UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — After HC intervention, junior doctors in A.P. call off strike

Q1. Under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, a notice of a proposed strike must be forwarded within five days to which one of the following functionaries, whereupon proceedings for settlement of the dispute begin immediately?

  • A. The conciliation officer appointed under the Code for the area concerned
  • B. The Industrial Tribunal constituted by the appropriate Government under the Code
  • C. The National Industrial Tribunal constituted by the Central Government under the Code
  • D. The Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) in the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment

Q2. With reference to the regulation of strikes under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, consider the following statements: 1. Prior notice of fourteen days must be given before a strike, and such notice remains valid for a maximum of sixty days. 2. Under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 the strike-notice requirement applied only to public utility services, whereas the Code extends it to all industrial establishments. 3. A strike is prohibited during a conciliation proceeding and for up to sixty days after its conclusion. 4. A strike is prohibited during a proceeding before a tribunal and for up to seven days after its conclusion. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Prior notice of fourteen days must be given before a strike, and such notice remains valid for a maximum of sixty days.
  2. Under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 the strike-notice requirement applied only to public utility services, whereas the Code extends it to all industrial establishments.
  3. A strike is prohibited during a conciliation proceeding and for up to sixty days after its conclusion.
  4. A strike is prohibited during a proceeding before a tribunal and for up to seven days after its conclusion.
  • A. 2 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 2 and 4

Q3. Which one of the following statements correctly describes the constitutional source and reach of a High Court's power to issue writs against a State Government?

  • A. Article 226 empowers a High Court to issue writs for the enforcement of fundamental rights and also for any other purpose
  • B. Article 226 empowers a High Court to issue writs exclusively for the enforcement of the rights conferred by Part III of the Constitution
  • C. Article 227 empowers a High Court to issue writs, which may necessarily be directed only against Governments and statutory authorities
  • D. Article 32 empowers a High Court to issue writs, and its purpose is in all cases identical to that of the Supreme Court

Q4. A public interest petition seeking directions to a State Government to remedy the grievances of striking government doctors and to secure emergency services in State-run hospitals would, in the first instance, be entertained by which one of the following?

  • A. The High Court exercising territorial jurisdiction over that State, under Article 226
  • B. The State Administrative Tribunal set up in that State under Article 323A
  • C. The National Human Rights Commission under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993
  • D. The Supreme Court of India in its original jurisdiction under Article 131

Q5. Consider the following statements regarding postgraduate medical training and its regulator in India: 1. Under the District Residency Programme, second- or third-year postgraduate medical students undergo three months of training at District Hospitals as an essential component of the postgraduate curriculum. 2. Framing the curriculum for postgraduate medical education and granting recognition to postgraduate qualifications is the function of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board, while assessment and rating of medical institutions rests with the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board. 3. The National Medical Commission was constituted with effect from 25 September 2020, replacing the Medical Council of India, which stood dissolved on the repeal of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Under the District Residency Programme, second- or third-year postgraduate medical students undergo three months of training at District Hospitals as an essential component of the postgraduate curriculum.
  2. Framing the curriculum for postgraduate medical education and granting recognition to postgraduate qualifications is the function of the Medical Assessment and Rating Board, while assessment and rating of medical institutions rests with the Post-Graduate Medical Education Board.
  3. The National Medical Commission was constituted with effect from 25 September 2020, replacing the Medical Council of India, which stood dissolved on the repeal of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q6. Each Autonomous Board functioning under the supervision of the National Medical Commission consists of a President and four members, who are appointed by which one of the following?

  • A. The Central Government on the recommendation of a Search Committee
  • B. The Chairperson of the Commission in consultation with the Medical Advisory Council
  • C. The President of India on the recommendation of the Union Health Minister
  • D. The Union Health Ministry on the recommendation of the Ethics and Medical Registration Board

Q7. Consider the following statements comparing the legislative and fiscal responsibility for health and education in India: 1. 'Education, including universities' is an entry in the State List, but is expressly made subject to certain entries of the Union List and to the Concurrent List entry on education. 2. Under the funding pattern followed for centrally sponsored health schemes, the Centre-State contribution ratio is 60:40 for most States but 90:10 for the North Eastern States and the three Himalayan States. 3. Hospitals and dispensaries are placed in the Concurrent List, so Parliament and the State legislatures have concurrent competence over them. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 'Education, including universities' is an entry in the State List, but is expressly made subject to certain entries of the Union List and to the Concurrent List entry on education.
  2. Under the funding pattern followed for centrally sponsored health schemes, the Centre-State contribution ratio is 60:40 for most States but 90:10 for the North Eastern States and the three Himalayan States.
  3. Hospitals and dispensaries are placed in the Concurrent List, so Parliament and the State legislatures have concurrent competence over them.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. Which one of the following correctly states the specific Seventh Schedule entries under which public health and medical education respectively fall?

  • A. Entry 6 of the State List and Entry 25 of the Concurrent List
  • B. Entry 6 of the Concurrent List and Entry 11 of the State List
  • C. Entry 25 of the State List and Entry 6 of the Union List
  • D. Entry 11 of the State List and Entry 66 of the Union List

Q9. Consider the following statements about the 2026 agitation by junior doctors in Andhra Pradesh: 1. In Phase II (12-15 August 2026) emergency services were completely boycotted, whereas the withdrawal of non-emergency services began only on 17 August 2026. 2. The agitation was called off on 25 August 2026 after sixteen days, and doctors resumed duty from 26 August 2026. 3. The association leading the agitation represented about 9,000 doctors across 19 government medical colleges in the State. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. In Phase II (12-15 August 2026) emergency services were completely boycotted, whereas the withdrawal of non-emergency services began only on 17 August 2026.
  2. The agitation was called off on 25 August 2026 after sixteen days, and doctors resumed duty from 26 August 2026.
  3. The association leading the agitation represented about 9,000 doctors across 19 government medical colleges in the State.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q10. With reference to the demands pressed by the Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors' Association during its August 2026 agitation, consider the following: 1. A 30% hike in stipends, sought with effect from January 2026. 2. Withdrawal of the proposal to raise the retirement age of senior government doctors from 62 to 65 years. 3. Recruitment of MSc and PhD candidates as assistant professors strictly in accordance with National Medical Commission norms. 4. Extension of the District Residency Programme posting for postgraduate students from three months to six months. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. A 30% hike in stipends, sought with effect from January 2026.
  2. Withdrawal of the proposal to raise the retirement age of senior government doctors from 62 to 65 years.
  3. Recruitment of MSc and PhD candidates as assistant professors strictly in accordance with National Medical Commission norms.
  4. Extension of the District Residency Programme posting for postgraduate students from three months to six months.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • C. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q11. In the State enactments modelled on the Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1968, the expression 'essential service', so far as healthcare is concerned, is defined to mean which one of the following?

  • A. Any service connected with the maintenance of public health and sanitation, including hospitals and dispensaries
  • B. Only the emergency and casualty wings of government hospitals, out-patient and elective work being excluded
  • C. Any hospital or dispensary certified by the Indian Medical Association as indispensable to the community
  • D. Any hospital, whether public or private, that employs more than one hundred persons on a regular basis

Q12. In Indian constitutional jurisprudence, the 'right to health' is most accurately described as which one of the following?

  • A. An unenumerated right read into the right to life, carrying a State obligation to provide health services
  • B. A fundamental right expressly inserted into Part III by the Forty-second Constitutional Amendment, 1976
  • C. A duty of every citizen listed in Part IVA, judicially enforceable against defaulting individuals
  • D. A right conferred solely by Article 47, enforceable in courts against the State like any Part III right