UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Why 543 should remain 543

Q1. Parliament gives effect to the readjustment mandated by Article 82 through the Delimitation Act, 2002. The administration of that Act falls under which one of the following?

  • A. The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Ministry of Home Affairs
  • B. The National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
  • C. The Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice
  • D. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, which coordinates legislative business

Q2. Under Article 82 of the Constitution, the 'readjustment' to be made upon completion of each census is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. An automatic and uniform enhancement of the seats of every State in exact proportion to its enumerated population, operative from the date the census figures are published
  • B. The reallocation of seats among the States and the division of each State into territorial constituencies, in such manner and by such authority as Parliament may by law determine
  • C. A revision of every constituency in the country carried out by the Election Commission of India, binding on Parliament without the need for any enabling legislation
  • D. A redrawing of constituency boundaries within States alone, the number of seats of each State being permanently fixed by the Constitution and immune from alteration

Q3. The present freeze on the State-wise allocation of Lok Sabha seats runs until the publication of the figures of the first census taken after 2026. The conduct of that census and the publication of its figures is the responsibility of which one of the following?

  • A. The National Statistical Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
  • B. The Election Commission of India, acting through the Chief Electoral Officers of the States
  • C. The Legislative Department under the Ministry of Law and Justice
  • D. The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India

Q4. Consider the following statements comparing the Delimitation Bill, 2026 with the existing Delimitation Act, 2002: 1. The Bill would repeal the Delimitation Act, 2002 rather than merely amend it. 2. Under the Bill, delimitation would be based on the latest census for which figures have been published as on the date of the constitution of the Commission, instead of a census fixed in the statute itself. 3. Unlike the 2002 Act, the Bill dispenses altogether with associate members drawn from the States. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The Bill would repeal the Delimitation Act, 2002 rather than merely amend it.
  2. Under the Bill, delimitation would be based on the latest census for which figures have been published as on the date of the constitution of the Commission, instead of a census fixed in the statute itself.
  3. Unlike the 2002 Act, the Bill dispenses altogether with associate members drawn from the States.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. Had the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 been enacted, the choice of the census on which a readjustment of seats is to be based would have rested with which one of the following?

  • A. The Delimitation Commission, by an order published in the Gazette of India
  • B. Parliament, by a law made for the purpose
  • C. The Election Commission of India, in consultation with the Registrar General
  • D. The President, on the advice of the Council of Ministers

Q6. Under the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 as originally enacted, which one of the following had to happen first before the one-third reservation of seats for women in the House of the People could take effect?

  • A. Notification by the Election Commission of India of the constituencies to be reserved for women
  • B. Enactment by Parliament of a separate law prescribing the rotation of the reserved seats
  • C. Publication of the figures of the first census taken after the commencement of that Act
  • D. Holding of the first general election to the House of the People after the commencement of that Act

Q7. In the debate on federal balance, the objection that States which succeeded in stabilising their population would be 'penalised' by a fresh delimitation refers precisely to which one of the following outcomes?

  • A. A reduction in the number of their seats in the Council of States, which is allotted to States on the basis of population
  • B. A cut in their share of central tax devolution, since the population criterion is used by the Finance Commission
  • C. A fall in the absolute number of Lok Sabha seats of each such State, an outcome that an enlargement of the House would leave unchanged
  • D. A fall in their share of Lok Sabha seats relative to faster-growing States, which persists even if the total size of the House is enlarged

Q8. Among the general elections held before the seat freeze introduced by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, 1976, at which one was the elected strength of the Lok Sabha the largest?

  • A. 1952
  • B. 1957
  • C. 1967
  • D. 1971