50. Pitt’s India Act, 1784 created which six-member supervisory body?
[SSC CGL, 23 September 2025, Shift 3]
- (A) Board of Control
- (B) Council of India
- (C) Privy Council
- (D) Bureau of Revenue
Answer: (A) Board of Control
Explanation: The Board of Control was established to direct and supervise the East India Company’s political and administrative activities. Its coexistence with the Court of Directors constituted dual control, separating governmental oversight from the Company’s commercial machinery.
49. Under which Act was India’s first Law Commission authorised for codifying laws?
[SSC CGL, 22 September 2025, Shift 1]
- (A) Government of India Act, 1858
- (B) Indian Councils Act, 1861
- (C) Regulating Act, 1773
- (D) Charter Act, 1833
Answer: (D) Charter Act, 1833
Explanation: The Charter Act, 1833 authorised the appointment of a Law Commission. The First Law Commission was constituted in 1834 under Thomas Babington Macaulay, contributing to the codification of Indian criminal and other laws.
48. How did Pitt’s India Act help unify British administration in India?
[SSC CGL, 19 September 2025, Shift 3]
- (A) It made provincial governors fully independent
- (B) It abolished the Court of Directors
- (C) It strengthened the Governor-General’s authority over presidencies
- (D) It merged civilian and military departments
Answer: (C) It strengthened the Governor-General’s authority over presidencies
Explanation: The 1784 legislation reinforced the Governor-General’s supervisory role over the subordinate presidencies, particularly in diplomacy and warfare. Together with the Board of Control in Britain, this strengthened administrative centralisation without ending Company rule.
47. What restriction did Pitt’s India Act impose on the Governor-General and his Council?
[SSC CGL, 16 September 2025, Shift 2]
- (A) All civil laws needed the Queen’s approval
- (B) Orders required unanimous support
- (C) War or treaties could not be undertaken without the stipulated authority
- (D) Members automatically resigned after five years
Answer: (C) War or treaties could not be undertaken without the stipulated authority
Explanation: Pitt’s Act tightened controls on expansionist decisions and placed Company political affairs under British supervision. Restrictions on initiating war and treaties aimed to prevent local officials from committing the Company to unauthorised conflicts or alliances.
46. What was a central objective of Pitt’s India Act of 1784?
[RRB NTPC (UG), CBT-I, 8 September 2025, Shift 3]
- (A) Empowering independent provincial councils
- (B) Restoring a universal trade monopoly
- (C) Abolishing Company rule at once
- (D) Creating dual control of Company affairs
Answer: (D) Creating dual control of Company affairs
Explanation: The 1784 legislation retained Company commercial administration through the Court of Directors while assigning supervision of political matters to the new Board of Control. This dual arrangement strengthened British parliamentary and governmental oversight without transferring rule directly to the Crown.
45. In which year were the Montagu–Chelmsford constitutional reforms introduced?
[RRB NTPC (UG), CBT-I, 13 August 2025, Shift 3]
- (A) 1931
- (B) 1919
- (C) 1944
- (D) 1923
Answer: (B) 1919
Explanation: The Montagu–Chelmsford proposals were embodied in the Government of India Act, 1919. The scheme introduced provincial dyarchy and expanded participation of Indians, while retaining important powers for the colonial executive. Its implementation followed in the early 1920s.
44. Which Charter Act introduced competitive examination as a basis for recruitment to Company civil services?
[RRB NTPC (Graduate), CBT-I, 11 June 2025, Shift 3]
- (A) Charter Act, 1793
- (B) Pitt’s India Act, 1784
- (C) Charter Act, 1853
- (D) Charter Act, 1813
Answer: (C) Charter Act, 1853
Explanation: The Charter Act of 1853 ended the patronage-based system of nomination in principle and opened the way for competitive recruitment. The Macaulay Committee subsequently developed the examination arrangements, giving this Act an important role in civil-service reform.
43. Which Indian Councils Act assigned individual portfolios to members of the Executive Council?
[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 Indian Councils Act, 1861 recognised the portfolio system associated with Lord Canning. Executive councillors headed particular departments rather than deciding every administrative matter collectively, making the government’s internal working more specialised and practical.
42. Which Act was the first British government intervention in the East India Company’s territorial affairs?
[SSC MTS, 4 November 2024, Shift 1]
- (A) Pitt’s India Act, 1784
- (B) Charter Act, 1813
- (C) Regulating Act, 1773
- (D) Charter Act, 1793
Answer: (C) Regulating Act, 1773
Explanation: The 1773 Regulating Act initiated parliamentary supervision of the East India Company’s territorial administration. Britain intervened amid reports of misgovernment and financial difficulties, appointing a Governor-General of Bengal and establishing a framework for later reforms.
41. Consider these statements:
(A) The Charter Act, 1833 renamed the Governor-General of Bengal as Governor-General of India.
(B) William Bentinck was the first Governor-General of India.
Which statement is 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 true. The 1833 legislation centralised authority and redesignated the post as Governor-General of India, which Lord William Bentinck first occupied. The reform was a major stage in the creation of a unified colonial administrative structure.
