The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive — Quiz

Q1. Lok Sabha members are chosen 'through a direct election based on universal adult suffrage'. Which option BEST explains this phrase?

• A. All adult citizens, regardless of social or economic background, vote directly for Lok Sabha members
• B. Only educated adults vote, and they elect Lok Sabha members directly
• C. State legislators form an electoral college to choose Lok Sabha members
• D. The President nominates members after consulting state governments

Q2. Why Constitution makers chose a bicameral system. Which option BEST captures their reasoning?

• A. A single directly elected House would be too slow to pass laws
• B. Britain forced India to adopt two Houses through the Indian Independence Act
• C. A single House would be inadequate, and in the spirit of federalism a Council of States (Rajya Sabha) was needed to balance national unity and local interests
• D. Two Houses were needed to make the Prime Minister more powerful

Q3. Priya reads and asks: 'How are Rajya Sabha members chosen?' Which answer is correct?

• A. Nominated entirely by the President of India
• B. Directly by all adult citizens of India through a national vote
• C. Selected by the Council of Ministers from among senior civil servants
• D. Indirectly by an electoral college, with seats allocated based on each state's population

Q4. The Question Hour. Which option BEST explains its purpose?

• A. It is typically the first hour of a Parliamentary session when MPs question ministers and hold the Executive accountable
• B. It is a one-hour break when ministers eat lunch with the Speaker
• C. It is the time when judges question the Parliament about new laws
• D. It is the last hour of a session, reserved for poetry and humour

Q5. Names the three sessions in which the Parliament typically meets each year. They are

• A. Spring, Summer and Autumn Sessions
• B. Morning, Afternoon and Evening Sessions
• C. Constitutional, Lawmaking and Financial Sessions
• D. Budget, Monsoon and Winter Sessions

Q6. Parliamentary 'productivity' is measured by

• A. The number of bills introduced by Members of Parliament
• B. The number of seats won by the ruling party in the last election
• C. The number of hours the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha actually functioned against the time it was scheduled to
• D. The total salary paid to MPs during a financial year

Q7. A bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha and read. According to the chart what is the very NEXT step in the bill-to-act process?

• A. Referred to the Standing Committee
• B. Presidential assent
• C. Gazette notification
• D. Process repeated in the other House

Q8. Which option BEST captures what makes a 'Standing Committee' 'standing'?

• A. It meets only when Parliament is in session and dissolves after each session
• B. It is formed only to debate the annual budget
• C. Its members must remain standing throughout the meeting
• D. It is a permanent committee whose structure remains, though the MPs in it may change

Q9. The note below the chart says: 'All bills may not be referred to Committees.' Which option BEST explains what this note conveys?

• A. Every bill must be referred to a committee before becoming an act
• B. No bill is ever referred to a committee; committees only review past acts
• C. The 8-step chart is the usual path, but referral to a Standing Committee is not compulsory for every bill
• D. Only bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha can be referred to committees

Q10. The Constitutional functions of Parliament. Which of the following is one of those functions?

• A. Hearing appeals against High Court judgments
• B. Appointing judges of the Supreme Court
• C. Conducting general elections to the Lok Sabha
• D. Following the separation of powers between the legislature, executive, and judiciary

Q11. The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers are 'collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha'. Which option BEST explains this principle?

• A. Each minister is individually responsible only to the President
• B. Ministers are accountable only to the Rajya Sabha, not the Lok Sabha
• C. The Council of Ministers reports directly to the Chief Justice of India
• D. If the Lok Sabha loses confidence in the government, the entire Council of Ministers — not just one minister — must answer for it

Q12. Aarti reads about Lal Bahadur Shastri's 1956 resignation as Railway Minister. Why did Shastri resign, even though he was not blamed for the accident?

• A. He believed a minister must take moral responsibility for anything that happens in their ministry
• B. He had been defeated in a no-confidence motion by the Lok Sabha
• C. Prime Minister Nehru ordered him to resign immediately
• D. He had been found guilty by the Supreme Court of negligence

Q13. The table contrasts Legislature and Executive. Which of the following is true about who introduces most bills in Parliament?

• A. The Legislature introduces all bills; the Executive only votes on them
• B. The President personally introduces every bill in the Lok Sabha
• C. The Judiciary drafts all bills before they reach Parliament
• D. Most bills are introduced by the Executive in Parliament; the Legislature can also introduce some bills

Q14. The states that have a bicameral legislature. Which group is correct?

• A. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Punjab and Haryana
• B. Goa, Sikkim, Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram
• C. Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh
• D. All 28 states of India have a bicameral legislature

Q15. If Ravi's teacher explains that the RTE Act applies all over India even though education is a State subject originally, which option BEST explains why?

• A. The Supreme Court ordered all states to apply the RTE uniformly
• B. RTE was passed by all 28 State Assemblies separately
• C. Education is in the Union List, so only the Union government can make laws on it
• D. Education is in the Concurrent List, and when the Union legislates on a Concurrent List subject, the states are bound to follow it