Day-710 | Daily MCQs | UPSC Prelims | POLITY

Answer: B
Explanation:
The writ of Mandamus is issued by the Supreme Court or High Courts to compel a public official to perform a duty that they are obligated to carry out under the law. It is a command issued by a court to a government officer to fulfill their official duties that they have failed to perform or refused to perform. This writ cannot be issued against the President or Governors of states, and it is not issued when the duty in question involves the use of discretion by the officer. The constitutional basis for the issuance of writs by the Supreme Court is found under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution, which allows individuals to approach the Supreme Court directly for the enforcement of their rights. Similarly, Article 226 allows High Courts to issue writs for the enforcement of rights and for any other purpose, which is broader in scope compared to Article 32.

Answer: B
Explanation:
The correct completion for the sentence regarding where the Supreme Court of India may sit is found in Article 130 of the Constitution of India. This article stipulates that “The Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi or in such other place or places, as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, from time to time, appoint.” Therefore, the correct answer is Option B “With the approval of the President”.

Answer: D
Explanation:
7th Amendment (1956): This amendment reorganized the states based on linguistic lines, leading to the creation of 14 states and 6 union territories, thus restructuring the political map of India to better accommodate linguistic and regional diversity.
9th Amendment (1960): The division of the Berubari Union, a territory on the India-Pakistan border, sparked controversy. The 1958 Nehru-Noon Agreement proposed splitting the land between the two nations. However, West Bengal, the Indian state affected, contested this decision. The issue reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that the Parliament’s power to adjust state borders (under Article 3) didn’t extend to ceding Indian territory to another country. This landmark decision established that surrendering land required a constitutional amendment. Following this judgment, the 9th Constitutional Amendment Act was passed in 1960, formally allowing the Berubari Union’s division as agreed upon in the Nehru-Noon Agreement.
35th and 36th Amendments (1974 and 1975): These amendments were related to the status of Sikkim. The 35th Amendment recognized Sikkim as an associate state of India. Subsequently, the 36th Amendment integrated Sikkim as a full state within the Indian Union, thereby altering the status of this region from a protectorate to a state.
100th Amendment (2015): This amendment enabled the implementation of the Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh. It involved the exchange of certain enclaves and the adjustment of some border areas, thereby resolving long-standing border issues between the two countries.
These amendments collectively demonstrate the dynamic nature of India’s political boundaries and its federal structure, reflecting changes necessitated by linguistic, regional, international treaties, and political considerations.

Answer: A
Explanation:
Statement-I is correct: Article 3 of the Indian Constitution empowers Parliament to form new states, alter boundaries or names of existing states, and manage the areas, boundaries, or names of the existing states without the states’ consent. However, the President must refer the bill for the reorganization to the state legislature concerned for expressing its views within a specified period. The parliament is not bound to accept or act upon the state’s views, making the procedure relatively simple and not dependent on the state’s consent.
Statement-II is correct: Following independence, India’s state reorganization prioritized historical and political factors over social, cultural, or linguistic considerations. This stemmed from the pre-existing fragmented structure of princely states and British provinces. The initial focus was on merging these units into workable administrative entities, often based on historical connections or political realities. While social and cultural aspects weren’t entirely disregarded, they weren’t the primary driving force. This resulted in multilingual states and occasional cultural overlaps in state reorganisation during the initial years after independence.
Hence, Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II is the correct explanation for Statement-I.

Answer: D
Explanation:
Under the Companies Act, 2013, Schedule VII specifies the activities that may be included in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies. It specifically mentions contributions to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or any other fund set up by the central government for socio-economic development and relief. The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund qualifies as an eligible contribution under CSR. The PM CARES Fund, established in 2020 for providing relief during emergencies such as pandemics, is also an acceptable CSR contribution. Contributions to the Swachh Bharat Kosh and the Clean Ganga Fund are explicitly mentioned as eligible CSR activities under activities promoting sanitation and conserving natural resources, respectively. Thus, all four funds listed qualify under the CSR policies as per the stipulations of the Companies Act, 2013.

SCHEDULE VII OF THE COMPANIES ACT, 2013
Activities which may be included by companies in their Corporate Social Responsibility Policies. Activities relating to:
(i) eradicating hunger, poverty and malnutrition, promoting health care including preventive health and sanitation [Including contribution to the Swatch Bharat Kosh set-up by the Central Government for the promotion of sanitation] and making available safe drinking water;
(ii) promoting education, including special education and employment enhancing vocation skills especially among children, women, elderly, and the differently abled and livelihood enhancement projects;
(iii) promoting gender equality, empowering women, setting up homes and hostels for women and orphans; setting up old age homes, day care centres and such other facilities for senior citizens and measures for reducing inequalities faced by socially and economically backward groups;
(iv) ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, animal welfare, agroforestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining quality of soil, air and water [including contribution to the Clean Ganga Fund set-up by the Central Government for rejuvenation of river Ganga];
(v) protection of national heritage, art and culture including restoration of buildings and sites of historical importance and works of art; setting up public libraries; promotion and development of traditional arts and handicrafts;
(vi) measures for the benefit of armed forces veterans, war widows and their dependents, [Central Armed Police Forces (CAPE) and Central Para Military Forces (CPMF) veterans, and their dependents including windows];
(vii) training to promote rural sports, nationally recognised sports, paralympic sports and Olympic sports;
(viii) contribution to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund or [Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) or] any other fund set up by the Central Government for socio-economic development and relief and welfare of the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, other backward classes, minorities and women;
(ix) (a) Contribution to incubators or research and development projects in the field of science, technology, engineering and medicine, funded by Central Government or State Government or Public Sector Undertaking or any agency of the Central Government or State Government; and (b) Contributions to public funded Universities; Indian Institute of Technology (IITs); National Laboratories and autonomous bodies established under Department of Atomic Energy (DAE); Department of Biotechnology (DBT); Department of Science and Technology (DST); Department of Pharmaceuticals; Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH); Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and other bodies, namely Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO); Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR); Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), engaged in conducting research in science, technology, engineering and medicine aimed at promoting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)]
(x) rural development projects.
(xi) slum development.