UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — ‘Police modernisation scheme awaits Finance Ministry’s nod’
Q1. With reference to the directions issued by the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh vs Union of India (2006), consider the following:
1. Constitution of a State Security Commission in every State
2. Constitution of a Police Establishment Board in every State
3. Constitution of a Police Complaints Authority
4. Selection of the Director General of Police by the State Cabinet from among all officers of Director General rank in the State, with a minimum tenure of three years
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as directions of the Court?
- Constitution of a State Security Commission in every State
- Constitution of a Police Establishment Board in every State
- Constitution of a Police Complaints Authority
- Selection of the Director General of Police by the State Cabinet from among all officers of Director General rank in the State, with a minimum tenure of three years
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q2. The committee set up on the Supreme Court's direction to monitor compliance by States with the police reform directions of 2006 was headed by which one of the following?
- A. Justice J.S. Verma, a former Chief Justice of India who later headed a panel on criminal law amendment
- B. Justice B.N. Srikrishna, a former Judge of the Supreme Court who chaired several government commissions
- C. Justice K.T. Thomas, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court, assisted by two other members
- D. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, a former Chief Justice of India who headed later judicial panels
Q3. In the Supreme Court's 2020 ruling on surveillance in police stations, what exactly did the mandated CCTV coverage of a police station mean?
- A. Cameras at the main entry and exit points alone, recording video but not audio, with recordings preserved for a period of six months
- B. Cameras with night-vision capability installed only inside lock-ups and interrogation rooms, recording audio and video during questioning of an arrested person
- C. Cameras covering the exterior compound wall, gate and parking area of the station, with audio recording confined to the reception area
- D. Cameras with night-vision capability at entry and exit points, lock-ups, corridors and interrogation rooms, capable of recording both audio and video
Q4. The requirement that CCTV cameras and recording equipment be installed at the offices of central investigating agencies such as the CBI, NIA, ED, NCB and DRI flows from which one of the following?
- A. Prakash Singh vs Union of India, decided by the Supreme Court in September 2006
- B. Paramvir Singh Saini vs Baljit Singh, decided by the Supreme Court in December 2020
- C. D.K. Basu vs State of West Bengal, decided by the Supreme Court in the late 1990s
- D. Shafhi Mohammad vs State of Himachal Pradesh, decided by the Supreme Court in 2018
Q5. Central assistance to States for police modernisation, released in a 90:10 or 60:40 sharing pattern depending on the State's category, is operationalised by which one of the following?
- A. Police Modernisation Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs
- B. Bureau of Police Research and Development, an attached office of the Ministry of Home Affairs
- C. Department of Border Management in the Ministry of Home Affairs
- D. National Crime Records Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs
Q6. Consider the following, each stated to be a sub-scheme under the umbrella scheme 'Modernisation of Police Forces' approved for 2021-22 to 2025-26:
1. Assistance to States and Union Territories for Modernisation of Police
2. Scheme for Modernisation of Forensic Capacities
3. Assistance to States and Union Territories for Narcotics Control
4. Border Area Development Programme, implemented through the Department of Border Management for villages along the international borders
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Assistance to States and Union Territories for Modernisation of Police
- Scheme for Modernisation of Forensic Capacities
- Assistance to States and Union Territories for Narcotics Control
- Border Area Development Programme, implemented through the Department of Border Management for villages along the international borders
- A. 1 only
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q7. Which one of the following correctly states the placement of policing subjects in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution?
- A. 'Public order' is Entry 1 and 'police' Entry 2 of the Union List, while their deployment in the States is regulated by Entry 2A of the State List
- B. 'Police' is Entry 2 of the State List, while 'public order' is placed in the Concurrent List, enabling Parliament to legislate on it directly
- C. 'Public order' and 'police' are Entries 1 and 2 respectively of the State List, while deployment of the armed forces of the Union in aid of the civil power is Entry 2A of the Union List
- D. 'Police' is Entry 2 of the State List, while deployment of the armed forces of the Union in aid of the civil power is placed as Entry 2A of the Concurrent List
Q8. Given the constitutional allocation of policing, the Union Government's foremost instrument for driving modernisation of the State police forces is which one of the following?
- A. Parliament's exclusive competence to enact police legislation binding on all States and Union Territories alike
- B. The Union's unconditional authority to station central armed police forces in any State irrespective of the State's request
- C. Complete Union control over the appointment, posting and transfer of all State police officers of and above the rank of Superintendent of Police
- D. Shared-cost financial assistance to States under an umbrella scheme administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs
Q9. The Supreme Court's suo motu proceeding of September 2025 on non-functional CCTV cameras in police stations followed a media report on custodial deaths in Rajasthan over the preceding eight months. How many such deaths were reported in the State, and how many of them were from the Udaipur division?
- A. Eight deaths in the State, of which five were from the Udaipur division
- B. Eleven deaths in the State, of which seven were from the Udaipur division
- C. Eleven deaths in the State, of which four were from the Udaipur division
- D. Fifteen deaths in the State, of which seven were from the Udaipur division
Q10. In-principle approval of a proposal for a new umbrella Central scheme, and financial sanctions relating to all Ministries of the Government of India, fall within the authority of which one of the following?
- A. Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, whose Secretary functions as the Finance Secretary
- B. Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, which oversees banking and insurance institutions
- C. Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, which issues the appraisal and approval guidelines
- D. Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office of NITI Aayog, which conducts scheme evaluations
Q11. In the five-yearly appraisal cycle commencing 1 April 2026, evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes is entrusted to which one of the following?
- A. Development Monitoring and Evaluation Office in NITI Aayog
- B. Third-party agencies chosen by each administrative ministry, whose report alone decides continuation
- C. Public Finance divisions of the Department of Expenditure, which evaluate every such scheme themselves
- D. Comptroller and Auditor General, whose audit certificate is mandatory for the continuation of all schemes
Q12. Consider the following, each stated to be an annual statistical report brought out by the National Crime Records Bureau:
1. Crime in India
2. Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India
3. Prison Statistics India
4. Data on Police Organisations
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- Crime in India
- Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India
- Prison Statistics India
- Data on Police Organisations
- A. 1 only
- B. 4 only
- C. 2 and 3
- D. 1 and 4