Day-678 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | POLITY

Answer: C
Explanation:
Only statement 3 is incorrect as the oath is made as per the 3rd Schedule of the constitution, not the 4th Schedule.
Third Schedule Forms of Oaths or affirmations Articles 75(4), 99,124(6), 148(2),164(3), 188 and 219
Fourth Schedule Allocation of seats in the Council of States Articles 4(1) and 80(2)

The Constitution and the RPA act 1951 deal with qualification and disqualification of MPs/MLAs. In addition to these provisions, there are Conduct of Election Rules 1961 which deals with Nomination and Affidavit. It can be understood as follows:
1. A candidate has to file a nomination paper as well as Affidavit.
2. Affidavit is details of the antecedents of the candidates needed as per the RPA act and elections rules governed by Conduct of Election Rules 1961.
3. Each candidate has to make an oath as per the format under the 3rd Schedule of the constitution.
4. If Affidavit gives wrong information, then there may be disqualification of the candidate.
The Lok Sabha member of Janata Dal Secular (JDS) Prajwal Revanna, was disqualified as a Member of Parliament by the High Court of Karnataka, over furnishing false details in his affidavit filed during the Lok Sabha election held in 2019. As per the Section 125A of the RPA 1951, for false Affidavit, there can be punishment up to 6 months.
The recent Surat case is also an example of disqualification of a candidate even before election although the matter is sub judice.

Answer: A
Explanation:
Option A is correct. The reasons are as follows:
1. The Right to Information Act 2005 is a statute enacted by the Parliament which gives every citizen a legal right to seek information and on denial, there is a defined grievance redressal process.
2. The constitution has not mentioned explicitly under any provision about RTI, hence, cannot be considered as constitutional right in legal sense
3. It has been recognised by the SC under article 19 (1)(a) as fundamental right which means its significance has been recognised without explicitly mentioning the right.
4. For instance, right to education was once mentioned by the SC as a fundamental right, still 86th AA was brought to add article 21A to give it an explicit recognition.
Hence, the enactment of the Right to Information Act 2005 makes RTI in India as legal right and not constitutional or fundamental right. The RTI act doesn’t bring any alteration in the constitution and hence, its consequence will be legal, not constitutional.

Answer: D
Explanation: All the four features are correct. The right to equality is under Article 14 of the Constitution. It has two components:
1. Equality before law
2. Equal protection of law
The Rule of Law: The first principle is related to the concept of the Rule of Law, hence, the option 3 is Correct. In fact, the Rule of Law is the foundation of Article 14.
Socio-economic justice: The equality principle is considered the essence of democracy. It is not only a political right but also essential for a dignified society. Without socio-economic justice, equality cannot be achieved.
There are two types of equality-quantitative and substantive. The latter is possible only through inclusiveness of society as remarked by the SC in the BK Pavitra case.
Article 14 is seen with article 15 and 16 and there can be reasonable classification of people to promote equality. The Janhit Case which is popularly known as EWS reservation case, the five judge bench went on classifying EWS as a separate category under article 14 which also became the basis for the justification of the EWS reservation. Hence, option 1 is Correct.
Secularism: Equality is the basis for secularism. The 42nd Constitutional (Amendment) Act of 1976 stated that ‘secular’ means a republic in which there is equal respect for all religions.
The Supreme Court of India in the case of Indira Nehru Gandhi v RajNarain 1975 held that secularism means that State shall have no religion of its own and all persons of the country shall be equally entitled to the freedom of their conscience and have the right freely to profess, practice and propagate any religion.
Hence, even if secularism is linked to religion, its foundation is the equality principle. This makes option 2 correct.
Natural Justice: It means fairness in treatment or justice as fairness which is a feature of Article 21. But Article 21 has a strong link with article 14. One cannot be fair unless one values equality. Our fair behaviour demands absence of any prejudices in the name of caste, religion, region or community.
Violation of natural justice results in arbitrariness which is also a violation of equality. Hence, option 4 is also correct.

