60. According to the conventional ordinal count used in the exam, Narendra Modi became which Prime Minister of India?
[SSC CHSL, 24 January 2017 Shift 3]
(A) Fifth
(B) Tenth
(C) Fourteenth
(D) Eighteenth
Answer: (C) Fourteenth
Explanation: Narendra Modi became Prime Minister on 26 May 2014 and is conventionally described as India’s fourteenth Prime Minister. Ordinal counting typically excludes interim repetitions and treats separately elected officeholders by established governmental convention.
59. Who had served the longest term as Prime Minister among these leaders?
[SSC CHSL, 2 February 2017 Shift 2]
(A) Jawaharlal Nehru
(B) Indira Gandhi
(C) I. K. Gujral
(D) Narendra Modi
Answer: (A) Jawaharlal Nehru
Explanation: Jawaharlal Nehru’s uninterrupted tenure from August 1947 to May 1964 remains the longest among the listed leaders. His years in office spanned the post-independence transition and formation of the Republic.
58. Statements:
(1) Union Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha.
(2) Union ministers constitutionally hold office at the Prime Minister’s pleasure.
Which is correct?
[UPPSC RO/ARO Preliminary 2016]
(A) Only 1
(B) Both
(C) Neither
(D) Only 2
Answer: (A) Only 1
Explanation: Collective responsibility to Lok Sabha is expressly provided by Article 75(3). The Constitution says ministers hold office during the President’s pleasure, although the Prime Minister’s advice is crucial to their continuation.
57. Which Indian Prime Minister’s signature appeared on currency notes due to earlier service at the RBI?
[SSC CPO, 7 June 2016 Shift 1]
(A) Lal Bahadur Shastri
(B) V. P. Singh
(C) Gulzarilal Nanda
(D) Manmohan Singh
Answer: (D) Manmohan Singh
Explanation: Manmohan Singh served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1982 to 1985. Banknotes issued while he held that position bore his signature, before he later became Prime Minister in 2004.
56. On whose recommendation is a Union minister ordinarily dismissed by the President?
[SSC CGL, 30 August 2016 Shift 3]
(A) Lok Sabha Speaker
(B) Emergency Cabinet
(C) Prime Minister
(D) President without advice
Answer: (C) Prime Minister
Explanation: Although Union ministers constitutionally hold office during the President’s pleasure, in a parliamentary system removal ordinarily follows the Prime Minister’s recommendation. This preserves the Prime Minister’s responsibility for the ministerial team.
55. Which office automatically chairs NITI Aayog?
[SSC CGL, 28 August 2016 Shift 1]
(A) President
(B) Home Minister
(C) Prime Minister
(D) Finance Minister
Answer: (C) Prime Minister
Explanation: The Prime Minister chairs NITI Aayog ex officio, as the Union’s chief political executive. The institution encourages strategic policy thinking and cooperative federalism in place of the former Planning Commission.
54. Who chairs the National Disaster Management Authority?
[SSC CGL, 4 September 2016 Shift 3]
(A) National Security Adviser
(B) Prime Minister
(C) DRDO Chairman
(D) Home Minister
Answer: (B) Prime Minister
Explanation: The Prime Minister chairs the National Disaster Management Authority under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The body sets broad national policies for disaster preparedness, mitigation and response.
53. Whose advice ordinarily governs the President’s summoning of Parliament?
[SSC CGL, 7 September 2016 Shift 1]
(A) Speaker alone
(B) Prime Minister alone
(C) Prime Minister and Opposition Leader
(D) Council of Ministers
Answer: (D) Council of Ministers
Explanation: Parliament is summoned by the President under Article 85, acting according to the constitutional advice of the Union Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister leads that Council, but the decision follows cabinet-government procedure.
52. Which power of the Prime Minister is explicitly stated in India’s Constitution?
[UPSC NDA General Ability Test, 18 September 2016]
(A) Advising the President on appointing other Union ministers
(B) Allocating portfolios directly under the Constitution
(C) Summoning Cabinet meetings by explicit article
(D) Transferring ministers between departments by explicit article
Answer: (A) Advising the President on appointing other Union ministers
Explanation: Article 75(1) expressly provides that other ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister’s advice. Portfolio allocation, Cabinet scheduling and political rearrangements involve rules of business and convention, rather than that specific textual power.
51. Which of the following Prime Ministers lost parliamentary confidence votes:
(1) Morarji Desai,
(2) V. P. Singh,
(3) H. D. Deve Gowda,
(4) Atal Bihari Vajpayee?
[UPSC CDS General Knowledge, 14 February 2016]
(A) 1, 2, 3 and 4
(B) 1, 2 and 3 only
(C) 2, 3 and 4 only
(D) 1 and 4 only
Answer: (C) 2, 3 and 4 only
Explanation: V. P. Singh lost a confidence vote in 1990, Deve Gowda in 1997, and Vajpayee in 1999. Morarji Desai resigned in 1979 after losing political support without himself being defeated in the specified floor vote.
