Class 9 Civics Chapter 5 Extra Questions and Answers Working of Institutions

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NCERT Class 9 Civics Chapter 5 Extra Questions and Answers Working of Institutions

SOLVED QUESTION BANK

Very Short Answer Type Questions [1 Mark]

Question 1.
Mention the institutions which take major decisions and its implementation in a country.
Answer:
The institutions which take major decisions and its implementation in a country are:

  1. Legislative
  2. Judiciary
  3. Executive

Question 2.
What are different terms used for a national government in India?
Answer:
The national level government is also called Central Government, Union Government or Government of India.

Question 3.
What do you mean by Office Memorandum?
Answer:
An Office Memorandum explains the policy or decision of the government issued by an appropriate authority.

Question 4.
Which ministry comprises the Department of Personnel and Training?
Answer:
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions comprises the Department of Personnel and Training.

Question 5.
Mention one important policy decision issued in the Government of India Order of August 13,1990.
Answer:
It said that 27 per cent of the vacancies in the civil posts and services under the government are reserved for the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC).

Question 6.
Explain SEBC.
Answer:
SEBC stands for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, another name for all those who belong to castes that are considered backward by the government.

Question 7.
Who were eligible for the benefit of job reservation before the order of August 13, 1990?
Answer:
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were eligible for the benefit of job reservation.

Question 8.
Who is considered as the head of the state and who is head of the government?
Answer:
The President is the head of the state whereas the Prime Minister is the head of the government.

Question 9.
What major bodies constitute the Parliament?
Answer:
The Parliament consists of the President and the two houses: Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

Question 10.
Who was the head of the Second Backward Classes Commission?
Answer:
In 1979; it was headed by BP Mandal, hence called the Mandal Commission.

Question 11.
What was the instruction given to Mandal Commission?
Answer:
Mandal Commission was instructed to determine the criteria to identify the socially backward classes . in India and recommend steps to be taken for their advancement.

Question 12.
Which party promised to implement the Mandal Commission recommendations formally announced by the government?
Answer:
The Janata Dal came to power in the 1989 elections. VP Singh became the Prime Minister. His government implemented the recommendations.

Question 13.
Give one modification made by the Supreme Court.
Answer:
It said well-to-do persons among the backward classes should be excluded from getting the benefits of reservation.

Question 14.
Mention a responsibility of civil servant.
Answer:
Civil Servants are responsible for implementing the minister’s decision.

Question 15.
How institution decisions lead to delays and complications?
Answer:

  1. Rules and regulation of institutions.
  2. Decision-making process includes meetings, committees and routines.
    These factors lead to delays and complications. (any one)

Question 16.
Why do democratic governments stress on institutions?
Answer:
Democratic government stress on institutions because the institutions may make it difficult to have a good decision taken very quickly. But they make it difficult to rush through a bad decision.

Question 17.
Who has the final authority for making laws in any country?
                                                         Or
Which institution can make changes to an existing law of the country. [CBSE 2015]
Answer:
Parliament has the final authority for making laws in any country. It can make new laws, change or abolish the existing laws and make new ones in their place.

Question 18.
How does the Rajya Sabha seem more powerful than the Lok Sabha?
Answer:
Rajya Sabha named as ‘Upper Chamber’ and Lok Sabha as ‘Lower Chamber’ so the Rajya Sabha seems more powerful than Lok Sabha.

Question 19.
Which house of Parliament is more powerful in reality?
Answer:
The Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha.

Question 20.
Which two houses form the Parliament in our country?
Answer:
The two houses are known as Council of States or the Rajya Sabha and the Houses of the People or the Lok Sabha.

Question 21.
What is the length of the term of a government in India?
Answer:
It is 5 years.

Question 22.
Can the houses be dissolved or are they permanent?
Answer:
The Lok Sabha can be dissolved if a no confidence motion is passed against the government, but the Rajya Sabha is a permanent house.

Question 23.
How does the Lok Sabha exercise its control over the Council of Ministers?
Answer:
The Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers i.e. if the majority of the Lok Sabha members say that they have no confidence in the Council of Ministers, all the ministers including the Prime Minister have to quit. No such power is with the Rajya Sabha.

