UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — SC Commission issues notice to authorities in Punjab over caste slurs in Census forms

Q1. Article 341 of the Constitution, under which the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 was issued, is composed of how many clauses?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q2. As constituted under Article 338, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes consists of a total of how many members, including its Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson?

  • A. Three
  • B. Four
  • C. Five
  • D. Seven

Q3. The bifurcation of the erstwhile combined National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate commissions (NCSC under Article 338 and NCST under Article 338A) was effected by which Constitutional Amendment Act?

  • A. The 65th Amendment Act, 1990
  • B. The 86th Amendment Act, 2002
  • C. The 89th Amendment Act, 2003
  • D. The 102nd Amendment Act, 2018

Q4. Under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the term 'atrocity' is defined as:

  • A. any act of caste-based discrimination in public employment or education
  • B. an offence punishable under Section 3 of the Act
  • C. any cognizable offence under the Indian Penal Code committed in a public place
  • D. any violation of a safeguard provided to Scheduled Castes under the Constitution

Q5. For the speedy trial of offences under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, the Act specifically provides for the establishment of which forum?

  • A. Special Courts
  • B. Gram Nyayalayas
  • C. Lok Adalats
  • D. Family Courts

Q6. In the context of Census 2027, the newly introduced feature of 'self-enumeration' refers to:

  • A. an additional window in which residents may enter their own details digitally before the enumerator's door-to-door visit
  • B. the counting of a household exclusively by a state-government-appointed enumerator during the population phase
  • C. the option for a household to decline recording its caste details
  • D. the automatic generation of population counts from Aadhaar and civil registration databases

Q7. During which phase of Census 2027 is the enumeration of castes designated to be carried out?

  • A. The Houselisting and Housing Census (HLO) phase
  • B. The Population Enumeration phase
  • C. The pre-test / trial phase
  • D. The post-enumeration revision round

Q8. In connection with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes' notice over caste slurs in Census forms, consider the following bodies/instruments and their stated constitutional or legal basis: 1. National Commission for Scheduled Castes — a constitutional body under Article 338 2. Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 — issued under Article 341 3. Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act — enacted in 1989 4. National Commission for Safai Karamcharis — a constitutional body under Article 338B Which of the pairs given above is/are NOT correctly matched?

  1. National Commission for Scheduled Castes — a constitutional body under Article 338
  2. Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950 — issued under Article 341
  3. Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act — enacted in 1989
  4. National Commission for Safai Karamcharis — a constitutional body under Article 338B
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 3 and 4

Q9. In the NCSC notice to authorities in Punjab, the objectionable terms flagged in the Census 2027 self-enumeration form had been listed as synonyms for which Scheduled Caste community?

  • A. Mazhabi Sikh
  • B. Ad-Dharmi
  • C. Valmiki (Balmiki)
  • D. Ravidasia

Q10. The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, whose Vice-Chairperson's complaint triggered the NCSC notice, currently functions as a non-statutory body under which Union Ministry?

  • A. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
  • B. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
  • C. Ministry of Labour and Employment
  • D. Ministry of Home Affairs

Q11. Unlike the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, the National Commission for Women derives its status from which source, thereby making it a statutory (not constitutional) body?

  • A. Article 338 of the Constitution
  • B. Article 338B of the Constitution
  • C. an Act of Parliament (the National Commission for Women Act, 1990)
  • D. a Presidential order issued under Article 341