Amendments — Set 8

Correct Answer: B. 74th Amendment

• **74th Amendment (1992)** = gave constitutional status to Urban Local Bodies (Municipalities) by inserting Part IX-A, mandating a three-tier structure: Nagar Panchayat, Municipal Council, and Municipal Corporation. • **Twelfth Schedule** — lists 18 functional items including urban planning, water supply, slum improvement, public health, and vital statistics that may be assigned to municipalities. • 💡 Option A (73rd Amendment) gave constitutional status to Panchayats (rural), not Municipalities (urban) — a very common confusion point in.

Correct Answer: A. Economically Weaker Sections (EWS)

• **103rd Amendment (2019)** = provides 10% reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) from the general (unreserved) category in education and public employment by adding clauses to Articles 15 and 16. • **Income/property criteria** — EWS is defined as having annual family income below Rs 8 lakh and not owning more than 5 acres of agricultural land, among other criteria set by the government. • 💡 Option B (OBCs) already have 27% reservation under the Mandal Commission recommendations — the 103rd Amendment does not deal with OBCs. Option C (SCs and STs) have 15% and 7.5% reservation respectively — not the subject of the 103rd Amendment. Option D (Women) have reservation in Panchayats/Municipalities and recently in Parliament via the 106th Amendment — the 103rd Amendment specifically targets the EWS category.

Correct Answer: B. Article 368

• **Article 368** = grants Parliament the constituent power to amend the Constitution and prescribes the procedure requiring a special majority (two-thirds of members present and voting plus more than half the total membership). • **Part XX** — Article 368 is the sole article in Part XX of the Constitution titled 'Amendment of the Constitution'; it does not apply to amendments by simple majority (like creating new states under Article 3). • 💡 Option A (Article 370) dealt with the special status of Jammu & Kashmir, now abrogated — not the amendment power. Option C (Article 356) is President's Rule (State Emergency). Option D (Article 360) is Financial Emergency — none of these grant the power to amend the Constitution.

Correct Answer: A. 36th Amendment

• **36th Amendment (1975)** = made Sikkim the 22nd state of India, abolishing the institution of the Chogyal (hereditary ruler) and incorporating Sikkim fully into the Indian Union. • **Earlier status** — the 35th Amendment (1974) had given Sikkim the limited status of an 'Associate State'; the 36th Amendment upgraded it to full statehood after a 1975 referendum. • 💡 Option B (35th Amendment) gave Sikkim only 'Associate State' status — not full statehood. Option C (34th Amendment) related to additional land reform laws in the Ninth Schedule — not Sikkim. Option D (38th Amendment) made Emergency proclamations non-justiciable — none of these made Sikkim a full state of India.

Correct Answer: B. 102nd Amendment

• **102nd Amendment (2018)** = gave constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) by inserting Article 338B, elevating it from a statutory to a constitutional body. • **Article 342A also inserted** — empowers the President to notify the Central list of SEBCs; however, this was interpreted to mean states lost their power to list OBCs, leading to the 105th Amendment to clarify. • 💡 Option A (103rd Amendment) provides 10% EWS reservation — unrelated to NCBC's constitutional status. Option C (104th Amendment) ceased Anglo-Indian reservation and extended SC/ST seat reservations. Option D (101st Amendment) introduced GST — none of these gave constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes.

Correct Answer: D. National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)

• **99th Amendment (2014)** = established the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) comprising the CJI, two senior SC judges, Union Law Minister, and two eminent persons — to replace the judges' collegium system. • **Struck down in 2015** — the Supreme Court (by 4:1 majority in SCAORA case) declared the 99th Amendment unconstitutional as it violated judicial independence, a basic structure element. • 💡 Option A (GST) was introduced by the 101st Amendment — not the 99th. Option B (EWS Reservation) was introduced by the 103rd Amendment. Option C (Land Boundary Agreement) was operationalised by the 100th Amendment — none of these concern the NJAC, which is exclusively the subject of the 99th Amendment.

Correct Answer: C. 104th Amendment

• **104th Amendment (2020)** = extended reservation of Lok Sabha and State Assembly seats for SCs and STs for another 10 years (till 2030) while discontinuing the nominated Anglo-Indian seats. • **Anglo-Indian provision ended** — Articles 331 and 333 allowed nomination of up to 2 Anglo-Indians to Lok Sabha and 1 to each State Assembly; the 104th Amendment removed this provision effective January 2020. • 💡 Option A (102nd Amendment) gave constitutional status to NCBC — unrelated to seat reservations in Parliament. Option B (101st Amendment) introduced GST. Option D (103rd Amendment) provides 10% EWS reservation in jobs/education — none of these extended SC/ST seat reservations or ended Anglo-Indian nomination in Parliament.

Correct Answer: A. Anti-Defection Law

• **52nd Amendment (1985)** = most associated with the Anti-Defection Law; it added the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution to prevent legislators from switching parties for personal or political gain. • **Key disqualification** — a member is disqualified if they voluntarily give up party membership, vote against the party whip without permission, or abstain from voting contrary to party direction. • 💡 Option B (Voting Age) was reduced from 21 to 18 by the 61st Amendment (1988) — not the 52nd. Option C (Official Languages) — the Eighth Schedule languages were modified by various amendments but not by the 52nd Amendment. Option D (Panchayati Raj) was given constitutional status by the 73rd Amendment (1992) — none of these are the primary association of the 52nd Amendment.

Correct Answer: A. 106th Amendment

• **106th Amendment (2023)** = known as 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam'; reserves one-third of seats for women in Lok Sabha, State Assemblies, and the NCT of Delhi Legislative Assembly. • **Deferred implementation** — the reservation will take effect only after the first delimitation exercise following the first census after the amendment; likely not before 2029–2031. • 💡 Option B (103rd Amendment) provides 10% EWS reservation — not Women's Reservation in Parliament. Option C (104th Amendment) extended SC/ST reservation and ended Anglo-Indian nomination. Option D (105th Amendment) restored states' power to maintain OBC lists — none of these are known as 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam'.

Correct Answer: C. Mini Constitution

• **Mini Constitution** = the 42nd Amendment (1976) earned this nickname because it simultaneously amended the Preamble, added Fundamental Duties, created administrative tribunals, transferred subjects to Concurrent List, and curtailed judicial review — the most comprehensive set of changes in any single amendment. • **Key changes** — added 'Socialist', 'Secular', 'Integrity' to Preamble; added 10 Fundamental Duties (Article 51A); transferred education, forests, and 5 other subjects from State List to Concurrent List; made President bound by Cabinet advice. • 💡 Option A (Reform Act) is not a recognised constitutional term for any amendment. Option B (Super Amendment) is also not a constitutional term. Option D (Constitution within Constitution) is sometimes used colloquially but the official and tested nickname is 'Mini Constitution' — not any of the other three options.