Question 24.
What is an executive?
Answer:
All functionaries in the government who take day-to-day decisions but do not exercise supreme power on behalf of the people.

Question 25.
Why are government functionaries called executives?
Answer:
They are called executives because they implement the policies of the government.

Question 26.
What do you understand by “Political Executive”?
Answer:
Political Executives are the executives who are elected by the people for a time period. They take major decisions.

Question 27.
Who are called “Permanent Executives”?
Answer:
Permanent executives are appointed for a long term. They are also called civil servants. They remain in office even when the ruling party changes. They advice the political executives in their day-to-day work.

Question 28.
How is the Prime Minister appointed?
Answer:
The President appoints the leader of the majority party or the coalition of parties that commands a majority in the Lok Sabha, as the Prime Minister.

Question 29.
To whom the President appoint the Prime Minister in case no single party or alliance gets a majority?
Answer:
In such a case the President appoints as Prime Minister the person most likely to secure a majority support in the house.

Question 30.
How are other ministers appointed?
Answer:
The other ministers are appointed by the President on advice of the Prime Minister.

Question 31.
How are ministers chosen by the Prime Minister?
Answer:
The ministers are usually chosen from the party or the coalition that has the majority in the Lok Sabha. The Prime minister has a free hand to choose ministers as long as they are members of the Parliament.

Question 32.
What do you mean by the Council of Ministers?
Answer:
The Council of Ministers is the official name of the body that includes all the ministers. It usually has 60 to 80 ministers of different ranks.

Question 33.
Who are Cabinet Ministers?
Answer:
Cabinet Ministers are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are incharge of major ministeries. The cabinet usually represents the Council of Ministers. It is the inner ring of the Council of Ministers. It has 20 ministers.

Question 34.
Who are ministers of state with independent charge?
Answer:
The ministers of state with independent charge are usually incharge of smaller ministries. They attend cabinet meetings only when specially invited.

Question 35.
Who are the Ministers of State?
Answer:
These ministers are attached to and are required to assist cabinet ministers.

Question 36.
Every ministry has secretaries. What job do these secretaries perform?
Answer:
The secretaries provide the necessary background information to the ministers to take decisions.

Question 37.
Who Chairs the Cabinet meetings? Who is the most powerful within the cabinet?
Answer:
The Prime Minister chairs the cabinet meetings and is the most powerful within the Cabinet.

Question 38.
Mention one limitation of the Prime Minister of a coalition government.
Answer:
The limitation of the Prime Minister of a coalition is that he has to heed the views of the coalition partners and other parties, on whose support the survival of the ruling party depends.

Question 39.
What is the Presidential form of government? Give an example of one country.
Answer:
The Presidential form of government is the system of government where President is both the head of the government and the head of the state. He has immense powers. USA is the country which has this type of government.

Question 40.
Which type of government system is followed in our country?
Answer:
In our country, we have a Parliamentary system of government.

Question 41.
How does the President act as Executive Head?
Answer:
The President in India is the head of the state and exercises only nominal powers. He supervises the overall functioning of all the political institutions in the country. (any one)

Question 42.
What kind of judiciary do we have in India? [CBSE 2016]
Answer:
In India, we have integrated judiciary where the decision of ‘supreme court is binding on all the subordinate courts.

Question 43.
What is the composition of the Indian Judiciary?
Answer:
The Indian Judiciary consists of Supreme Court at the national level, High Courts at the state level and District Courts and the courts at local level.

Question 44.
India has an integrated judiciary. Explain.
Answer:
Integrated judiciary means that the Supreme Court controls the judicial administration in the country. Its decisions are binding on all the courts of the country.

Question 45.
How are the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court appointed?
Answer:
The judges of Supreme Court and High Court are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister in consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

Question 46.
How can a judge be removed?
Answer:
A judge can be removed only through impeachment motion passed by two-third members of the two houses of Parliament. This has never happened in the history of India.

Question 47.
What is judicial review?
Answer:
The Supreme Court can declare invalid any law of the’legislature. It can determine the constitutional validity of any law or action of the executive in the country, when it is challenged.

