10. Which Article provides for adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers?
[WBCS Mains 2018, Polity]
(A) Article 258
(B) Article 260
(C) Article 262
(D) Article 264
Answer: (C) Article 262
Explanation: Article 262 empowers Parliament to provide for adjudication of disputes concerning use, distribution or control of inter-State river waters. Parliament enacted the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 for this purpose and may exclude court jurisdiction as constitutionally authorised.
9. Which criterion received the greatest weight in the formula for distributing State shares recommended by the Fourteenth Finance Commission?
[UPSC Combined Defence Services Examination 2017, General Knowledge, 19 November 2017]
(A) Population
(B) Income distance
(C) Area
(D) Tax effort
Answer: (B) Income distance
Explanation: The Fourteenth Finance Commission assigned the largest weight, 50 percent, to income distance for horizontal distribution among States. The formula also considered population, demographic change, area and forest cover. Income distance sought to address differences in States’ fiscal capacities.
8. Which statement is NOT a feature of Indian federalism?
[UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2017, General Studies Paper I]
(A) India has an independent judiciary
(B) Powers are divided between Union and States
(C) States have unequal representation in Rajya Sabha
(D) The Union resulted from an agreement among sovereign federating units
Answer: (D) The Union resulted from an agreement among sovereign federating units
Explanation: India is constitutionally described as a Union of States, not a compact negotiated by previously sovereign States. Independent courts, constitutional division of powers and unequal State representation in Rajya Sabha are all features of the Indian federal arrangement.
7. Administrative relations between the Centre and States are outlined principally in which Articles?
[WBCS Mains 2016, Polity]
(A) Articles 256–263
(B) Articles 245–254
(C) Articles 264–300
(D) Articles 250–260
Answer: (A) Articles 256–263
Explanation: Chapter II of Part XI contains Articles 256–263 on administrative relations. These cover State compliance with Union laws, directions, delegation of functions, inter-State water disputes and coordination through an Inter-State Council. Legislative relations occupy Articles 245–255.
6. Which is NOT necessarily a characteristic of a federal system?
[UPSC NDA & NA Examination (I) 2014, General Ability Test]
(A) Two distinct levels of government
(B) Written constitutional allocation of each level’s powers
(C) Absence of separation between legislative and executive branches
(D) A supreme court that interprets the constitutional division of powers
Answer: (C) Absence of separation between legislative and executive branches
Explanation: Federalism distributes authority vertically between levels of government. Whether legislature and executive are institutionally separated is a different question concerning presidential versus parliamentary government. Two levels, defined constitutional competences and independent adjudication are familiar federal features.
5. The Constitution’s distribution of powers between Centre and States is based mainly on the scheme of which enactment?
[UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2012, General Studies Paper I]
(A) Morley–Minto Reforms, 1909
(B) Montagu–Chelmsford reforms, 1919
(C) Government of India Act, 1935
(D) Indian Independence Act, 1947
Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1935
Explanation: The Government of India Act, 1935 envisaged a federal structure and divided legislative subjects into federal, provincial and concurrent lists. The Constitution retained and adapted this three-list framework, now contained in the Seventh Schedule, to distribute legislative competence.
4. Which pair is NOT correctly matched with the Constitution’s division of legislative subjects?
[UPSC NDA & NA Examination (II) 2011, General Ability Test]
(A) Union List — Banking
(B) State List — Agriculture
(C) Concurrent List — Marriage
(D) Residuary List — Education
Answer: (D) Residuary List — Education
Explanation: Education is an entry in the Concurrent List, not a residuary subject. More fundamentally, the Constitution has only Union, State and Concurrent Lists; it has no separate Residuary List. Parliament exercises residual powers under Article 248.
3. Which tax was primarily within the exclusive jurisdiction of State Governments at the time of the examination?
[UPSC NDA & NA Examination (II) 2009, General Ability Test]
(A) Corporation tax
(B) Customs duty
(C) Sales tax
(D) Income tax other than agricultural income
Answer: (C) Sales tax
Explanation: In the pre-GST framework, ordinary sales tax on goods was generally a State levy, while corporation tax, customs duty and non-agricultural income tax belonged to the Union. Since 2017, GST has replaced much of that earlier sales-tax arrangement.
2. Which subject belongs to the Union List in the Seventh Schedule?
[UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2006, General Studies]
(A) Regulation of labour and safety in mines and oilfields
(B) Agriculture
(C) Fisheries
(D) Public health
Answer: (A) Regulation of labour and safety in mines and oilfields
Explanation: Entry 55 of the Union List covers regulation of labour and safety in mines and oilfields. Agriculture, public health and most inland fisheries are State List subjects. The division reflects national regulatory needs in strategically important extractive industries.
1. Which authority recommends principles governing grants-in-aid to States from the Consolidated Fund of India?
[UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2002, General Studies]
(A) Finance Commission
(B) Inter-State Council
(C) Union Ministry of Finance
(D) Public Accounts Committee
Answer: (A) Finance Commission
Explanation: Article 280 entrusts the Finance Commission with recommending principles for grants-in-aid to States and distribution of specified tax revenues. The President constitutes the commission periodically. The Inter-State Council instead provides a forum for intergovernmental consultation and coordination.
