriction on this power of the Supreme Court.
6. Advisory Jurisdiction: The Constitution has also provided advisory jurisdiction to the Supreme Court. Article 143 says that if the President thinks that a question of law or fact regarding public interest has come up, he can seek advice from the Supreme Court. Accepting the advice of the Supreme Court depends on discretion of the President.
7. Court of Record: Article 129 gives the status of Court of Record to the Supreme Court.
Court of Record has two meanings:
First: Decision of this court shall be accepted as proof at every place and no question can be raised on the authenticity of          such decision in any court.
Second: This court can give any punishment for ‘Contempt of Court’.
8. Protector of Fundamental Rights: The Supreme Court of India is the protector of fundamental rights of the citizens. For enforcing fundamental rights the Supreme Court can issue habeas corpus, writ, embargo, quo warranto and certiorari.
9. Guardian of the Constitution: The Constitution has also given the power of conservation of the Constitution to the Supreme Court. This means that the Supreme Court has the power to investigate the constitutionality of laws. Article 131 and 132 give the Supreme Court the power to review the laws made by the Union Government and State governments. If the Parliament or state assemblies bypass the constitution or make laws against fundamental rights; then such a law can be termed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. This power of the Supreme Court is called the ‘Power of Judicial Review’.

Union Government Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What are the main organs of the government?
Answer:
The three main organs of the government are legislative, executive and judiciary.

Question 2.
Name the two levels of legislative.
Answer:
Two levels of legislative are
1. Union Legislature and
2. State Legislature

Question 3.
Who presides over the proceedings of Lok Sabha?
Answer:
Speaker

Question 4.
Who presides over the proceedings of Rajya Sabha?
Answer:
Vice President

Question 5.
What should be the minimum age for being the President of India?
Answer:
35 years

Question 6.
What do you understand by a government?
Answer:
A government makes laws to serve the people residing in a definite territory of state, implements those laws and
reforms those people by punishing who don’t obey the laws.

Question 7.
Which is the first organ of government in India?
Answer:
Legislative

Question 8.
Which is the second organ of government in India?
Answer:
Executive

Question 9.
Which is the third organ of government in India?
Answer:
Judiciary

Question 10.
Who are the main officials of the Lok Sabha?
Answer:
Speaker and Deputy Speaker

Question 11.
What do you understand by financial power of the Parliament?
Answer:
By virtue of being the representative of the people, the Parliament has complete right on the national budget.

Question 12.
Which amendment to the Constitution put a time limit and other restrictions on emergency?
Answer:
44th Amendment

Question 13.
Name some officials who are appointed by the President.
Answer:
Prime Minister, council of Ministers, Chief Justice, Judges, Governors, etc.

Question 14.
Which category of ministers holds the highest rank?
Answer:
Cabinet Minister

Question 15.
How many members of Rajya Sabha retire after every two years?
Answer:
One third of its total members.

Question 16.
How many members of the Lok Sabha are nominated by the President?
Answer:
Two members

Question 17.
How many members of the Rajya Sabha are nominated by the President?
Answer:
Twelve members

Question 18 .
What is the tenure of Lok Sabha?
Answer:
Five years

Question 19.
What is the tenure of the President?
Answer:
Five years

Question 20.
What is the tenure of the Prime Minister?
Answer:
Five years

Question 21.
What is the tenure of the Council of Ministers?
Answer:
The council of ministers continues till it enjoys the confidence of the Parliament. It can continue even up to 5 years.

Question 22.
If a person is not a member of Parliament and becomes a Prime Minister, he needs to become a member within how many months?
Answer:
Within six months

Question 23.
Which is the last appellate court?
Answer:
Supreme Court

Question 24.
Which type of criminal case can be appealed in the Supreme Court?
Answer:
Those criminal cases can be appealed in the Supreme Court which fulfill following criteria:

1. A case in which the High Court had given capital punishment to the accused in spite of the fact that the accused was proven innocent by a lower court.
2. High Court transferred a case from a lower court and announced capital punishment for the accused.
3. High Court proves that the case is suitable for appeal in the Supreme Court.

Union Government Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
Write a short note on number of members in the Lok Sabha.
Answer:
Originally, the number of members of Lok Sabha was fixed at 500, but it has been increased from time to time. It has been decided through the Goa, Daman and Diu Act, 1987 that the maximum number of members of Lok Sabha can be 552. Up to 530 members shall be elected from the constituencies in states, up to 20 members shall be elected from the constituencies of Union Territories, and remaining 2 members (of Anglo-Indian Community) shall be nominated by the President.

Question 2.
What are the eligibility criteria to be a member of the Lok Sabha?
Answer:
Following are the eligibility criteria to be a member of the Lok Sabha:

1. The person should be a citizen of India.
2. His/her age should be 25 years or more.
3. The person should not hold any post of benefit under Union Government or State Government.
4. The person has not been declared a lunatic by any court and is not bankrupt.

Question 3.
Write a note on number of members in the Rajya Sabha and their election process.
Answer:
The number of members of Rajya Sabha can be up to 250 but at present it is only 245. Out of them, 12 members are nominated by the President. For nomination, people are selected from the fields of art, literature, science, social service, sports, etc. Rest of the members represents the units of the Union and they are indirectly elected by people. These members elected by the members of legislative assemblies of different states and union territories on the basis of Single Transferable method of proportional representation.

