UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Delhi slum covered with large sheets amid summit
Q1. Which one of the following is the agency entrusted with carrying out the demand survey to identify eligible beneficiaries squatting over Jhuggi-Jhopri Clusters (JJCs) in Delhi?
- A. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, which alone is empowered to notify, clear and redevelop every JJ cluster in the National Capital Territory
- B. The Delhi Development Authority, which is the sole authority competent to survey and rehabilitate all squatter settlements in Delhi
- C. The New Delhi Municipal Council, which exclusively administers all unauthorised settlements across the National Capital Territory of Delhi
- D. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, a body constituted under an Act of 2010 of the Delhi legislature for slum improvement
Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the statutory and policy framework for jhuggi-jhopri settlements in Delhi:
1. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board Act, 2010 was brought into force with effect from 1 July 2010 to provide for implementation of schemes for improvement of slums and jhuggi-jhompri bastis.
2. Under the rehabilitation policy applicable in Delhi, status quo is maintained in respect of encroachment or unauthorised development existing as on 1 January 2006.
3. The Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015 has since been renamed as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board Act, 2010 was brought into force with effect from 1 July 2010 to provide for implementation of schemes for improvement of slums and jhuggi-jhompri bastis.
- Under the rehabilitation policy applicable in Delhi, status quo is maintained in respect of encroachment or unauthorised development existing as on 1 January 2006.
- The Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015 has since been renamed as the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q3. Consider the following statements about India's BRICS Chairship of 2026 in comparison with its earlier Chairships:
1. India assumed its third BRICS Chairship on 1 January 2026, having earlier chaired the grouping in 2012 and 2016.
2. The overarching theme of India's 2026 Chairship is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
3. BRICS at present comprises eleven member countries, among them Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- India assumed its third BRICS Chairship on 1 January 2026, having earlier chaired the grouping in 2012 and 2016.
- The overarching theme of India's 2026 Chairship is 'Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability'.
- BRICS at present comprises eleven member countries, among them Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q4. Which one of the following correctly pairs the nodal Union ministry coordinating India's BRICS Chairship and the 18th BRICS Summit with the year in which India had last chaired BRICS before 2026?
- A. Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs — 2021
- B. Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Department of Commerce — 2016
- C. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India — 2021
- D. Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India — 2019
Q5. The definition of a slum as 'a compact settlement of at least 20 households with a collection of poorly built tenements, mostly of temporary nature, crowded together usually with inadequate sanitary and drinking water facilities in unhygienic conditions' was recommended by which one of the following bodies?
- A. The Expert Group on measurement of poverty and consumption, chaired by C. Rangarajan
- B. The Technical Group on Urban Housing Shortage, chaired by Amitabh Kundu
- C. The Committee on Slum Statistics/Census, chaired by Pranab Sen
- D. The High Powered Expert Committee on Urban Infrastructure, chaired by Isher Judge Ahluwalia
Q6. With reference to India's G20 Presidency and the New Delhi Leaders' Summit, consider the following:
1. The Presidency theme was 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future', drawn from the Maha Upanishad.
2. The African Union was inducted as a permanent member of the G20 during India's Presidency.
3. The New Delhi Leaders' Summit was held on 9-10 September 2023.
4. The Summit saw the participation of the twenty member states, twenty-one invitee countries and four international organisations.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- The Presidency theme was 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam — One Earth, One Family, One Future', drawn from the Maha Upanishad.
- The African Union was inducted as a permanent member of the G20 during India's Presidency.
- The New Delhi Leaders' Summit was held on 9-10 September 2023.
- The Summit saw the participation of the twenty member states, twenty-one invitee countries and four international organisations.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1 and 4
- D. 3 and 4 only
Q7. With reference to the conduct of India's G20 Presidency, consider the following statements:
1. India hosted over 200 G20 meetings spread across 60 cities of the country.
2. The meetings were spread across all 28 States and 8 Union Territories.
3. The Presidency worked through about 40 different mechanisms, including Sherpa Track and Finance Track working groups and Engagement Groups.
4. The New Delhi Leaders' Declaration was adopted only after a formal vote was taken among the member states.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- India hosted over 200 G20 meetings spread across 60 cities of the country.
- The meetings were spread across all 28 States and 8 Union Territories.
- The Presidency worked through about 40 different mechanisms, including Sherpa Track and Finance Track working groups and Engagement Groups.
- The New Delhi Leaders' Declaration was adopted only after a formal vote was taken among the member states.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 4 only
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q8. The Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) component — the Centre's principal instrument for providing shelters equipped with essential services to the urban homeless in statutory towns — is a component of which one of the following?
- A. Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0, of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
- B. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission, of the Ministry of Rural Development
- C. The National Social Assistance Programme, of the Ministry of Rural Development
- D. Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission, of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Q9. With reference to the constitutional and legislative position on housing and shelter in India, consider the following statements:
1. Article 21 has been judicially expanded to encompass the right to shelter as a facet of the right to live with human dignity.
2. Land and urban development fall within the domain of the States under the Seventh Schedule.
3. The Model Tenancy Act, 2021 was circulated by the Centre to States and Union Territories for adaptation, either by enacting fresh legislation or by amending existing rent laws.
4. The right to shelter was expressly inserted into Part III of the Constitution as Article 21B by the 86th Constitutional Amendment.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Article 21 has been judicially expanded to encompass the right to shelter as a facet of the right to live with human dignity.
- Land and urban development fall within the domain of the States under the Seventh Schedule.
- The Model Tenancy Act, 2021 was circulated by the Centre to States and Union Territories for adaptation, either by enacting fresh legislation or by amending existing rent laws.
- The right to shelter was expressly inserted into Part III of the Constitution as Article 21B by the 86th Constitutional Amendment.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 3
- C. 2, 3 and 4
- D. 1 and 4
Q10. Consider the following pairs of bodies exercising jurisdiction in the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the statutes under which they are constituted:
1. Municipal Corporation of Delhi — Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957
2. New Delhi Municipal Council — New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1957
3. Delhi Cantonment Board — Cantonments Act, 2006
4. Delhi Development Authority — Delhi Development Act, 1957
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Municipal Corporation of Delhi — Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957
- New Delhi Municipal Council — New Delhi Municipal Council Act, 1957
- Delhi Cantonment Board — Cantonments Act, 2006
- Delhi Development Authority — Delhi Development Act, 1957
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 1, 3 and 4
- D. 1, 2 and 4
Q11. Consider the following statements comparing the global benchmark on slums with the trend actually recorded:
1. Target 11.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals seeks, by 2030, to ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services, and to upgrade slums.
2. UN-Habitat is the custodian agency for indicator 11.1.1, which measures the proportion of the urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing.
3. The share of the world's urban population living in slums or slum-like conditions declined steadily from 25 per cent in 2015 to under 20 per cent in 2022.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Target 11.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals seeks, by 2030, to ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services, and to upgrade slums.
- UN-Habitat is the custodian agency for indicator 11.1.1, which measures the proportion of the urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing.
- The share of the world's urban population living in slums or slum-like conditions declined steadily from 25 per cent in 2015 to under 20 per cent in 2022.
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 2 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3