Question 48.
How does the judiciary act as guardian of the fundamental rights?
Answer:
The citizens have the right to approach the Supreme Court to seek remedy in case of violation of their rights.

Question 49.
Who was elected as the President of India in 2017?
Answer:
Shri Ram Nath Kovind.

Question 50.
Name the Chief Justice of India who administered the oath of the office of the President of India to Shri Ram Nath Kovind.
Answer:
Shri Justice J.S. Khehar.

Question 51.
When and where did the oath ceremony of the office of the President of India took place?
Answer:
In the Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi on 25 July 2017.

Short Answer Type Questions [3 Marks]

Question 52.
Who are the major functionaries in India?
Answer:
The major functionaries in India are:

  1. The President, who is the head of the state and the highest formal authority in the country.
  2. The Prime Minister is the head of the governmental and one who usually exercises all the government powers.
  3. The Parliament which consists of two houses, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The Prime Minister must have the support of a majority of the Lok Sabha members.

Question 53.
Why do we need the political institutions?
                                 Or
Describe the need for political institutions in India. [CBSE 2016]
Answer:

  1. The government is responsible for ensuring security to the citizens and providing education and health facilities to all.
  2. It collects taxes and spends money on administration, defence and developmental programmes.
  3. It formulates and implements several welfare schemes.
    Political institutions are needed to attend to all these tasks.

Question 54.
How are some of the delays and complications introduced by democratic institutions very useful?
Answer:
Delays and complications introduced by democratic institutions are very useful because:

  1. They provide an opportunity for a wider set of people to be consulted in any division.
  2. Institutions make it difficult to have a good decision taken very quickly.
  3. But they also make it equally difficult to rush through a bad decision.

Question 55.
What is the significance of Parliament in a democracy? [HOTS]
Answer:
The significance of Parliament in a democratic country are as follows.

  1. Parliament is the final authority in making laws in any country. It can change the existing laws, abolish them or make new laws.
  2. Parliament exercises control over those who run the government. No decision can be taken without the support of the Parliament.
  3. Parliament also controls the money matters.
  4. Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national policy in any country. It can seek information on any matter. (Any three)

Question 56.
How is the Lok Sabha more powerful than the Rajya Sabha?
Answer:
The Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha in following manner.

  1. An ordinary law needs to be passed in both the houses. But if there is a difference between the two houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session. Since the number of members of Lok Sabha is more than that of the Rajya Sabha, the views of the Lok Sabha are more likely to prevail.
  2. The Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes a law concerning the money matters, the Rajya Sabha can not reject it. It can only delay it by 14 days or suggest changes in it. It is up to the Lok Sabha to accept the changes or not.
  3. The Lok Sabha controls the council of ministers. If the majority of the Lok Sabha members say they have no confidence in the council of ministers, all the ministers including the Prime minister, have to quit. The Rajya Sabha does not have this power.

Question 57.
Explain the three categories of the Council of Ministers. .
Answer:
The Council of Ministers consists of three categories.

  1. Cabinet Ministers: They are the top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in-charge of the major ministries. Usually the cabinet ministers meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of Ministers.
  2. Ministers of State with Independent Charge: They are in charge of smaller ministries. They participate in cabinet meetings only when they are invited.
  3. Ministers of State: These ministers are attached to and are required to assist the cabinet ministers.

Question 58.
Who forms the cabinet?
Answer:

  1. The cabinet is formed by the top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are incharge of the major ministries.
  2. Usually the cabinet meets to take decisions in the name of the Council of Ministers.
  3. Cabinet is thus the inner ring of the Council of Ministers. It has about 20 ministers.

Question 59.
Explain the role of the Prime Minister in a coalition government.
                                                       Or
Write any three constraints on the power of the Prime Minister of a coalistion government. [CBSE 2016]
Answer:
The role of the Prime Minister in a coalition government has many constraints. They are:

  1. He cannot take decisions as he likes.
  2. He has to accommodate different groups and factions in his party as well as the coalition partners.
  3. He also has to heed to the views and positions of the coalition partners and other parties on whose support the survival of the government depends.

