110. The Union Council of Ministers is collectively answerable to which body?
[SSC CPO, 10 November 2022 Shift 3]
(A) Both Houses
(B) Parliament jointly
(C) President
(D) Lok Sabha
Answer: (D) Lok Sabha
Explanation: Article 75(3) singles out the House of the People. Although ministers answer parliamentary questions in either chamber, survival of the Union government depends on confidence of the Lok Sabha.
109. According to the Constitution, who appoints India’s Prime Minister?
[SSC MTS, 5 July 2022 Shift 3]
(A) Lok Sabha Speaker
(B) Council of Ministers
(C) President
(D) Chief Justice of India
Answer: (C) President
Explanation: The President formally appoints the Prime Minister under Article 75. Constitutional convention directs the choice toward a leader with Lok Sabha majority support. Ministers other than the Prime Minister are appointed on the latter’s advice.
108. How long may a Union minister remain in office without being a member of either House of Parliament?
[SSC CHSL, 30 May 2022 Shift 3]
(A) Eight consecutive months
(B) Six consecutive months
(C) Four consecutive months
(D) Three consecutive months
Answer: (B) Six consecutive months
Explanation: Article 75(5) permits a minister to serve without parliamentary membership for only six consecutive months. By that deadline the person must enter either House or cease to hold ministerial office.
107. As of April 2021, who had the longest total tenure as India’s Prime Minister?
[SSC CGL, 12 April 2022 Shift 3]
(A) Jawaharlal Nehru
(B) Indira Gandhi
(C) I. K. Gujral
(D) Narendra Modi
Answer: (A) Jawaharlal Nehru
Explanation: Jawaharlal Nehru served from 15 August 1947 until 27 May 1964, nearly seventeen years. This duration exceeds the tenure of all the other leaders named in the question.
106. When may the President exercise limited discretion in appointing a Prime Minister?
[WBCS Mains 2021, held May 2022]
(A) When no party commands a clear Lok Sabha majority
(B) Only whenever Lok Sabha is dissolved
(C) In every appointment
(D) Never
Answer: (A) When no party commands a clear Lok Sabha majority
Explanation: A hung Lok Sabha requires judgment about who can demonstrate majority support. Ordinarily the President appoints an obvious majority leader; discretion is constrained by the need to obtain parliamentary confidence.
105. Who was India’s first Deputy Prime Minister?
[WBCS Mains 2021, held May 2022]
(A) V. R. Gill
(B) R. N. Shukla
(C) Devi Lal
(D) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Answer: (D) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Explanation: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister in the first post-independence government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru. The Deputy Prime Minister title has no independent constitutional definition.
104. Who presides over India’s Trade and Economic Relations Committee?
[WBCS Mains 2021, held May 2022]
(A) Prime Minister
(B) Commerce Minister
(C) Finance Minister
(D) Finance Secretary
Answer: (A) Prime Minister
Explanation: The Trade and Economic Relations Committee, established in 2005, is chaired by the Prime Minister to coordinate India’s international economic engagement. It brings together senior ministers and advisers concerned with trade and external relations.
103. Who among Lal Bahadur Shastri, Charan Singh, Chandra Shekhar and H. D. Deve Gowda had the shortest tenure as Prime Minister?
[UPSC NDA I General Ability Test, 10 April 2022]
(A) Lal Bahadur Shastri
(B) Charan Singh
(C) Chandra Shekhar
(D) H. D. Deve Gowda
Answer: (B) Charan Singh
Explanation: Charan Singh served from 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980, a shorter period than the other three leaders listed. His administration ended without facing a Lok Sabha confidence vote because political support was withdrawn.
102. Which statement is incorrect:
(1) Union executive action is taken in the President’s name,
(2) Attorney General appointment requires Supreme Court judicial eligibility,
(3) the Union ministry cannot exceed 10% of Lok Sabha membership,
(4) presidential action generally follows ministerial advice?
[UPSC CDS I General Knowledge, 10 April 2022]
(A) Statement 1
(B) Statement 2
(C) Statement 3
(D) Statement 4
Answer: (C) Statement 3
Explanation: Article 75(1A), introduced by the Ninety-first Amendment, sets the Union Council of Ministers ceiling at fifteen percent of Lok Sabha strength, not ten percent. Executive actions are expressed in the President’s name and ministerial advice governs constitutional action.
101. Who was India’s Prime Minister during the Eighth Five-Year Plan?
[RRB Group D, 27 September 2022 Shift 2]
(A) Manmohan Singh
(B) Chandra Shekhar
(C) Rajiv Gandhi
(D) P. V. Narasimha Rao
Answer: (D) P. V. Narasimha Rao
Explanation: The Eighth Five-Year Plan began in 1992 during the administration of P. V. Narasimha Rao and continued through 1997. Its emphasis included human development and employment alongside the wider economic liberalisation launched in 1991.
