UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — What do the Centre’s steps mean for Ladakh?

Q1. With reference to special constitutional arrangements for particular regions in India, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A law made by a Sixth Schedule District Council on the inheritance of property takes effect without requiring the assent of the Governor.
  2. Article 371(2) enables the President to provide for a special responsibility of the Governor for the equitable allocation of development funds across regions of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
  3. Under Article 371(2), regions such as Vidarbha and Saurashtra are governed by elected autonomous councils empowered to levy their own taxes.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 3 only
  • C. 1 only
  • D. 2 only

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

  1. Inclusion of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule would, by itself, give Ladakh a Legislative Assembly of the kind that a State has.
  2. Sixth Schedule autonomous councils function as bodies within existing States, and the tribal areas covered by the Schedule are at present listed under Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
  • 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. Consider two bodies: a hill council created by an ordinary statute in a Union Territory without a legislature, and a District Council in an autonomous district under the Sixth Schedule. In this context, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Parliament can vary the provisions of the Sixth Schedule by an ordinary law, and such a law is not treated as an amendment of the Constitution for the purposes of Article 368.
  2. The powers of the statutory hill council can be widened or curtailed without any amendment of the Constitution.
  3. The Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory can bring its area under the Sixth Schedule by public notification, just as the Governor of a Sixth Schedule State can create a new autonomous district.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q4. With reference to the governance of Union Territories, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The President's power to make regulations for Puducherry under Article 240 ceases once a legislature created for it under Article 239A first meets, but revives while that legislature stands dissolved or suspended.
  2. A law of Parliament creating a legislature for Puducherry under Article 239A must follow the procedure of Article 368 if it has the effect of amending the Constitution.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. Both 1 and 2
  • D. Neither 1 nor 2

Q5. Ladakh, a Union Territory without a legislature, received rules on job reservation, official languages and hill-council representation through Presidential regulations under Article 240. Which one of the following correctly describes the legal standing of such a regulation in that territory?

  • A. It is delegated legislation that becomes void wherever it conflicts with an Act of Parliament
  • B. It has the force of an Act of Parliament and may amend or repeal laws applying there
  • C. It lapses unless approved by both Houses of Parliament within six weeks of their reassembly
  • D. It takes effect only after the territory's elected hill councils ratify it by resolution

Q6. In 2019, Parliament reorganised the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories, one with a legislature and one without. With reference to the constitutional scheme behind such a reorganisation, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A Union Territory without a legislature, such as Ladakh, is administered by the President acting through a Lieutenant Governor appointed by the President.
  2. A law reorganising a State may also contain provisions on the representation of the affected territories in Parliament.
  3. A law reorganising a State can alter the First Schedule without being treated as an amendment of the Constitution under Article 368.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q7. Consider the following assertion: Raising the quota for Scheduled Tribes in Ladakh's government jobs is not a substitute for Sixth Schedule status. Which of the statements given below support the above assertion?

  1. Sixth Schedule District Councils cannot levy any taxes and depend wholly on grants from the State government.
  2. Sixth Schedule District Councils can make laws on the allotment, occupation and use of land and on the management of forests.
  3. Sixth Schedule councils can constitute village courts to try suits and cases between parties who all belong to Scheduled Tribes.
  • A. 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q8. In the context of the proposal to provide for Ladakh through a new provision in the Article 371 series, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Under Article 371A, an Act of Parliament on the ownership and transfer of land applies to Nagaland only if its Legislative Assembly so decides by resolution.
  2. Ladakh's existing Autonomous Hill Development Councils function as the legislature of the Union Territory, so a new UT-level body would act as its second chamber.
  3. A State can have tribal areas under the Sixth Schedule and also be the subject of a special provision in the Article 371 series.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3