UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Declare cancer a notifiable disease: SC to 19 States, U.T.s

Q1. Consider the following statements comparing the mandatory reporting of diseases in India: 1. Notification of tuberculosis by private health care providers was made mandatory throughout India in 2012, with cases reported through the web-based Nikshay system. 2. Under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, surveillance of more than 50 epidemic-prone diseases is carried out through case-based reporting on the Integrated Health Information Platform, to which all 36 States/Union Territories report. 3. Unlike tuberculosis, cancer has been made notifiable by a single central mandate that applies uniformly to every State and Union Territory of India. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Notification of tuberculosis by private health care providers was made mandatory throughout India in 2012, with cases reported through the web-based Nikshay system.
  2. Under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, surveillance of more than 50 epidemic-prone diseases is carried out through case-based reporting on the Integrated Health Information Platform, to which all 36 States/Union Territories report.
  3. Unlike tuberculosis, cancer has been made notifiable by a single central mandate that applies uniformly to every State and Union Territory of India.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q2. The Nikshay system, on which notification of tuberculosis cases by both public and private health care providers is recorded, was developed by which one of the following?

  • A. The National Centre for Disease Control under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research
  • B. The Central TB Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre and WHO India
  • C. The National Health Authority under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre
  • D. The National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research under the Indian Council of Medical Research, in collaboration with WHO India

Q3. With reference to the Supreme Court proceedings of August 2026 on declaring cancer a notifiable disease, consider the following statements: 1. At the time of the order, 17 of the 36 States and Union Territories had already notified cancer as a notifiable disease. 2. The Bench that passed the order was headed by the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant. 3. The Court accepted the submission that, public health being a State subject, no uniform national policy on cancer notification was called for. 4. The proceedings arose from a suo motu reference taken up by the Court rather than from a petition filed before it. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. At the time of the order, 17 of the 36 States and Union Territories had already notified cancer as a notifiable disease.
  2. The Bench that passed the order was headed by the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant.
  3. The Court accepted the submission that, public health being a State subject, no uniform national policy on cancer notification was called for.
  4. The proceedings arose from a suo motu reference taken up by the Court rather than from a petition filed before it.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q4. The recommendations on cancer notification that the Supreme Court asked the remaining States/UTs to act upon in August 2026 had emerged from a report on cancer care prepared by which one of the following?

  • A. The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare
  • B. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change
  • C. The core group on health of the National Human Rights Commission of India
  • D. The high-level group on the health sector constituted by NITI Aayog

Q5. As noted in the parliamentary examination of cancer care in India, approximately what proportion of India's population is covered by the population-based cancer registries of the National Cancer Registry Programme?

  • A. About 10 per cent
  • B. About 25 per cent
  • C. About 40 per cent
  • D. About 60 per cent

Q6. With reference to the National Cancer Registry Programme, consider the following statements: 1. It has been tracking cancer incidence, burden and trends since 1982. 2. It is coordinated by the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, Bengaluru. 3. It operates through population-based registries as well as hospital-based registries. 4. It is administered by the National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, an organisation under the Directorate General of Health Services. Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?

  1. It has been tracking cancer incidence, burden and trends since 1982.
  2. It is coordinated by the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, Bengaluru.
  3. It operates through population-based registries as well as hospital-based registries.
  4. It is administered by the National Centre for Disease Control, New Delhi, an organisation under the Directorate General of Health Services.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 4 only

Q7. Which one of the following best describes the position of the Indian Council of Medical Research within the Union Government?

  • A. It is an attached office of the Directorate General of Health Services, and all its constituent institutes are funded exclusively by the Department of Biotechnology
  • B. It functions under the Department of Health Research in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, its Director-General also serving as Secretary of that Department
  • C. It is an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology, and every biomedical institute in the country is necessarily affiliated to it
  • D. It is a statutory regulator of medical research whose prior approval is mandatory for each and every clinical trial conducted in India

Q8. Consider the following statements about two research institutes of the Indian Council of Medical Research: 1. The National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, which implements the National Cancer Registry Programme, is located at Bengaluru. 2. In 2026, the National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research at Genome Valley, Hyderabad, was upgraded and renamed the National Institute for Pre-Clinical Research. 3. Both these institutes function under the Department of Biotechnology in the Ministry of Science and Technology. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, which implements the National Cancer Registry Programme, is located at Bengaluru.
  2. In 2026, the National Animal Resource Facility for Biomedical Research at Genome Valley, Hyderabad, was upgraded and renamed the National Institute for Pre-Clinical Research.
  3. Both these institutes function under the Department of Biotechnology in the Ministry of Science and Technology.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q9. In India, the power under which a State or Union Territory declares a particular disease to be 'notifiable' within its territory ordinarily flows from which one of the following?

  • A. Public health legislation enacted by the State legislature under Entry 6 of the State List of the Seventh Schedule
  • B. A notification issued by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897
  • C. Regulations framed by the National Medical Commission in exercise of the Union List entry relating to medical education
  • D. Guidelines issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research under the National Cancer Registry Programme

Q10. Consider the following statements regarding the division of responsibility for public health in India: 1. 'Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries' figures as Entry 6 of the State List of the Seventh Schedule. 2. Several States, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Assam, have enacted their own public health laws. 3. Before the Supreme Court in August 2026, the Union Government's law officer submitted that health is a State subject. 4. Since public health is a State subject, the Union Government operates no national programme for cancer prevention, detection or treatment support. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 'Public health and sanitation; hospitals and dispensaries' figures as Entry 6 of the State List of the Seventh Schedule.
  2. Several States, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and Assam, have enacted their own public health laws.
  3. Before the Supreme Court in August 2026, the Union Government's law officer submitted that health is a State subject.
  4. Since public health is a State subject, the Union Government operates no national programme for cancer prevention, detection or treatment support.
  • A. 1 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 3
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q11. A public interest litigation filed directly before the Supreme Court by a private citizen seeking directions of the kind issued in the cancer notification matter is founded principally on which one of the following provisions of the Constitution of India?

  • A. Article 32
  • B. Article 226
  • C. Article 136
  • D. Article 143