UPSC CSE 2021 Prelims is to be conducted on 10th October 2021. Here is the list of topics from Indian polity from UPSC (IAS) Syllabus 2021 that have been in news for the past one year and questions are expected from them.Study these before the exam for a quick revision. UPSC 2020 Final Results were recently announced in which Shubham Kumar has been listed as the topper.
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UPSC IAS 2021 Prelims: Important topics from Indian Polity
Impeachment of the President:
- US President Donald Trump has become the first President in the history of the US to be impeached twice, which is why it becomes an important topic in the Indian context as well.
- Indian President can be impeached by a process followed in the House of Parliament:
- Who can initiate: Either house of the Parliament
- Process stage 1: 1/4 members need to sign on the charges against the president
- 14 days notice is given to the President regarding the same
- 2/3 majority of total members of the house need to vote against the President
- Process stage 2: 2nd house of Parliament starts investigating and it must be passed with 2/3 majority as well.
Governor of State: Pardoning Power
- Under Article 161, the governor of a state also possesses the pardoning power.
- The President can pardon sentences inflicted by court martial (military courts) while the governor cannot.He also cannot pardon the death sentence to a convict like the President. The governor can suspend, remit or commute a death sentence
- Remission of the sentence of A G Perarivalan, convict in Rajiv Gandhi assassination case has been pending before Tamil Nadu Governor for over two years. This is the source of the question.
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OBC Subcategorization:
- The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of the commission to examine subcategorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
- A Commission, headed by Justice G. Rohini (retd), was constituted in 2017. The set up is in accordance with Article 340 that empowers the President to appoint a commission to investigate the condition of the backward classes in the country.
- OBCs get 27% reservation in jobs of central and state government as suggested by the Mandal Commission.
- Until now, under Article 338, it was the National Commission of Scheduled Castes (NCSC) that addressed the grievances of the OBCs.
Official Languages Act:
- CJI recommended amendment of the Official Languages Act 1963 of India. He wanted the act to include more vernacular languages in governance and not just Hindi or English.
- The act was enacted in 1963.
- It enlists the languages (Hindi and English) which may be used for the official purpose of the Union, for transaction of business in Parliament, for Central and State Acts and for certain purposes in High Courts.
- “Under Article 344 of the Constitution, a Commission shall consist of a Chairman and such other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule as the President may appoint, and the order shall define the procedure to be followed by the Commission”, as mentioned officially.
Question Hour:
- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha eliminated the Question Hour and Private members business due to Covid 19 in the monsoon session.
- Question hour is the first hour of the sitting. During this, MPs ask questions to ministers and hold them accountable for functioning of their ministries.
Parliamentary Standing Committees:
- A significant amount of the tenure of Parliamentary Standing Committees (PSCs) was lost due to a pandemic this year.
- The options being explored are- to extend the term of the panels for a year, and to form new committees with a fixed tenure of two years.
- Standing Committees: Permanent in nature; Constituted every year; work on a continuous basis.
- Ad Hoc Committees: Temporary in nature; Cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
