UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Govt. can intervene in airfares in ‘extraordinary situations’

Q1. With reference to rules framed by the Union government under a parent Act, such as the recent airfare rules under the Bharatiya Vayuyan Adhiniyam, 2024, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Such rules can be struck down by a court if they go beyond the scope of the power delegated by the parent Act.
  2. Once notified in the Official Gazette, such rules acquire the status of an Act of Parliament and can no longer be questioned for excessive delegation.
  3. A parliamentary committee examines whether such rules contain matter that should more properly have been dealt with in an Act of Parliament.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q2. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The Union government's power to issue written directions to airlines on fares in extraordinary situations was created in 2026 through notified rules, not through a fresh Act of Parliament.
  2. Subordinate legislation gets its legal force from the rule-making power that Parliament delegates to the executive in a parent Act.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q3. With reference to the economic regulation of civil aviation in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. AERA determines tariffs for aeronautical services at major airports but does not fix the fares that airlines charge passengers for tickets.
  2. Under India's deregulated regime, an airline must obtain the DGCA's prior approval for each fare before it sells tickets.
  3. AERA regulates aeronautical tariffs at every civilian airport in India, irrespective of passenger traffic.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. Consider the following facts: (I) In normal circumstances, airfares in India are market driven and are neither established nor regulated by the government. (II) Airlines must publish their tariffs and submit them to the DGCA. (III) The Union government may issue written directions on fares in 'extraordinary situations', a term the rules do not define. Which of the following inferences can be drawn from the above facts?

  1. The Union government can now fix the fare on any route whenever it considers fares to be high.
  2. India's default airfare regime remains market-determined, with government intervention as an exception.
  3. Because the trigger is left undefined, the executive has some discretion in deciding when to intervene.
  4. Airlines can no longer change fares for the same flight in response to demand.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 4 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q5. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. The fare restraint the Centre sought from airlines during the Kumbh Mela and after the Pahalgam attack could not, by itself, be enforced through legal penalties against an airline that ignored it.
  2. Requests made through moral suasion have the same legal force as statutory directions and differ from them only in form.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q6. With reference to the difference between moral suasion and statutory directions as tools of regulation in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A written statutory direction issued to an airline can be challenged before a High Court under Article 226 on grounds such as arbitrariness.
  2. The Reserve Bank of India has historically used moral suasion to restrain banks from lending for speculative purposes.
  3. An authority can use moral suasion only after a statute specifically authorises it to do so.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q7. With reference to Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and writ jurisdiction in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A PIL may be filed by a person who is not personally injured by the impugned action, if the matter concerns a public wrong or public injury.
  2. The writ jurisdiction of High Courts under Article 226 extends to 'any other purpose', making it wider than the Supreme Court's jurisdiction under Article 32, which is confined to enforcing fundamental rights.
  3. The right to move the Supreme Court for the enforcement of fundamental rights is itself a guaranteed fundamental right.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q8. Consider the following pairs of airline conduct and the authority or law primarily equipped to deal with it: Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. Advertising a low base fare and adding mandatory charges only at the final checkout stage : Central Consumer Protection Authority, as a deceptive dark pattern
  2. Rival airlines agreeing among themselves on the fares to charge on a route : Competition Commission of India, as an anti-competitive agreement
  3. A dominant airline imposing discriminatory conditions on the sale of its services : Competition Commission of India, as abuse of dominant position
  4. An airline's misleading advertisement promising the 'lowest fares guaranteed' : Competition Commission of India, as abuse of dominant position
  • A. 2 and 4 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only