UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Perfect storm of Monsoon Session comes to an end
Q1. As per the CBI chargesheet filed in the NEET-UG 2026 question paper leak case, how many National Testing Agency-appointed subject experts were named as part of the alleged conspiracy?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Five
- D. Thirteen
Q2. The Central Bureau of Investigation registered its case into the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak on a reference received from which one of the following?
- A. The National Testing Agency, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education
- B. The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education
- C. The Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education
- D. The Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Q3. Under the Delimitation Bill, 2026 introduced in the Lok Sabha, the Delimitation Commission to be constituted by the central government is to be headed by which one of the following?
- A. A retired Chief Justice of a High Court nominated by the Chief Justice of India
- B. The Chief Election Commissioner of India, ex officio, for the duration of the exercise
- C. A retired Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
- D. A person who is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court
Q4. With reference to the delimitation-related Bills introduced in the Lok Sabha in April 2026, consider the following statements:
1. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 raises the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850, with up to 815 members from the states and up to 35 members from the union territories.
2. The Delimitation Bill, 2026 requires the exercise to be carried out on the basis of the first Census conducted after the commencement of the Act, and not on the latest Census whose figures have been published.
3. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 removes the requirement that the reservation of one-third of seats for women be given effect on the basis of the first Census taken after the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 raises the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha from 550 to 850, with up to 815 members from the states and up to 35 members from the union territories.
- The Delimitation Bill, 2026 requires the exercise to be carried out on the basis of the first Census conducted after the commencement of the Act, and not on the latest Census whose figures have been published.
- The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 removes the requirement that the reservation of one-third of seats for women be given effect on the basis of the first Census taken after the 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q5. With reference to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, consider the following:
1. It creates a Designated Authority in which foreign contribution, and assets created out of it, vest when an organisation ceases to hold a certificate under the Act.
2. Where a vested asset is a place of worship, the Designated Authority must ensure that its religious character is maintained.
3. It raises the maximum imprisonment for contravention of the Act from one year to five years.
4. An organisation whose application for renewal of the certificate is denied is entitled to a hearing and a right of appeal against that denial, on par with cancellation.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- It creates a Designated Authority in which foreign contribution, and assets created out of it, vest when an organisation ceases to hold a certificate under the Act.
- Where a vested asset is a place of worship, the Designated Authority must ensure that its religious character is maintained.
- It raises the maximum imprisonment for contravention of the Act from one year to five years.
- An organisation whose application for renewal of the certificate is denied is entitled to a hearing and a right of appeal against that denial, on par with cancellation.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 2 only
Q6. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026 proposes to reduce the maximum term of imprisonment for contravention of the parent Act to how many years?
- A. One year
- B. Two years
- C. Three years
- D. Five years
Q7. The decision to convene a session of Parliament, which is thereafter formalised by summons issued in the name of the President under Article 85, is taken by which one of the following?
- A. The Business Advisory Committee of the Lok Sabha, which allots time for legislative business
- B. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, which links the Government with both Houses
- C. The Cabinet Secretariat, which services the Cabinet and its committees
- D. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, headed by a senior Cabinet Minister
Q8. Which one of the following Union entities is charged with coordinating the Government's legislative and other business in Parliament, and issued the official end-of-session statement recording 19 sittings and 12 Bills passed in the Monsoon Session 2026?
- A. The Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice, which drafts Union legislation
- B. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, which acts as a link between the Government and Parliament
- C. The Cabinet Secretariat, which coordinates inter-ministerial business for the Union Government
- D. The Lok Sabha Secretariat, which services the House, its Speaker and its committees
Q9. In the context of ministerial accountability, the principle of collective responsibility as embodied in Article 75(3) of the Constitution of India means which one of the following?
- A. The Council of Ministers is answerable as a body to the House of the People, which alone can unmake the Government by a majority vote
- B. Each Minister is individually answerable to the President, who may dismiss a Minister without the advice of the Prime Minister
- C. The Council of Ministers is answerable to both Houses of Parliament, either of which may withdraw its confidence from the Government
- D. Each Minister is answerable to the Department-related Standing Committee that examines the Demands for Grants of the Ministry
Q10. When a Union Minister resigns and the charge of that Ministry is assigned to another Cabinet Minister, the direction effecting the assignment of portfolios emanates from which one of the following?
- A. The Cabinet Secretariat, which notifies changes in the Transaction of Business Rules
- B. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, which coordinates the Government's business in Parliament
- C. The President, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister
- D. The Department of Personnel and Training, which administers the All India Services
Q11. In the party realignments preceding the Monsoon Session 2026, the largest single group of rebel Lok Sabha MPs — twenty in number — to break away from its parent party and declare allegiance to the NDA belonged to which one of the following parties?
- A. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)
- B. All India Trinamool Congress
- C. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar)
- D. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Q12. With reference to the legal and procedural framework governing protest policing in India, consider the following:
1. PAVA shells, stun/LAC shells and tear smoke shells — non-lethal crowd-control measures required to be exhausted before pellet guns are resorted to.
2. Anita Thakur vs State of Jammu & Kashmir (2016) — the decision in which the Supreme Court described peaceful protest as a fundamental right rooted in India's democratic traditions.
3. The 2016 expert committee headed by TVSN Prasad — the body that held that pellet guns should be used only in the rarest of rare cases.
4. The Supreme Court order of July 2026 — the order that imposed a complete nationwide ban on the use of pellet guns for crowd control.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- PAVA shells, stun/LAC shells and tear smoke shells — non-lethal crowd-control measures required to be exhausted before pellet guns are resorted to.
- Anita Thakur vs State of Jammu & Kashmir (2016) — the decision in which the Supreme Court described peaceful protest as a fundamental right rooted in India's democratic traditions.
- The 2016 expert committee headed by TVSN Prasad — the body that held that pellet guns should be used only in the rarest of rare cases.
- The Supreme Court order of July 2026 — the order that imposed a complete nationwide ban on the use of pellet guns for crowd control.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 3 and 4 only