How much do you know about Constitution of India? Check your GK

 

The Constitution of India

Constitution of India was framed by the Drafting Committee which was appointed by the Constitution Assembly. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution was Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar. The Constitution Assembly adopted the Constitution of November 26, 1949. On January 26, 1950, India became a republic as the Constitution came into force. Originally, there were eight Schedules and 39 Articles. There are four major parts of the Constitution of India at present. 1. The Preamble 2. Parts I to XXII having over 400 articles. 3. Twelve Schedules 4. Appendix The Preamble: Through forty-second amendment, words secular and socialist are added into the Preamble.

Important features of the Indian constitution, borrowed from outside sources.

[table id=17 /]

Important Articles in Indian Constitution and their areas of focus

[table id=18 /]

Fundamental Rights

Initially, these were six in number, but now with the inclusion of the right to the education, they are seven in number. These are as follows 1. Right to Equality 2. Right to Freedom 3. Right against Exploitation 4. Cultural and Educational Rights 5. Right to Freedom of Religion 6. Right to Constitutional Remedies 7. Right to Education Note: It was the right to property which earlier used to be the fundamental right, and has now been converted into legal right by the forty-fourth-amendment in the constitution in 1978. Directive Principles of state policy: They come under the Part IV of the constitution. They are basically instructions to the government to carry out certain responsibilities. They cannot be enforced in any court of law.

Structure of the Union Government

President

He is the constitutional head of the parliamentary system of government and the Supreme Commander of the arm forces. He is also the first citizen of India. Election by an electoral college consisting of the elected member of state Legislatures and both the Houses of the Parliament for a period of five years. He can be removed from the office for violating the constitution by impeachment under Article 61. He is responsible for appointing the senior officials including the Prime Minister.

Vice President

Elected by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both the Houses of the Parliament. He is elected for a tenure of five years. He is the Ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. He is the person who works in place of President, in the case of death, resignation, or when is unable to discharge his functions due to any reason.

President of India

1. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first president of India and the longest serving President of India who served for 12 years. 2. At present Pranab Mukherjee is the President of India. He is the 13th President of India.

Vice President of India

1. Dr. S. Radhakrishnan was the first Vice President and also the longest serving Vice President, who served for 10 years. He was also a well- known philosopher. At present Mohammad Hamid Ansari is the Vice President of India.

Prime Minister

Appointed by President, he is head of the council of ministers and is the leader of the ruling party which is in majority in the Lok Sabha. He is appointed for 5 years. At present, Narendra Modi is Prime Minister of India.

The Parliament

It consists of two houses (a) Lok Sabha and (b) Rajya Sabha

Lok Sabha

Also known as the Lower House of the Parliament, consist of people directly elected by the constituencies in various States and Union Territories. It consists of 552 members, in which two from the Anglo-Indian Community, nominated by the President and 530 from the states and 20 from the Union Territories. The presiding officer of Lok Sabha is the speaker, who is elected by members of Lok sabha. At present, Sumitra Mahajan Is the speaker of the Lok Sabha.

Rajya Sabha

Known as the Upper House. It is chaired by the Vice President (Ex-officio). Rajya Sabha cannot be diluted, therefore, it is a permanent body. One-third of its members retire every two years. A total of 250 members is present in the Rajya Sabha, out of which 12 members are nominated by President and 238 members come through the elections from the states and the Union Territory. Both, the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, are the grounds for debating, passing the bills, constitutional amendments and other issues pertinent to the welfare of the nation.

Bills

Except for the money bills (ordinary) can be in traduced in either House of the Parliament. They are, if needed, amended and then passed by either House, before becoming an act. The money bill originates in the Lok Sabha only.

Supreme Court

This is the Apex Judicial body in India, based in Delhi, consists of 25 judges and the Chief Justice, who is appointed by the President. The Judges of the Supreme Court retire at the age of 65. The main functions include solving disputes between the States and Union Governments, hearing of appeals from various High Courts and any matter pertaining to the law for its opinion. The first Chief Justice of India was H. J. Kania. At present, Jagdish Singh Khehar is the chief Justice of India.

Other Important Officials

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)

Appointed by the President, he is responsible for keeping an eye over the finances of the States and the Union, and to make sure that the money allocated by the voting of the Legislature is spent in a fair and judicious manner. At present, Shashi Kant Sharma is the CAG of India.

The Attorney General of India

It is appointed by the President, can take part in the proceedings of the Parliament and its committees but do not have the right to vote. Mainly responsible for giving expert legal advice to the Government of India and other legal tasks assigned to him. At present, Mukul Rohatgi is the Attorney General of India.

Governor

He is the executive head of the state and is appointed by the President for five years and can hold the office with the President’s consent. The main functions of the Governor are as follows: a. Being the executive head of state he is responsible for appointing the council of ministers. b. He is responsible for causing the normal or supplementary budgets to be presented each year. He can sanction advances to the government out of the contingency fund of the state to meet unexpected expenses of the state. c. He is responsible for giving assent to the bills passed by the State Legislative, without which they cannot become an act.

Chief Minister

The real executive authority of the state administration, he is the leader of the party that commands a majority in the Legislative Assembly and is appointed by the Governor on this basis. He recommends the names of the ministers along with their portfolios to the Governor who then appoints them; He formulates the administrative and executive policies of the state and presides over the cabinet meetings.

Table of Schedules and Their Areas of Concern

[table id=14 /] Note: Originally there were eight schedules. Later, four more schedules were added to it, taking the total tally of schedules to twelve.

Table of Important Constitutional Amendments

[table id=15 /]

Few important cases and Supreme Court's judgment on them

[table id=16 /]