Question 4.
What are the electoral powers of Parliament?
Answer:
Article 54 has given some electoral powers to the Parliament. Members of both the houses of Parliament are part of the Electoral College which is constituted for election of the President. According to Article 66, members of both the houses can elect the Vice President.

Question 5.
How is the Prime Minister appointed?
Answer:
The Constitution says that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President. According to the fundamental principles of parliamentary system, the President is bound to appoint the leader of the majority party in Lok Sabha as Prime Minister. Sometimes, a condition may arise when the President may use his discretion to appoint the Prime Minister.

Question 6.
How does the Prime Minister serve as a channel between the President and the Council of Ministers?
Answer:
On matters of public interest one can contact the President only through the Prime Minister. It is the Prime Minister who conveys the decisions of Council of Ministers to the President and conveys the message of the President to the Council of Ministers.

Question 7.
The Vice President takes the responsibilities of the President under which conditions?
Answer:
Vice President can take responsibilities of President under following conditions:

1. Death of the President
2. Resignation by President
3. Removal of President through impeachment
4. During foreign visit, or during sickness of President

Question 8.
Comment on rights of the President regarding any bill which comes for his assent.
Answer:
Once a bill is passed by the Parliament it needs to be assented by the President to become a law. The President can return the normal bills with some suggestions for a review to the Parliament. If the bill is passed by the Parliament either with amendment or without amendment, then the President has to give his assent.

Question 9.
Comment on powers of the President on foreign affairs.
Answer:
By virtue of being the constitutional head of Indian Union, the President represents the country in foreign countries. He appoints ambassadors and diplomatic representatives for the Indian Embassies in foreign countries. He accepts the credentials of ambassadors and diplomatic representatives from other countries. Treaties and agreements with other countries are done in the name of the President.

Question 10.
Explain the concept of Single Transferable Method of Voting.
Answer:
Members of Parliament and assemblies of states and union territories elect the President through a special system of voting, which is called Single
Minimum Quota

Question 11.
What are the special powers of Rajya Sabha?
Answer:
Following are the special powers of Rajya Sabha:

1. Article 249 says that Rajya Sabha can make any subject under State List into a subject of national importance by two-thirds majority of the members who are present and who are participating in voting.
2. Article 312 says that only Rajya Sabha has the right to give power of initiating a new All India Service by passing the proposal by two-thirds majority.

Union Government Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What are the power and duties of the speaker of Lok Sabha?
Answer:
Powers and Duties of Speaker:

The Speaker of Lok Sabha has more or less same powers which are enjoyed by the Chairman of the House of Commons in Britain.

1. The Speaker presides over all meetings of Lok Sabha. He has to ensure peace and discipline inside the house.
2. The Speaker decides all the programmes and proceedings of Lok Sabha. Based on suggestions from the Leader of the House, he decides the timings for debates on different issues.
3. He is the ex-officio chairman of some of the Parliamentary Committees. He appoints the chairpersons of Select Committees and such committees work under his instruction.
Transferable Vote System. Voting takes place through secret ballot and the candidate has to ensure the ‘minimum quota’ of votes to become the winner. The minimum quota is derived by following formula:
4. Speaker decides if a particular bill is money bill or not.
5. All correspondence between the President and the Parliament are done in his name.

Question 2.
What are the legislative, financial and administrative powers of the Parliament?
Answer:
1. Legislative Powers: Formation of laws to protect national interest is the main duty of the Parliament. The Parliament can make laws on subjects which are under the Union List and Concurrent List. The Union Parliament and state legislature both have power to make laws on subjects under concurrent list. However, in case of mutual antagonism between the laws passed by the centre and the state, the one passed by the Parliament will be valid. Parliament can also make laws on residuary subjects.

2. Financial Powers: By virtue of being the representative of the people, the Parliament has complete right on the national budget. Every year, no work related to income and expenses can be done till the Lok Sabha passes the Annual Budget presented by the Finance Minister. The Annual Budget is a book of account of national income and expenses.

3. Administrative Powers: The parliamentary system has been made by the Constitution of India. Hence, the Union Executive, i.e. Council of Ministers is answerable to the Parliament (Lok Sabha in practice). The Council of Minister continues only till it holds the confidence of the Lok Sabha. Parliament can keep control on the executive through different means.

Question 3.
What are clauses for emergency as per the 44th amendment of Constitution?
Answer:
By the 44th Amendment in the Constitution, following are the clauses of emergency:

First: Emergency can only be announced in case of war, external attack or armed revolt or in case of a threat of such mishaps. Emergency cannot be announced only in the name of internal disturbance.
Second: The President can only announce emergency under Article 352 when the Council of Ministers gives a written advice to him.
Third: Within a month the announcement needs to be ratified by the Parliament by special majority (by two-thirds majority of members who have attended and voted for each house separately). To continue to enforce emergency for further duration, it has to be ratified by the Parliament after every six months.
Fourth: Emergency can be ended by a simple majority of members of Lok Sabha.

We hope that now you have understood the Chapter 6 Union Government very well. If you have any query regarding any topic related to Rajasthan Board of Secondary education then drop a comment below we will try give you response as soon as possible. if you enjoyed the post,  I’d very grateful if you would help it spread by emailing it to a friend, or  sharing it on twitter or facebook. Thank you!