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USS · Paper I

Civics & economics

The constitution, government, rights and duties, and basic economics.

8 of the 50 questionsWrite this topic →
What the paper asks

Eight questions. The Constitution, the organs of government, and — distinctively for Kerala — local self-government. Numbers and dates carry a lot of the marks here, and most of the wrong options are true statements about something else.

The Constitution — the dates and numbers
FactAnswer
Chairman, Drafting CommitteeDr B. R. Ambedkar
President, Constituent AssemblyDr Rajendra Prasad
Adopted26 November 1949
Came into force26 January 1950 — Republic Day
Fundamental Rights nowSix
Fundamental DutiesEleven (ten added in 1976, one in 2002)
Directive PrinciplesPart IV (Rights are Part III)
The six Fundamental Rights
  • Right to Equality (Articles 14–18)
  • Right to Freedom (19–22) — including freedom of speech, Article 19
  • Right against Exploitation (23–24)
  • Right to Freedom of Religion (25–28)
  • Cultural and Educational Rights (29–30)
  • Right to Constitutional Remedies (32) — the one Ambedkar called the heart and soul of the Constitution
  • The right to property was removed as a fundamental right by the 44th Amendment, 1978. It is now a legal right.
Who does what
OfficeRole
PresidentHead of state; appoints the Prime Minister
Prime MinisterHead of government; leads the majority in the Lok Sabha
GovernorConstitutional head of a state, appointed by the President
Chief MinisterHead of a state government
Supreme CourtGuardian of the Constitution; can strike down a law
Election CommissionConducts elections, independent of the government
Parliament
  • Lok Sabha — the House of the People, directly elected, five-year term.
  • Rajya Sabha — the Council of States, six-year terms, never fully dissolved.
  • A money bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Rajya Sabha may suggest changes but cannot reject it — the elected house controls public money.
  • Voting age is 18, lowered from 21 by the 61st Amendment in 1989.
Local self-government — Kerala's strong suit
  • Given constitutional status by the 73rd Amendment (rural) and 74th (urban), 1992.
  • Rural tiers: Grama Panchayat → Block Panchayat → District Panchayat. Urban: Municipality and Corporation.
  • Ward members are directly elected by the people of the ward.
  • The People's Plan Campaign from 1996 devolved planning and a share of funds to local bodies — the reason Kerala's panchayats do more than most.
  • Kerala Legislative Assembly: 140 elected members.
Amendments worth knowing by number
AmendmentWhat it did
42nd (1976)Added 'socialist' and 'secular' to the Preamble; added Fundamental Duties
44th (1978)Removed property from the Fundamental Rights
61st (1989)Voting age 21 → 18
73rd & 74th (1992)Panchayati Raj and urban local bodies
86th (2002)Right to Education, Article 21A
Worked through

Is the right to vote a Fundamental Right?

  1. The six Fundamental Rights are equality, freedom, against exploitation, religion, cultural and educational, and constitutional remedies.
  2. Voting is not among them.
  3. It is a constitutional right conferred by Article 326 — real, but of a different kind.

Which amendment gave Panchayati Raj constitutional status?

  1. Rural local government — that is the 73rd Amendment, 1992.
  2. The 74th did the same for urban bodies in the same year.
Where the marks go

These are the mistakes, not the rules — each one is something a student who knows the topic still does under time pressure.

  1. Naming Rajendra Prasad as the architect of the Constitution. He chaired the Constituent Assembly; Ambedkar chaired the Drafting Committee.
  2. Saying seven fundamental rights. There were seven until 1978, when property was removed — six is the current answer.
  3. Confusing the adoption date with the commencement date. 26 November 1949 and 26 January 1950 are both correct answers to different questions.
  4. Giving the Lok Sabha's five years for the Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha members serve six.
  5. Assuming the High Court sits in the state capital. Kerala's is at Ernakulam, not Thiruvananthapuram.
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Sit 10 questions on this topic

Read the explanation on every one you get wrong — that is where the revision above actually sticks.

 Or the whole paper

Sit Paper I against the clock

Fifty questions in ninety minutes, drawn to the real subject mix. The scorecard will tell you what to revise next.

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