Answer: D
Explanation:
The Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017 was made under section 7 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 to regulate the temporary suspension of telecom services due to public emergency or public safety. The suspension order is given by
a) The Union Home Secretary
b) The State Home Secretary
c) An officer of Joint Secretary level or above
Directions to suspend the telecom services shall not be issued except by an order made by the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs in the case of Government of India or by the Secretary to the State Government in-charge of the Home Department in the case of a State Government (hereinafter referred to as the competent authority), and in unavoidable circumstances, where obtaining of prior direction is not feasible, such order may be issued by an officer, not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India, who has been duly authorised by the Union Home Secretary or the State Home Secretary, as the case may be.
Hence, DM is not the competent authority as per the Rules, 2017. Therefore, Option D is the correct choice.
Additional information:
Any order issued by the competent authority under sub-rule (1) shall contain reasons for such direction and a copy of such order shall be forwarded to the concerned Review Committee latest by next working day.
1. The directions for suspension issued under sub-rule (1) shall be conveyed to designated officers of the telegraph authority or to the designated officers of the service providers, who have been granted licenses under section 4 of the said Act, in writing or by secure electronic communication by an officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police or of the equivalent rank and mode of secure electronic communication and its implementation shall be determined by the telegraph authority.
2. The telegraph authority and service providers shall designate officers in every licensed service area or State or Union territory, as the case may be, as the nodal officers to receive and handle such requisitions for suspension of telecom services.
3. The Central Government or the State Government, as the case may be, shall constitute a Review Committee.
I. The Review Committee to be constituted by the Central Government shall consist of the following, namely:-
a) Cabinet Secretary -Chairman;
b) Secretary to the Government of India In-charge, Legal Affairs -Member;
c) Secretary to the Government, Department of Telecommunications -Member.
II. The Review Committee to be constituted by the State Government shall consist of the following, namely:-
a) Chief Secretary -Chairman;
b) Secretary Law or Legal Remembrancer In-Charge, Legal Affairs -Member;
c) Secretary to the State Government (other than the Home Secretary) -Member.

Answer: B
Explanation: Option B is incorrect. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is a centrally sponsored scheme and not a central sector scheme. It is also not fully funded by the centre, rather the funding pattern is 75: 25 between centre and states.
All other options are correct, and they are features of the scheme. The brief details of the schemes are as follows:
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) was launched in 2015 to encourage and promote skill development in the country by providing free short duration skill training and incentivizing this by providing monetary rewards to youth for skill certification. The overall idea is to boost both industry and employability of youths.
It is being implemented under the umbrella scheme of Skill India Programme by the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship. It was first implemented for 2015-2022 and then for 2022-26.
Objectives of PMKVY
● Enable and mobilize a large number of youths to take up industry designed quality skill training, become employable and earn their livelihood.
● Increase productivity of the existing workforce and align skill training with the actual needs of the country.
● Encourage standardisation of the Certification process and put in place the foundation for creating a registry of skills.
Key Components of the Scheme
1. Short Term Training (STT) – The Short-Term Training imparted at PMKVY Training Centres (TCs) is aimed towards the candidates who are either school/college dropouts or unemployed.
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) – Individuals with prior learning experience or skills are assessed and certified under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) component of the Scheme.
2. Special Projects – Special Projects component of PMKVY envisages to encourage trainings in special areas and premises of Government bodies, corporates / industry bodies and trainings in special job roles not defined under the available Qualification Packs (QPs)/National Occupational Standards (NOSs).
The scheme is being implemented through two components:
1. Centrally Sponsored Centrally Managed (CSCM): This component is implemented by National Skill Development Corporation. 75% of the PMKVY 2016-20 funds and corresponding physical targets have been allocated under CSCM.
2. Centrally Sponsored State Managed (CSSM): This component is implemented by State Governments through State Skill Development Missions (SSDMs). 25% of the PMKVY 2016-20 funds and corresponding physical targets have been allocated under CSSM.
Skill India Digital provides a digital platform as the backbone for the end-to-end digitised data for the scheme.