Question 60.
When and how does the President exercise his discretionary powers? [HOTS]
Answer:
When a party or coalition of parties gets a clear majority in the elections, the President has to appoint
the Prime Minister as the leader of the majority party or the coalition that enjoys majority support in the Lok Sabha. When no party or coalition gets majority in the Lok Sabha. the President exercises his discretion. The President chooses a leader who in his opinion can muster majority support in the Lok Sabha. In such a fase he can ask the newly-appointed person to prove his majority on the floor of the house within a specified time.

Question 61.
What is the difference between the powers of the President of USA and the President of India?
Answer:

  1. The President of USA: He is directly elected by the people for this post for four years. He personally
    chooses and appoints his ministers. This is called the Presidential form of government.
  2. President of India: The President of India is the head of the state. He is indirectly elected by the MPs and the MLAs. He exercises only the nominal powers. He is appointed for 5 years. This is a feature of Parliamentary form of government.

Question 62.
What does the ‘Independence of Judiciary’ mean?
Answer:

  1. The judiciary of India is not under the control of the legislature or the executive.
  2. The judges do not act on the directions of the government or according to the wishes of the party in power.
    This is the reason why the democracies have courts that are independent of the legislature and the executives.

Question 63.
What does ‘Integration of judiciary’ mean?
Answer:
Integration of judiciary means that all the judicial courts are integrated or linked or joint into one supreme judicial body called as the supreme court. It is at the epicentre of the judicial set up and controls the judicial administration of all the subordinate courts. Above all, its decision are binding on all subordinate courts of a country.

Question 64.
What do you understand by Public Interest Litigation?
Answer:

  1. In the recent years, the courts have given several judgements and directions to protect the public interest and human rights.
  2. Anyone, can approach the courts, if the public interest is hurt by the actions of the government. This is called Public Interest Litigation.
  3. The courts intervene to protect the misuse of government’s powers to make decisions. With this they check malpractices on the part of the public officials.

Long Answer Type Questions [5 Marks]

Question 65.
What was the Mandal Commission? Why was it set up? Mention its specific recommendation.
Answer:
The Mandal Commission was appointed by the Indian government for the following reasons.

  1. The Government of India had appointed the Second Backward Classes Commission in 1979. It was headed by BP Mandal. Hence, it is popularly called the Mandal Commission.
  2. This commission was asked to find out a criteria to identify the socially and educationally backward classes in India and recommend steps to be taken for their advancement.
  3. The commission gave a report in 1980 with many recommendations.
  4. One of these was that 27% of the government jobs should be reserved for the socially and economically backward classes.

Question 66.
Why had the Mandal Commission become a debatable issue in India?
Answer:
The Mandal Commission had become a debatable issue because of the following reasons.

  1. Newspapers and magazines were full of different views and opinions on the issue.
  2. This led to widespread protests and counter-protests, some were violent.
  3. The people reacted strongly because this decision affected thousands of job opportunities.
  4.  Some were of the views that the existence of inequalities among people of different cases in India necessitated job reservation.
  5. Others felt that this was unfair and it would deny equality of opportunities to those who did not belong to a backward communities.
  6. Some felt it was an obstacle to national unity. (any five)

Question 67.
How was the dispute of Mandal Commission resolved?
Answer:

  1. Some persons and associations apposed this order and filed a number of cases in the courts.
  2. The Supreme Court put all the cases together and the case came to be known as “Indira Sawhney” and others Vs Union of India case.
  3. In 1992, by the majority, the Supreme Court judges declared that this order of the Government was valid.
  4. At the same time, the Supreme Court asked the government to modify the original order. It said that the creamy layer (or well to do) people among the backward classes should be excluded from getting the benefit of reservation.
  5. Accordingly, the Department of Personnel and Training issued another memorandum. The dispute came to an end and this policy is followed since then.

