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Federalism
Question
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Explain the composition of rural local government in India.

Answer

The rural local government is popularly known as Panchayati Raj. It consists of Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad.
(a) Panchayat: (i) There is a panchayat in each village or group of villages.
(ii) It is a council which has several ward members (panch) and a president (sarpanch).
(iii) They are directly elected by all the adult population living in that ward or village.
(iv) Panchayat is a decision-making body for the entire village.
(v) It works under the overall supervision of Gram Sabha.
(vi) Gram Sabha consists of all the voters and meets twice or thrice in a year to approve the annual budget of the Gram Panchayat and to review its performance.
(b) Panchayat Samiti or block or mandal: A few Gram Panchayats are grouped together to form a Panchayat Samiti. The members of this body are elected by all the members of the Panchayats in that area.
(c) Zila Parishad: All the panchayat samities in a district constitute Zila Parishad, whose members are elected. Members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district and some other officials of other district level bodies are also its members. Zila Parishad chairperson is the political head of the Zila Parishad.

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Some More Questions From Federalism Chapter

The distinguishing feature of a federal government is

A few subjects in various lists of the Indian Constitution are given here. Group them under the Union, State and Concurrent Lists as provided in the table below:

Union List

 

State List

 

Concurrent List

 

Examine the following pairs that give the level of government in India and the powers of the government at that level to make laws on the subjects mentioned against each. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched?

(a) State government

State List

(b) Central government

Union List

(c) Central and State governments

Concurrent List

(d) Local governments

Residuary Powers

 

Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:

List-I

List-II

1. Union of India

2. State

3. Municipal Corporation

4. Gram Panchayat

A. Prime Minister

B. Sarpanch

C. Governor

D. Mayor

 

 

1

2

3

4

(a)

D

A

B

C

(b)

B

C

D

A

(c)

A

C

D

B

(d)

C

D

A

B

 

Consider the following statements:
A. In a federation the powers of the federal and provincial governments are clearly demarcated.
B. India is a federation because the powers of the Union and State governments are specified in the Constitution and they have exclusive jurisdiction on their respective subjects.
C. Sri Lanka is a federation because the country is divided into provinces.
D. India is no longer a federation because the some powers of the states have been devolved to the local government bodies.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?

 

Here are three reactions to the language policy followed in India. Which of the following holds true in the case of India?

In a ‘Holding together federation’
(A) A large country divides its power between constituent states and the national government
(B) The Central government tends to be more powerful vis-a-vis the states
(C) All the constituent states usually have equal powers
(D) Constituent states have unequal powers
Which of the above statements are correct?

Which among the following are examples of ‘Coming together federations’?

___________ has a unitary form of government whereas ___________ has a federal government.

__________ is a coming together federation.