UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — South’s share of seats will not be cut, PM and Shah tell Lok Sabha

Q1. The freeze on readjustment of the inter-State allocation of Lok Sabha seats was extended up to the year 2026, retaining the 1971 Census as the basis, by which one of the following Constitutional Amendment Acts?

  • A. The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976
  • B. The Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001
  • C. The Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003
  • D. The Constitution (Seventy-ninth Amendment) Act, 1999

Q2. Which Constitutional Amendment Act first imposed the freeze on delimitation of Lok Sabha seats, suspending readjustment until the year 2000 to avoid penalising States that controlled population growth?

  • A. The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976
  • B. The Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act, 2001
  • C. The Constitution (Eighty-seventh Amendment) Act, 2003
  • D. The Constitution (Ninety-first Amendment) Act, 2003

Q3. The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was introduced in the Lok Sabha as part of the delimitation package by which of the following as the nodal Ministry?

  • A. Ministry of Law and Justice
  • B. Ministry of Home Affairs
  • C. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
  • D. Election Commission of India

Q4. When the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026 was negatived in the Lok Sabha in April 2026 for want of the special majority under Article 368, how many members voted in favour of it?

  • A. 298
  • B. 230
  • C. 352
  • D. 454

Q5. Which one of the following correctly describes the 'special majority' required in each House to pass a Constitution Amendment Bill under Article 368?

  • A. A majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting
  • B. A majority of not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the House
  • C. A majority of not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting only
  • D. A simple majority of the members present and voting, together with ratification by all State Legislatures

Q6. Prior to the changes proposed in 2026, what is the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha permitted under Article 81 of the Constitution?

  • A. 543
  • B. 545
  • C. 550
  • D. 552

Q7. In the context of the United States Congress, the term 'apportionment' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. The distribution of the fixed total of 435 House of Representatives seats among the states according to their population after each decennial census
  • B. The redrawing of constituency boundaries within a state after a change in its seat entitlement
  • C. The allocation of two Senate seats to each state irrespective of its population
  • D. The statutory fixing of the total number of House seats at 435 by the Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929