Question 68.
Describe the powers and functions of the Indian Parliament. [CBSE 2016]
Answer:
In India, a national assembly of elected representatives is called Parliament. The following are the major powers and functions of Parliament:

  1. The Parliament is the final authority for making laws in any country’.
  2. It can pass a no-confidence resolution against the government and ask it to resign.
  3. It controls the money matters of the nation. Government budget has to be evolved and passed by parliament.
  4. It is the highest forum of discussion, debates and deliberations on public and national policies and issues.
  5. It can seek information or question the government on any matter which it has to answer.
  6. It performs the electoral function of electing President, Vice-President, speaker, deputy-speaker.
  7. It has the power to remove the president judges of supreme court and High Court through impeachment. (any five)

Question 69.
Distinguish between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Answer:

The Lok Sabha The Rajya Sabha
(i) The Members of Lok Sabha are elected directly by adult citizens. (i) The Members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies.
(ii) Lok Sabha’s term is only for 5 years. After 5 years, the term of all elected representatives comes to an end. (ii) The Rajya Sabha is a permanent house. It can not be dissolved but one-third of its members retire after every two years.
(iii) The maximum strength of the house is 543. (iii) It can not have more than 250 members.
(iv) Money bill can only be passed in Lok Sabha. It is Lok Sabha which provides money for the administration of the country. (iv) Rajya Sabha does not exercise much power over the money bill.
(v) The Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha. (v) The Rajya Sabha has comparatively less powers.

Question 70.
What is the difference between Political Executive and Permanent executive?
Answer:

Political Executives Permanent Executives
(i) These executives are elected by the people for a specific period of time. (i) These are the civil servants appointed for a longer period of time.
(ii) These include Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and Council of Ministers. (ii) Persons working in civil services such as IAS, IPS, IFS etc.
(iii) They remain in office only for a fixed tenure. (iii) They remain in office even when the ruling party changes. Their tenure in office is fixed.
(iv) They are answerable to the people for their actions. (iv) They are not answerable to the people.
(v) They take all the final decisions and are more powerful. (v) They are less powerful. They do not take decisions. They assist the political executives in day-to-day administration.

Question 71.
Prime Minister is the head of the government.” Justify the statement. [CBSE 2016]
Answer:
Prime Minister is the head of the government. The statement can be justified in the following ways:

  1. He leads the majority party in the Parliament.
  2. He summons and presides over the meetings of the cabinet.
  3. All the decisions by his cabinet are taken under his leadership, consent and authority.
  4. He acts as an adviser to the president over the appointment of his ministers, judges of Supreme Court and high courts.
  5. He is free to choose his ministers and can change their portfolios.

Question 72.
State the powers of the President.
Answer:
In India the President is the head of the state and has the following powers.

  1. All government activities take place in the name of the President. He exercises only the nominal powers.
  2. He supervises the overall functioning of all the political institutions in the country so that they operate in harmony to achieve the objective of the state.
  3. All the laws and major policy decisions of the government are taken in his name.
  4. All major appointments are made in his name i.e. the appointment of the Chief Justice of India, the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court of the states, the Governors of the states, the Election Commission, ambassadors to other countries etc.
  5. All international treaties and agreements are made in his name.
  6. He is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.

Question 73.
How are the judges of Supreme Court and High Court appointed? How can they be removed?
Answer:

  1. Appointment of the judges:
    1. The judges of the Supreme Court and High Court are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
    2. In practice, it means the senior judges the Supreme Court select the new judges of the Supreme court and high court.
    3. The seniormost judge of the Supreme Court is usually appointed as the Chief Justice of India.
  2. Removal of the judges:
    1. Once a person is appointed as the judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, it is nearly impossible to remove him/her from that position. It is as difficult as in the case of the President of India.
    2. A judge can only be removed by the impeachment motion passed by 2/3rd members of the two houses of parliament present and voting.

Question 74.
How can you say that the judiciary in India is the most powerful?
Answer:
In the following manner judiciary in India is considered as the most powerful:

  1. The judiciary in India is independent. It means it is not under the control of the legislature or the executive.
  2. The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the constitution of the country.
  3. They can determine the validity or declare invalid any law and action of legislature or any of the executive in the country when it is challenged before them. This is called the judicial review:
  4. The Supreme Court of India has also ruled that the core or the basic principles of the Constitution can not be changed by the Parliament.
  5. The powers and the independence of the judiciary allows it to act as a guardian of the fundamental rights of the citizens. The citizens can approach the Supreme Court in case of any violation of their rights. The courts intervene or prevent the misuse of the government’s powers to make decisions. They check the malpractices on the part of the public officials.

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