Constitutional Amendments: previous-year questions

Answer: (D) 44th Amendment

The 44th Amendment Act, 1978, passed by the Janata government to prevent a repeat of the 1975-77 Emergency, provides that the President can proclaim a National Emergency under Article 352 only on the written advice of the Union Cabinet. It also replaced 'internal disturbance' with 'armed rebellion', required parliamentary approval within one month by a special majority and renewal every six months, protected Articles 20 and 21 from suspension, and removed the right to property from the Fundamental Rights (now Article 300A). The distractors: the 42nd Amendment (1976), the 'mini-Constitution' that added Socialist, Secular and Integrity to the Preamble and the Fundamental Duties; the 52nd (1985), the anti-defection law; the 86th (2002), the right to education (Article 21A).

Answer: (C) 44th Amendment.

The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 deleted Article 31 and Article 19(1)(f), making property only a legal right under Article 300A. The 24th Amendment concerned Parliament's power to amend the Constitution, and the 42nd did not touch the right to property's status.

Answer: (C) 94th

The 94th Amendment Act, 2006 amended Article 164(1) to drop Bihar from the list of States that must have a Minister for tribal welfare (after Jharkhand was carved out) and added Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. The 92nd added four languages to the Eighth Schedule, the 93rd allowed OBC reservation in private educational institutions, and the 95th extended SC/ST seat reservation.

Answer: (B) 42nd Amendment

The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 made so many sweeping changes — to the Preamble, Fundamental Duties, the Seventh Schedule and many Articles — that it is called the 'mini Constitution'. The 38th, 35th and 40th amendments were limited in scope.

Answer: (B) acquiring of territories by India and transfer of certain territories to Bangladesh.

The 100th Amendment Act, 2015 gave effect to the India–Bangladesh Land Boundary Agreement, under which enclaves were exchanged — India acquired some territories and transferred others to Bangladesh. Street vending is regulated by an ordinary Act of 2014, and Andhra Pradesh was reorganised by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Answer: (B) Sindhi

The 21st Amendment Act, 1967 added Sindhi to the Eighth Schedule as its 15th language. Assamese and Gujarati were in the original list of 14, and Konkani was added later by the 71st Amendment, 1992.

Answer: (C) 42nd

The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 moved five subjects — education, forests, weights and measures, protection of wild animals and birds, and administration of justice — from the State List to the Concurrent List. The 40th, 41st and 46th amendments dealt with other matters.

Answer: (D) 69th Amendment.

The 69th Amendment Act, 1991 inserted Articles 239AA and 239AB, renaming the Union Territory of Delhi the National Capital Territory with a Legislative Assembly and Council of Ministers. It was not created by ordinance, and the 71st Amendment added languages to the Eighth Schedule.

Answer: (C) 36th Constitutional Amendment Act

The 36th Amendment Act, 1975 made Sikkim a full State of the Indian Union and inserted Article 371F. The 35th Amendment (1974) had earlier made Sikkim an 'associate State', which makes (B) the tempting wrong option; the 34th and 37th dealt with other matters.

Answer: (A) Mizoram

The 53rd Amendment Act, 1986 inserted Article 371G with special provisions for Mizoram, which became a State in February 1987. Tripura and Manipur became States in 1972 and Meghalaya in 1972, under earlier legislation.

Answer: (B) 52nd amendment

The 52nd Amendment Act, 1985, passed under Rajiv Gandhi's government, added the Tenth Schedule, which disqualifies legislators who defect; the Speaker or Chairman decides such cases, subject to judicial review (Kihoto Hollohan case, 1992). The 91st Amendment (2003) removed the exemption for "splits" and capped the Council of Ministers at 15% of the House. As for the other options, the 51st Amendment (1984) dealt with reserved seats for Scheduled Tribes in some north-eastern States, the 53rd (1986) made special provisions for Mizoram (Article 371G) and the 54th (1986) raised the salaries of Supreme Court and High Court judges.

Answer: (B) 73rd

The 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 (in force from 24 April 1993, observed as National Panchayati Raj Day) added Part IX (Articles 243 to 243-O) and the Eleventh Schedule with 29 subjects, creating a three-tier Panchayat system. The 74th Amendment did the same for urban local bodies (Part IX-A, Twelfth Schedule with 18 subjects). The 72nd dealt with reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in the Tripura Assembly and the 75th with rent tribunals.

Answer: (C) 61st

The Constitution (61st Amendment) Act, 1988, passed under Rajiv Gandhi's government and in force from 28 March 1989, amended Article 326 to lower the voting age for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections from 21 to 18. The 60th Amendment raised the ceiling of profession tax from Rs. 250 to Rs. 2,500 a year, the 62nd extended SC/ST reservation in legislatures for ten more years (to 2000), and the 63rd repealed the special emergency provisions for Punjab brought in by the 59th. National Voters' Day is observed on 25 January.

Answer: (A) National Commission on Backward Classes

The Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill, 2017 (enacted as the 102nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2018) granted constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes, giving it powers similar to those of the National Commissions for SCs and STs.

Answer: (A) early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years

The 86th Amendment (2002) inserted Article 21A making elementary education a Fundamental Right for children aged 6-14, and correspondingly amended Article 45 (a Directive Principle) to now focus the State's duty on providing early childhood care and education for children below the age of six.

Answer: (D) 79th Amendment

The 79th Amendment (1999) extended the reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and the special nominated representation for the Anglo-Indian community in the Lok Sabha and state Legislative Assemblies by a further ten years.

Answer: (B) 73rd Amendment

The 73rd Amendment Act, 1992 (in force from 24 April 1993, now National Panchayati Raj Day) added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects) and gave constitutional status to the three-tier Panchayati Raj. The 74th Amendment did the same for municipalities (Part IXA, Twelfth Schedule, 18 subjects). The 56th Amendment made Goa a state, and the 76th placed Tamil Nadu's 69 per cent reservation law in the Ninth Schedule.

Answer: (C) 1980's

The voting age in India was reduced from 21 to 18 years by the 61st Constitutional Amendment Act of 1988, which came into effect in 1989. This change was made to enable the youth of the country to participate in the electoral process at an earlier age.