EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
Nov 17th, 2021 - Daily Quiz
1. What shall constitute quorum of the GST Council meeting?
(a) 50% of the total number of its members
(b) Two-thirds of the total number of its members
(c) 75% of the total number of its members
(d) One Third of the total number of its members
2. Which of the following made suggestion that the centre should restrict itself to only areas of defence, foreign affairs, communications, and currency/economics?
1) Rajamannar Committee
2) Anandpur Sahib Resolution
3) West Bengal Memorandum
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 2 only
3. Constitution of India mentions ‘Cooperative Societies’ in
1) Directive Principles of State Policy
2) 7th Schedule
3) Local Governments (Panchayats and Municipalities)
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 2 only
4. Which of the following is/are true regarding CAG?
1) CAG submits three reports to the Parliament of India where the Public Accounts Committee examines them.
2) The appropriation accounts compare the actual expenditure with the expenditure sanctioned by the Parliament through the Appropriation Act.
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 Nor 2
5. Which of the following are used to decide if an office is ‘office of profit’?
1) Whether the government makes the appointment
2) What the functions of the holder are
3) Whether the government pays remuneration
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 2 only
Answers
1. (a)
- One half of the total number of Members of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall constitute the quorum at its meetings.
- Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be taken at a meeting, by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the Members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely :-
(a) the vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one-third of the total votes cast, and
(b) the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast in that meeting.
2. (b)
- Anandpur Sahib Resolution and West Bengal Memorandum demanded that the Centre’s jurisdiction should be restricted only to defence, foreign affairs, communications, and currency and the entire residuary powers should be vested in the states.
- West Bengal Memorandum was in 1977.
- Anandpur Sahib Resolution was in 1973.
- Rajamannar Committiee appointed by Tamil Nadu Government in 1969, proposed in 1971 that the provision that the state ministry holds office during the pleasure of the governor should be omitted; Certain subjects of the Union List and the Concurrent List should be transferred to the State List; the residuary powers should be allocated to the states; and All-India services (IAS, IPS and IFS) should be abolished.
3. (a)
- Cooperatives find explicit mention in two places in our Constitution.
- First, as part of Article 43 as a Directive Principle which enjoins the State to promote cottage industry through individual or cooperative basis in rural areas and second, in schedule 7 as entries 43 and 44 in the Union list and as entry 32 in the State list.
- Cooperative Societies have been recognized as Constitutional Entities.
4. (b)
- The CAG submits three audit reports to the President - audit report on appropriation accounts, audit report on finance accounts, and audit report on public undertakings.
- The President lays these reports before both the Houses of Parliament.
- After this, the Public Accounts Committee examines them and reports its findings to the Parliament.
- The appropriation accounts compare the actual expenditure with the expenditure sanctioned by the Parliament through the Appropriation Act.
5. (c)
- ‘Office of profit’ is not defined in the Constitution. However, in past judgments, the Election Commission has noted “what constitutes an office of profit under the Government is now well established by a catena of judgments of the Supreme Court.”
- Five tests have been laid down: (i) whether the government makes the appointment; (ii) whether the government has the right to remove or dismiss the holder; (iii) whether the government pays remuneration; (iv) what the functions of the holder are; and (v) does the government exercise any control over the performance of these functions.
- Other broad principles have evolved for determining whether an office attracts the constitutional disqualification - Whether the body in which the office is held has government powers (releasing money, allotment of land, granting licences etc.); whether the office enables the holder to influence by way of patronage.
- EC noted that the Supreme Court, in various cases has held that all the five tests “need not co-exist conjointly for determining whether an office is an office of profit under the government.”
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