Q140. Which of these is another name for the Indian Councils Act, 1909?
[RPF Constable 2024 Exam (9 March 2025, Shift 1)]
(A) Morley–Minto Reforms
(B) Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms
(C) Ilbert Bill
(D) Pitt’s India Act
Answer: (A) Morley–Minto Reforms
Explanation: Named after John Morley and Lord Minto, the Indian Councils Act of 1909 expanded legislative representation and established separate Muslim electorates. It differed from the 1919 Montagu–Chelmsford reforms, which introduced provincial dyarchy.
Q139. Which Act designated the Governor-General as Viceroy?
[RPF Constable 2024 Exam (9 March 2025, Shift 3)]
(A) Indian Councils Act, 1861
(B) Regulating Act, 1773
(C) Government of India Act, 1858
(D) Government of India Act, 1833
Answer: (C) Government of India Act, 1858
Explanation: The Government of India Act, 1858 abolished East India Company rule. Under Crown administration, the Governor-General was styled Viceroy as the British monarch’s representative. Lord Canning became the first person to serve in that capacity.
Q138. Which Act transferred government in India from the East India Company to the British Crown?
[RPF Constable (5 March 2025, Shift 1)]
(A) Government of India Act, 1858
(B) Government of India Act, 1935
(C) Indian Councils Act, 1909
(D) Pitt’s India Act, 1784
Answer: (A) Government of India Act, 1858
Explanation: The Government of India Act, 1858, also known as the Act for the Better Government of India, ended the East India Company’s governmental authority. It vested rule in the Crown and created the Secretary of State for India.
Q137. In which city was the court first presided over by Elijah Impey established?
[OPSC OAS Prelims GS (15 December 2024, Paper I)]
(A) Murshidabad
(B) Patna
(C) Kolkata
(D) Dhaka
Answer: (C) Kolkata
Explanation: Elijah Impey became the first chief justice of the Supreme Court established at Fort William, Calcutta, in 1774. The court’s creation followed the Regulating Act of 1773, which introduced major judicial and administrative changes.
Q136. In which year was Pitt’s India Act enacted?
[SSC Stenographer (10 December 2024, Shift 1)]
(A) 1781
(B) 1784
(C) 1782
(D) 1780
Answer: (B) 1784
Explanation: Pitt’s India Act, passed in 1784, created the Board of Control to supervise political affairs and left commercial management with the Company’s Court of Directors. It followed Parliament’s earlier attempt to regulate the Company in 1773.
Q135. Under which Act did Executive Council members receive separate departmental portfolios?
[SSC Stenographer (10 December 2024, Shift 1)]
(A) Indian Councils Act, 1858
(B) Indian Councils Act, 1861
(C) Indian Councils Act, 1909
(D) Indian Councils Act, 1892
Answer: (B) Indian Councils Act, 1861
Explanation: The portfolio system was associated with Lord Canning and received formal recognition under the Indian Councils Act of 1861. Individual council members were made responsible for specified departments, facilitating administrative specialization within colonial government.
Q134. When and for what purpose was the Simon Commission appointed?
[SSC Stenographer (10 December 2024, Shift 3)]
(A) In 1927 to recommend further constitutional reforms
(B) In 1924 to reform Swaraj
(C) In 1939 to review wartime preparedness
(D) In 1942 to improve troop movements
Answer: (A) In 1927 to recommend further constitutional reforms
Explanation: Britain appointed the Simon Commission in November 1927 to assess the functioning of the Government of India Act, 1919 and recommend changes. Its exclusion of Indians made it politically controversial even before arrival in February 1928.
Q133. Who founded Fort William College to train Company civil servants?
[RPF SI CBT I (2 December 2024, Shift 3)]
(A) Warren Hastings
(B) Lord Wellesley
(C) Lord Mayo
(D) Lord Dalhousie
Answer: (B) Lord Wellesley
Explanation: Lord Wellesley founded Fort William College in Calcutta in 1800 to train newly appointed Company officers in Indian languages, laws and customs. British authorities soon shifted much formal training to institutions in Britain.
Q132. Consider: A. The Charter Act of 1833 changed Governor-General of Bengal to Governor-General of India. B. William Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India. Which statements are incorrect?
[SSC MTS (30 October 2024, Shift 2)]
(A) Neither A nor B
(B) Only B
(C) Only A
(D) Both A and B
Answer: (A) Neither A nor B
Explanation: Both statements are historically correct. The Charter Act of 1833 redesignated the office and centralized legislative power. Lord William Bentinck held the post when the change occurred, making him the first Governor-General of India under this arrangement.
Q131. Who introduced the Daroga system in 1792 as part of police reform?
[SSC CGL Tier I (18 September 2024, Shift 2)]
(A) Lord Cornwallis
(B) Lord Minto
(C) Lord Mayo
(D) Lord William Bentinck
Answer: (A) Lord Cornwallis
Explanation: Lord Cornwallis reorganized policing through designated thanas and darogas, reducing the previous police functions of zamindars. The reforms attempted to introduce salaried and supervised policing but remained principally designed to protect revenue collection and colonial order.
