UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — House panel pulls up Education Secretary over CBSE remarks

Q1. The three Financial Committees of the Parliament of India are the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee and which one of the following?

  • A. Committee on Public Undertakings
  • B. Business Advisory Committee
  • C. Committee on Government Assurances
  • D. Rules Committee

Q2. Which one of the following best describes the legal and institutional status of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)?

  • A. A statutory body created by a dedicated Act of Parliament
  • B. A registered society functioning as an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Education
  • C. A constitutional body established under a specific Article of the Constitution
  • D. A public sector undertaking incorporated under the Companies Act

Q3. The overall administrative and executive head of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is designated as the:

  • A. Director
  • B. Chairperson
  • C. Controller of Examinations
  • D. Regional Officer

Q4. Which one of the following statements correctly describes CBSE's adoption of the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system that triggered the 2026 controversy?

  • A. OSM has always been CBSE's exclusive evaluation method since the Board's inception
  • B. OSM was rolled out at scale for Class 12 answer-script evaluation for the first time in 2026
  • C. OSM was adopted for Class 12 only after being used for Class 10 for a full decade
  • D. OSM was mandated for CBSE by a specific Act of Parliament passed in 2026

Q5. In the context of the 2026 CBSE controversy, 'On-Screen Marking (OSM)' refers to which one of the following?

  • A. A system in which physical answer scripts are scanned and evaluated digitally by examiners on a secure online platform
  • B. An artificial-intelligence system that automatically grades answer scripts without human examiners
  • C. A facility that lets students view their provisional marks in real time while the exam is in progress
  • D. The replacement of pen-and-paper examinations by answering questions directly on a computer screen

Q6. The reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India relating to the accounts of the Union are laid before each House of Parliament under which Article of the Constitution?

  • A. Article 148
  • B. Article 149
  • C. Article 150
  • D. Article 151

Q7. The Public Accounts Committee's scrutiny of how public money has been spent is primarily based on which one of the following?

  • A. The audit reports of the Comptroller and Auditor-General laid before Parliament
  • B. The budget estimates presented by ministries before the start of the financial year
  • C. The internal audit conducted by the Ministry of Finance
  • D. The annual reports of the Reserve Bank of India

Q8. At the July 2026 PAC hearing, the Education Secretary's principal argument for keeping the CBSE Chairperson outside the Committee's questioning rested on which one of the following claims?

  • A. That CBSE does not receive direct grants from the Union government
  • B. That CBSE is a constitutional body immune from committee scrutiny
  • C. That CBSE is accountable only to the Supreme Court
  • D. That CBSE is a body wholly controlled by the State governments