UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — In a U-turn, SAD backs women’s quota Bill

Q1. In the scheme of women's reservation enacted in 2023, the expression 'rotation of reserved seats' means which one of the following?

  • A. A woman elected from a reserved constituency must vacate the seat midway through the term so that another woman may occupy it
  • B. Reservation operates only at every alternate general election, all constituencies being unreserved in the intervening election
  • C. The particular constituencies reserved for women are re-determined after each subsequent delimitation exercise
  • D. Each State's quota of reserved seats is transferred in turn to other States after every general election

Q2. The three Bills introduced in Lok Sabha in April 2026 to enable the next delimitation exercise and to operationalise women's reservation were piloted by which one of the following Ministries?

  • A. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which administers the Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India
  • B. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, which coordinates the legislative business of both Houses
  • C. The Ministry of Law and Justice
  • D. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, which compiles the population data used for readjustment

Q3. The allocation of Lok Sabha seats among the States on the basis of the 1971 Census was extended up to the publication of the first census taken after the year 2026 by which one of the following?

  • A. The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, which permanently barred any readjustment of State-wise seats
  • B. The Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001
  • C. The Constitution (Eighty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2003, which froze all constituency boundaries until 2031
  • D. The Delimitation Act, 2002, which suspended every readjustment of seats among the States

Q4. Consider the following statements comparing the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) with the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC): 1. The precursor of the present-day SAD was established in December 1920, whereas the SGPC derives its statutory footing from the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925. 2. Unlike the SAD, whose leadership is chosen by its own party members, the SGPC is an elected body whose control over the historic gurdwaras was secured through the Akali agitation of the early 1920s. 3. The SGPC, unlike the SAD, is a body created by an Act of Parliament, and each of its decisions requires prior approval of the Union Government. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The precursor of the present-day SAD was established in December 1920, whereas the SGPC derives its statutory footing from the Sikh Gurdwaras Act of 1925.
  2. Unlike the SAD, whose leadership is chosen by its own party members, the SGPC is an elected body whose control over the historic gurdwaras was secured through the Akali agitation of the early 1920s.
  3. The SGPC, unlike the SAD, is a body created by an Act of Parliament, and each of its decisions requires prior approval of the Union Government.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q5. In August 2026, amid demands from regional parties for early passage of the women's reservation and delimitation Bills, the Government clarified that no special sitting of Parliament had been proposed for the purpose. The convening and scheduling of such parliamentary business is coordinated by which one of the following?

  • A. The Ministry of Law and Justice, which sponsors Constitution Amendment Bills in Parliament
  • B. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
  • C. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which is the nodal Ministry for Centre-State relations
  • D. The Cabinet Secretariat, which services the Union Council of Ministers

Q6. Regional parties demanding 'immediate implementation' of women's reservation are constrained by the constitutional provision that governs when that reservation takes effect and when it ceases. That provision is:

  • A. Article 334A
  • B. Article 330A, which reserves seats for women in the House of the People
  • C. Article 82, which requires readjustment of seats in the House after every census
  • D. Article 334, which fixed the original time-limit on reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

Q7. As explained by the Government in Lok Sabha in 2026, the proposed 'uniform 50 per cent increase in seats across all States' means which one of the following?

  • A. The additional seats created by the increase are to be reserved exclusively for women, over and above the existing 543 seats
  • B. Only those States that have achieved population stabilisation are to have their number of Lok Sabha seats raised by one-half
  • C. The maximum strength of the House is raised by half, while the seats actually filled by election remain frozen at 543 until 2029
  • D. Every State's existing number of Lok Sabha seats is raised by about one-half, taking the House from 543 to 816 elected members

Q8. If the proposed uniform 50 per cent increase in Lok Sabha seats were applied, which one of the following States would record the largest absolute gain in the number of seats?

  • A. Maharashtra, whose 48 seats would rise to about 72
  • B. Tamil Nadu, which alone among the States would gain 20 seats, more than any other
  • C. Uttar Pradesh
  • D. West Bengal, whose 42 seats would rise to about 63

Q9. Addressing southern States' apprehensions about a population-based readjustment, the Government stated in Parliament in 2026 that a Delimitation Commission's report acquires legal effect only in which one of the following ways?

  • A. It takes effect immediately on its publication in the Gazette by the Election Commission of India, no further approval being needed
  • B. It requires ratification by the legislatures of not less than one-half of the States before it can take effect
  • C. It requires the concurrence of the Inter-State Council before it is notified by the Central Government
  • D. It takes effect only after it is approved by Parliament and receives the assent of the President

Q10. Reservation of not less than one-third of the seats filled by direct election in every Municipality for women flows from which one of the following?

  • A. Article 243D, inserted by the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992
  • B. Article 243T, inserted by the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992
  • C. Article 243R, which deals with the composition of Municipalities
  • D. Article 332A, inserted by the Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023