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UPSC question with answers

 

UPSC-Indian constitution,Prime Ministers,Presidents,Governors,Capitals,Chief Ministers.....

What is a Constitution?
A constitution is a written document that contains a set of rules for a government. It defines the fundamental political principles, and establishing the structure, procedures, powers and duties, of a government. By limiting the government's own reach, most constitutions guarantee certain rights to the people. The term constitution can be applied to any overall law that defines the functioning of a government.

Introduction to the Indian Constitution
The Constitution of India is the world's lengthiest written constitution with 395 articles and 8 schedules. It contains the good points taken from the constitution's of many countries in the world. It was passed on 26 Nov 1949 by the 'The Constituent Assembly' and is fully applicable since 26 Jan 1950. The Constituent Assembly had been elected for undivided India and held its first sitting on 9th Dec.1946, re-assembled on the 14th August 1947, as The Sovereign Constituent Assembly for the dominion of India. In regard to its composition the members were elected by indirect election by the members of The Provisional Legislative Assemblies (lower house only). At the time of signing 284 out of 299 members of the Assembly were present.

The constitution of India draws extensively from Western legal traditions in its outline of the principles of liberal democracy. It follows a British parliamentary pattern with a lower and upper house. It embodies some Fundamental Rights which are similar to the Bill of Rights declared by the United States constitution. It also borrows the concept of a Supreme Court from the US.

India is a federal system in which residual powers of legislation remain with the central government, similar to that in Canada. The constitution provides detailed lists dividing up powers between central and state governments as in Australia, and it elaborates a set of Directive Principles of State Policy as does the Irish constitution.

The constitution has provision for Schedules to be added to the constitution by amendment. The ten schedules in force cover the designations of the states and union territories; the emoluments for high-level officials; forms of oaths; allocation of the number of seats in the Rajya Sabha. A review of the constitution needs at least two-thirds of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to pass it.

The Indian constitution is one of the most frequently amended constitutions in the world. Infact the first amendment to it was passed after only a year of the adoption of the constitution and instituted numerous minor changes. Many more amendments followed, a rate of almost two amendments per year since 1950. Most of the constitution can be amended after a quorum of more than half of the members of each house in Parliament passes an amendment with a two-thirds majority vote. Articles pertaining to the distribution of legislative authority between the central and state governments must also be approved by 50 percent of the state legislatures.



Preamble of The Constitution

We, The people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:

JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; 
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do hereby Adopt, Enact and give ourselves this Constitution.


Union Territory
A Union Territory is an administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or Lieutenant-Governor for each territory.
There are seven union territories. Delhi, the capital of India, is also a Union territory. Delhi and Pondicherry have been given partial statehood. Delhi is redefined as National Capital Territory. Delhi and Pondicherry have their own elected legislative assemblies and the executive councils of ministers, but their powers are limited; certain legislation must be reserved for the "consideration and assent" of the President of India. The following are the current Union Territories of India:

Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Chandigarh
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Daman and Diu
National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT)
Lakshadweep
Pondicherry
Union Territories of India have special rights and status due to their constitutional formation and development. They may be given this constitutional status for reasons such as safeguarding the rights of indigenous cultures of that region, averting political turmoil related to matters of administration and so on.



CAPITALS, GOVERNORS AND CHIEF MINISTERS OF STATES (As on April 01, 2012)
India is a Union of 28 States and 7 Union Territories. Each state has its own government with aGovernor as the figurehead, while each Union Territory is dministered directly by the President through an administrator appointed by him.The Governor of each state is appointed by President.The Chief Minister is the real Head of the State Government. Each State has a Council of Ministers to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions.The council of ministers is collectively responsible to the State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha). A list of state and union territory capitals in India, includingthe name of Governors and Chief ministers of different States of India is given here in this

 

S. No.STATECAPITALGOVERNORCHIEF MINISTER
  1.  Andhra Pradesh  Hyderabad  Shri. E. S. L. NarasimhanNallari Kiran Kumar Reddy
  2.  Arunachal Pradesh  Itanagar  General (Rtd.) J.J. Singh   Shri Nabam Tuki
  3.  Assam  Dispur  Janaki Ballav  Pattanaik  Shri Tarun Gogoi
  4.  Bihar  Patna  Sh. Devanand Konwar   Shri Nitish Kumar
  5.  Chhattisgarh  Raipur  Shri Shekhar Dutt           Dr. Raman Singh
  6.  Goa  Panaji  Shri B. V. Wanchoo  Shri Manohar Parrikar
  7.  Gujarat  Gandhi Nagar  Dr. Kamla Beniwal  Shri Narendra Modi
  8.  Haryana  Chandigarh  Shri Jagannath Pahadia  Bhupinder Singh Hooda
  9.  Himachal Pradesh  Shimla  Urmila Ben Patel  Prem Kumar Dhumal
  10.  Jammu Kashmir  Srinagar and   Sh. N. N. Vohra    Omar Abdullah
  Jammu
  11.  Jharkhand  Ranchi  Dr. Syed Ahmed  Arjun Munda
  12.  Karnataka  Bangalore  Shri Hans Raj Bhardwaj  Jagadish Shettar
  13.  KeralaThiruvananthapuram  Shri Hans Raj Bhardwaj  Oommen Chandy
  14.  Madhya Pradesh  Bhopal  Shri. Ram Naresh Yadav  Shivraj Singh Chouhan
  15.  Maharashtra  Mumbai  K. Sankara Narayanan  Prithviraj Chavan
  16.  Manipur  Imphal  Sh. Gurbachan Jagat   Okram Ibobi Singh
  17.  Meghalaya  Shillong  Sh. Ranjit Shekhar  Mukul Sangma
  Mooshahary 
  18.  Mizoram  Aizawl Shri Vakkom Purushothaman  Shri Lal Thanhawla
  19.  Nagaland  Kohima  Shri Nikhil Kumar  Neiphiu Rio
  20.  Orissa  Bhubaneshwar  Murlidhar Chandrakant   Naveen Patnaik
  Bhandare
  21.  Punjab  Chandigarh  Shri Shivraj V. Patil  Shri Parkash Singh Badal
  22.  Rajasthan  Jaipur  Smt. Margaret Alva  Shri Ashok Gehlot
  23.  Sikkim   Gangtok  Sh. Balmiki Prasad Singh   Shri Pawan Chamling
  24.  Tamil Nadu  Chennai  Shri Thiru. K Rosaiah   Jayalalithaa Jayaram
  25.  Tripura  Agartala  Dr. D Y Patil  Shri Manik Sarkar
  26.  Uttar Pradesh  Lucknow  Shri B L Joshi  Shri Akhilesh Yadav  
  27.  Uttarakhand  Dehradun  Shri Aziz Qureshi  Shri Vijay Bahuguna
  28.  West Bengal  Kolkata  Shri M. K Narayanan  Mamta Banerjee



CAPTIALS, LT. GOVERNORS ADMINISTRATORS AND CHIEF MINSITERS OF UNION TERRITORIE

(As on May 6, 2011)

S. No.UNION TERRITORYCAPITALLt. GOVERNOR/ADMIN.CHIEF MINISTER
  1.  Andaman and   Port Blair  Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Bhopinder Singh               ______
  Nicobar Islands
  2.  Chandigarh  Chandigarh