UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — ‘Linking Bills on quota law, delimitation a conspiracy’

Q1. The following are stated to be provisions or features relating to the constitutional freeze on readjustment of seats. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. The 42nd Amendment froze the number of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats on the basis of the 1971 Census.
  2. The stated rationale of the freeze was to avoid penalising States that had achieved success in population control.
  3. The 84th Amendment permitted intra-State readjustment of constituencies using the 1991 Census.
  4. The freeze on seat allocation was extended until the first census taken after the year 2031.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 3 only
  • D. 4 only

Q2. With reference to the Articles inserted into the Constitution by the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, which of the following is/are correctly identified?

  1. Article 330A — reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha.
  2. Article 332A — reservation of seats for women in State Legislative Assemblies.
  3. Article 334A — commencement, 15-year duration and rotation of the reserved seats.
  4. Article 331A — reservation of seats for women in the Rajya Sabha.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1, 3 and 4
  • C. 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q3. Under the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, the provision for 'rotation of reserved seats' means which one of the following?

  • A. The particular constituencies reserved for women shall be changed after each subsequent exercise of delimitation, as determined by a law made by Parliament.
  • B. One-third of the reserved seats shall rotate between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha every five years.
  • C. The reserved seats shall rotate among recognised political parties in proportion to their strength in the House.
  • D. The reservation shall alternate between Scheduled Caste women and Scheduled Tribe women in successive general elections.

Q4. Under Article 334A, the trigger that will make the one-third women's reservation operative is best described by which one of the following?

  • A. A delimitation exercise undertaken on the basis of the first census published after the commencement of the Act.
  • B. The mere publication of the first census taken after the commencement of the Act, with no delimitation required.
  • C. The completion of census enumeration alone, irrespective of publication or delimitation.
  • D. The holding of the first general election after the commencement of the Act, irrespective of any census.

Q5. With reference to the Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026, consider the following statements. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It sought to raise the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats (815 for States and 35 for Union Territories).
  2. It sought to enable delimitation on the basis of the 2011 Census.
  3. It aimed to operationalise the one-third women's reservation on the basis of that delimitation.
  4. It was passed by the Lok Sabha with the required two-thirds majority in April 2026.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 4 only

Q6. The Constitution (One Hundred and Thirty-First Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the accompanying Delimitation Bill, 2026 were introduced in the Lok Sabha by which one of the following?

  • A. Ministry of Law and Justice
  • B. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • C. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
  • D. Ministry of Women and Child Development

Q7. As proposed in the Delimitation Bill, 2026, the authority empowered to constitute the Delimitation Commission is which one of the following?

  • A. The Central Government
  • B. The Election Commission of India, which alone conducts every delimitation exercise
  • C. The President, acting solely on the advice of the Chief Justice of India
  • D. Parliament, exclusively by a special majority in each House

Q8. The Delimitation Commission constituted in 2002, whose orders underlie the present delimitation of constituencies, was chaired by which one of the following?

  • A. Justice Kuldip Singh, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court
  • B. Justice M. N. Venkatachaliah, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court
  • C. Justice B. N. Srikrishna, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court
  • D. Justice A. M. Ahmadi, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court

Q9. Since the original Constitution came into force, on how many occasions has the proviso to Article 82 been amended to postpone the readjustment of the inter-State allocation of Lok Sabha seats?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q10. If delimitation were carried out using the 2011 Census figures, the following States are matched with their projected change in Lok Sabha representation. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. Tamil Nadu — projected reduction from 39 to 32 seats.
  2. Kerala — projected reduction from 20 to 15 seats.
  3. Uttar Pradesh — projected increase from 80 to 89 seats.
  4. Bihar — projected reduction in its number of seats.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 4 only