Amendments — Set 1

Correct Answer: B. Article 368

• **Article 368** = the sole article in Part XX that grants Parliament power to amend the Constitution. • **Two types of amendment** — special majority alone, or special majority plus ratification by half the state legislatures. • 💡 Option A (Article 370) dealt with special status of J&K, now abrogated — unrelated to amendment procedure. Option C (Article 360) is the Financial Emergency article. Option D (Article 356) is President's Rule — none of these govern the amendment process.

Correct Answer: A. Ninth Schedule

• **Ninth Schedule** = added by the First Amendment (1951) to shield land reform laws from judicial review under Fundamental Rights. • **Original content** — 13 laws were placed in this schedule; now it contains over 280 laws after successive amendments. • 💡 Option B (Tenth Schedule) was added by the 52nd Amendment for Anti-Defection Law — unrelated to land reforms. Option C (Twelfth Schedule) was added by the 74th Amendment for Municipalities. Option D (Eleventh Schedule) was added by the 73rd Amendment for Panchayats.

Correct Answer: D. 7th Amendment

• **7th Amendment (1956)** = implemented linguistic reorganisation of states based on the States Reorganisation Commission report. • **Abolished Part A/B/C/D** — replaced with a single category of 'States' and 'Union Territories', creating 14 states and 6 UTs. • 💡 Option A (42nd Amendment) is the 'Mini Constitution' of 1976 — unrelated to linguistic reorganisation. Option B (24th Amendment) affirmed Parliament's power to amend Fundamental Rights. Option C (1st Amendment) added the Ninth Schedule — none of these reorganised states on linguistic lines.

Correct Answer: A. 42nd Amendment

• **42nd Amendment (1976)** = called 'Mini-Constitution' because it made the most sweeping changes to the Constitution in a single amendment. • **Key changes** — added 'Socialist', 'Secular', 'Integrity' to Preamble; added 10 Fundamental Duties (Part IV-A); transferred 5 subjects from State to Concurrent List. • 💡 Option B (73rd Amendment) gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj — not the 'Mini Constitution'. Option C (86th Amendment) made education a Fundamental Right. Option D (44th Amendment) actually reversed many 42nd Amendment changes — none of these is called 'Mini-Constitution'.

Correct Answer: D. Right to Property

• **44th Amendment (1978)** = removed the Right to Property from Fundamental Rights by repealing Articles 19(1)(f) and 31. • **Article 300-A** — Right to Property continues as a constitutional (legal) right in Part XII, but can now be taken away by law without compensation claims under Fundamental Rights. • 💡 Option A (Right to Education) was inserted as a Fundamental Right by the 86th Amendment — not removed by the 44th. Option B (Right to Freedom of Speech) under Article 19(1)(a) was never removed. Option C (Right to Equality) under Articles 14-18 was never removed.

Correct Answer: A. 52nd Amendment

• **52nd Amendment (1985)** = added the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, popularly known as the Anti-Defection Law. • **Disqualification grounds** — a member is disqualified if they voluntarily give up party membership or vote/abstain contrary to the party whip without permission. • 💡 Option B (42nd Amendment) is the 'Mini Constitution' of 1976 — it added Fundamental Duties, not the Anti-Defection Law. Option C (91st Amendment) modified the Anti-Defection Law but did not create it. Option D (61st Amendment) reduced the voting age to 18 — unrelated to defection.

Correct Answer: A. 61st Amendment

• **61st Amendment (1988)** = amended Article 326 to reduce the voting age from 21 to 18 years for elections to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. • **Effective from 1989** — the change applied first in the 1989 General Elections, adding millions of young voters to the electoral rolls. • 💡 Option B (86th Amendment) made education a Fundamental Right for 6–14 age group — unrelated to voting age. Option C (42nd Amendment) is the 'Mini Constitution' of 1976. Option D (44th Amendment) removed Right to Property from Fundamental Rights — none deal with voting age.

Correct Answer: D. 73rd Amendment

• **73rd Amendment (1992)** = gave constitutional status to Panchayati Raj Institutions by adding Part IX (Articles 243–243O) to the Constitution. • **Eleventh Schedule** — added 29 functional items (agriculture, rural housing, education, etc.) to be managed by panchayats. • 💡 Option A (69th Amendment) designated Delhi as NCT and provided for its Legislative Assembly — unrelated to panchayats. Option B (74th Amendment) gave constitutional status to Municipalities, not Panchayats. Option C (72nd Amendment) dealt with Tripura Tribal Areas — none of these established Panchayati Raj.

Correct Answer: D. Article 21A

• **Article 21A** = inserted by the 86th Amendment (2002) to make free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for children aged 6–14 years. • **Three-pronged change** — Article 21A (new FR), Article 45 DPSP revised (early childhood care for under-6), and a new Fundamental Duty added under Article 51A(k) for parents. • 💡 Option A (Article 19A) does not exist in the Constitution. Option B (Article 45A) does not exist; Article 45 is a DPSP, not a Fundamental Right. Option C (Article 51A) lists Fundamental Duties and was not inserted by the 86th Amendment — Article 21A is the correct insertion.

Correct Answer: B. 101st Amendment

• **101st Amendment (2016)** = introduced GST in India by conferring concurrent taxing powers on Parliament and State Legislatures, replacing multiple indirect taxes. • **GST Council** — the amendment also created the GST Council (Article 279A) comprising Union Finance Minister and state finance ministers as the governing body. • 💡 Option A (103rd Amendment) provides 10% EWS reservation — unrelated to GST. Option C (100th Amendment) operationalised the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh. Option D (102nd Amendment) gave constitutional status to NCBC — none of these introduced GST.