UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — The long wait for a woman Minister
Q1. In the data compiled in August 2026 in the wake of the controversy over the absence of women in Karnataka's Council of Ministers, the figure of 9.9% was cited. This proportion refers to which one of the following?
- A. The share of women among all elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies of India taken together
- B. The share of women in the Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister of India
- C. The share of women among all ministers in the 31 State and Union Territory Councils of Ministers
- D. The share of women among the elected members of the Lok Sabha in its present composition
Q2. With reference to the composition of State and Union Territory Councils of Ministers as reported in August 2026, consider the following:
1. Karnataka, whose Council of Ministers was expanded to its full sanctioned strength, has no woman minister.
2. Meghalaya's Council of Ministers likewise has no woman minister.
3. Manipur's Council of Ministers has no woman minister.
4. Himachal Pradesh's Council of Ministers has no woman minister.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Karnataka, whose Council of Ministers was expanded to its full sanctioned strength, has no woman minister.
- Meghalaya's Council of Ministers likewise has no woman minister.
- Manipur's Council of Ministers has no woman minister.
- Himachal Pradesh's Council of Ministers has no woman minister.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 4 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4 only
Q3. Under the scheme of the Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, which one of the following bodies will actually determine the specific constituencies to be reserved for women?
- A. The Election Commission of India, which is empowered to notify the reserved seats immediately without any delimitation exercise
- B. A Delimitation Commission constituted by the Central Government and headed by a serving or former judge of the Supreme Court
- C. The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, whose published Census report itself allocates all the reserved seats
- D. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, which must certify each reserved constituency before every general election
Q4. The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023 provides for 'rotation' of the seats reserved for women. What exactly does this mean?
- A. Seats reserved for women will be rotated after every general election held to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies
- B. Rotation will apply only to those reserved seats that also fall within the quota for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
- C. The Election Commission will rotate the reserved seats among the constituencies of a State once in every five years
- D. Seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation exercise carried out subsequent to the reservation coming into force
Q5. Consider the following statements comparing what was planned for the Special Session of Parliament of September 2023 with what actually happened:
1. Five Bills were listed for consideration and passing, but the only Bill introduced as well as passed during the session was the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023.
2. Both Houses held five sittings each as originally planned, and the session was adjourned sine die on 22 September 2023.
3. The session began in the old Parliament building, after which proceedings shifted to the new building named 'Sansad Bhavan', the old building being named 'Samvidhan Sadan'.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Five Bills were listed for consideration and passing, but the only Bill introduced as well as passed during the session was the Constitution (128th Amendment) Bill, 2023.
- Both Houses held five sittings each as originally planned, and the session was adjourned sine die on 22 September 2023.
- The session began in the old Parliament building, after which proceedings shifted to the new building named 'Sansad Bhavan', the old building being named 'Samvidhan Sadan'.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q6. With reference to the Council of Ministers in a State under Article 164 of the Constitution of India, consider the following:
1. The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor, and the other Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister.
2. In the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, there shall be a Minister in charge of tribal welfare.
3. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible both to the Legislative Assembly and to the Governor of the State.
4. Every Minister must necessarily be a member of the State Legislature at the time of his or her appointment.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- The Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor, and the other Ministers are appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister.
- In the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha, there shall be a Minister in charge of tribal welfare.
- The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible both to the Legislative Assembly and to the Governor of the State.
- Every Minister must necessarily be a member of the State Legislature at the time of his or her appointment.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1, 2 and 4 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4 only
Q7. Under Article 164(1A) of the Constitution, the total number of Ministers including the Chief Minister in a State shall not exceed what proportion of the total number of members of that State's Legislative Assembly?
- A. Ten per cent
- B. Fifteen per cent
- C. Twenty per cent
- D. One-third
Q8. As per data compiled in August 2026, how many of the members of the Lok Sabha, whose elective strength is 543, are women?
Q9. Consider the following statements regarding women's representation in Indian legislatures:
1. Women occupy about 396 of the roughly 4,123 seats across the State Legislative Assemblies taken together.
2. Among parties holding ten or more Lok Sabha seats, the Biju Janata Dal and the Trinamool Congress have the highest proportions of women MPs.
3. Women's share in the Lok Sabha has risen from about 5% in the first Lok Sabha to the mid-teens in the present Lok Sabha.
4. The proportion of women members in the Rajya Sabha is higher than that in the Lok Sabha.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- Women occupy about 396 of the roughly 4,123 seats across the State Legislative Assemblies taken together.
- Among parties holding ten or more Lok Sabha seats, the Biju Janata Dal and the Trinamool Congress have the highest proportions of women MPs.
- Women's share in the Lok Sabha has risen from about 5% in the first Lok Sabha to the mid-teens in the present Lok Sabha.
- The proportion of women members in the Rajya Sabha is higher than that in the Lok Sabha.
- A. 1 and 4 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4 only
- C. 1, 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4 only
Q10. Reservation of not less than one-third of the seats for women in rural local self-government bodies flows from Article 243D. At the Union level, which one of the following is the nodal ministry for these bodies?
- A. The Ministry of Rural Development, which implements the flagship rural employment and housing schemes through Panchayati Raj Institutions
- B. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, which anchors urban local body reforms and municipal capacity-building programmes across States
- C. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj, which is the nodal ministry for rural local self-government and has studied the rotation of reserved seats
- D. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, which is the nodal ministry for schemes and legislation concerning women and children
Q11. Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju criticised the absence of any woman in Karnataka's Council of Ministers. With reference to women at the apex of executive office in India as of August 2026, which one of the following statements is correct?
- A. The Union Council of Ministers has a higher share of women ministers than the State and UT Councils of Ministers taken together
- B. Delhi is at present the only State or Union Territory that is headed by a woman Chief Minister
- C. Every State that has a woman Deputy Chief Minister is also headed by a woman Chief Minister at present
- D. All the States and Union Territories have at least one woman in their respective Councils of Ministers