Polity Set 75
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📌 NITI Aayog • Planning
Q.1) On January 1, 2015, the Government of India established NITI Aayog. Which erstwhile body did it replace?
Ans > Planning Commission
- Legacy of the Predecessor: The Planning Commission was originally established in 1950 via an executive resolution to draft India’s Five-Year Plans and allocate financial resources based on a centralized, Soviet-inspired socialist economic model.
- Reason for Structural Overhaul: The Union Government recognized that a highly centralized, top-down planning model was becoming increasingly obsolete for a diverse, rapidly digitizing, and globally integrated 21st-century Indian economy.
- Birth of a Modern Think Tank: NITI Aayog formally emerged on January 1, 2015, not as an authoritative fund-allocating body, but as a premier public policy think tank designed to provide strategic, directional, and technical advice across various sectors.
- Embracing Cooperative Federalism: Unlike the previous commission which often dictated terms to states, the newly formed NITI Aayog guarantees that state governments have an active, equal, and continuous voice in shaping national economic policies.
📌 NITI Aayog • Facts
Q.2) What does ‘NITI’ stand for in NITI Aayog?
Ans > National Institution for Transforming India
- Linguistic Double Meaning: While the acronym stands for National Institution for Transforming India, the word ‘Niti’ in Sanskrit directly translates to morality, behavior, guidance, or policy, perfectly aligning with its advisory role.
- Focus on Transformation: The inclusion of the word “Transforming” in the acronym highlights the government’s forward-looking vision to shift from traditional incremental planning to rapid, disruptive, and innovative economic growth.
- Strategic Policy Innovation Hub: As a transformative institution, it is specifically mandated to design strategic and long-term policy frameworks, monitoring their progress and efficacy in real-time to ensure developmental goals are met.
- Knowledge and Innovation Center: NITI Aayog actively maintains a state-of-the-art resource center, serving as a repository of research on good governance and best practices to ensure sustainable and equitable national development.
📌 NITI Aayog • Structure
Q.3) Who serves as the ex-officio Chairperson of the NITI Aayog?
Ans > The Prime Minister of India
- Supreme Executive Leadership: By having the Prime Minister as the ex-officio Chairperson, NITI Aayog is guaranteed the highest level of executive backing, ensuring its policy recommendations carry significant weight across all ministries.
- Delegation of Daily Operations: While the Prime Minister holds the top position, the actual day-to-day operations and administrative responsibilities are effectively managed by a Vice-Chairperson, who is directly appointed by the Prime Minister.
- Alignment with Elected Vision: This leadership structure ensures that the think tank’s research and policy outputs align perfectly with the democratic mandate and the broader ideological vision of the elected ruling government.
- Historical Structural Parallel: This specific leadership framework directly mirrors the organizational structure of the erstwhile Planning Commission, where Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru served as its very first historical chairman.
📌 NITI Aayog • Governance
Q.4) The Governing Council of NITI Aayog comprises the Prime Minister and:
Ans > Chief Ministers of all States and Lt. Governors of Union Territories
- Comprehensive State Representation: The Governing Council explicitly includes all State Chief Ministers and the Lieutenant Governors of Union Territories, institutionalizing a deeply collaborative approach to nationwide policy formulation and execution.
- Replacing the NDC’s Role: This specific council effectively took over the crucial consultative and advisory roles that were previously handled by the now-obsolete National Development Council during the Five-Year Plan era.
- Platform for Federal Consensus: It provides a unique, high-level administrative platform for states to present their specific regional economic challenges directly to the Prime Minister and relevant Union Cabinet Ministers.
- Inclusion of Administered Territories: By deliberately including Lieutenant Governors, the structure ensures that directly administered Union Territories without legislative assemblies still have a powerful voice in shaping overarching national developmental strategies.
📌 Statutory Bodies • NHRC
Q.5) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is a statutory (non-constitutional) body established in which year under the Protection of Human Rights Act?
Ans > 1993
- Statutory Legislative Origins: The NHRC was formally created via the Protection of Human Rights Act passed in 1993, clearly defining it as a statutory body rather than a constitutional entity like the Election Commission.
- Alignment with Paris Principles: The establishment of the commission strictly conforms to the “Paris Principles,” a set of international standards adopted at the first international workshop on national human rights institutions in 1991.
- Primary Watchdog Function: The NHRC serves as the premier national watchdog for fundamental rights relating to life, liberty, equality, and the inherent dignity of the individual as guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
- United Nations General Assembly Backing: The creation of this commission was heavily influenced and accelerated by the 1993 United Nations General Assembly resolution that strongly endorsed the establishment of independent national human rights institutions.
📌 Statutory Bodies • NHRC
Q.6) Following the 2019 amendment, who is eligible to be appointed as the chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)?
Ans > A retired Chief Justice of India or a Judge of the Supreme Court
- Previous Restrictive Criteria: Prior to the crucial 2019 legislative amendment, the law strictly mandated that only a retired Chief Justice of India could be appointed to lead the commission, which severely limited the candidate pool.
- Expanding the Eligibility Pool: The Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2019, strategically broadened this eligibility requirement to include any retired Judge of the Supreme Court to prevent prolonged institutional vacancies.
- Ensuring Supreme Judicial Expertise: This strict qualification requirement guarantees that the institution maintains the highest possible level of judicial experience required for adjudicating complex, sensitive, and high-profile human rights violations across the nation.
- Maintaining Institutional Prestige: The amendment successfully aimed to make the rigorous selection process more flexible and pragmatic while simultaneously preserving the commission’s prestigious, authoritative standing in the eyes of the public and international observers.
📌 Statutory Bodies • NHRC
Q.7) The chairperson and members of the NHRC are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a six-member committee headed by the:
Ans > Prime Minister
- High-Powered Selection Panel: The inclusion of a highly specific six-member committee ensures that appointments to this critical human rights watchdog remain bipartisan, balanced, and free from unilateral political favoritism.
- Detailed Committee Composition: The selection committee is headed by the Prime Minister and crucially includes the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, and the Leaders of the Opposition in both houses.
- Balancing Executive and Legislative Power: The presence of the Union Home Minister alongside prominent opposition leaders guarantees that the executive branch cannot unilaterally push through appointments without legislative consensus and scrutiny.
- Formalization by the President: While the President of India makes the final official appointment, they have no discretionary power and must act solely on the binding recommendations provided by this Prime Minister-led committee.
📌 Statutory Bodies • NHRC
Q.8) As per the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2019, the chairperson and members of the NHRC hold office for a term of:
Ans > 3 years or till they attain the age of 70 years
- Rationale Behind Term Reduction: The 2019 legislative amendment deliberately reduced the standard term from five years to three years in order to align the NHRC’s tenure with the standard terms of other major statutory commissions in India.
- Continuation of the Age Ceiling: Despite reducing the tenure length, the maximum age limit of 70 years was strictly retained to ensure that highly experienced yet physically and mentally active individuals hold these demanding positions.
- New Reappointment Eligibility: A significant change brought by the amendment was the removal of the previous bar on reappointment, effectively allowing highly competent members to serve multiple consecutive terms if they remain eligible under the age limit.
- Debate Over Institutional Independence: While some civil rights critics argued that shorter terms might compromise the members’ independence from the government, proponents argued it allows for a more frequent injection of fresh perspectives into the commission.
📌 State Bodies • SHRC
Q.9) The chairperson and members of a State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) are appointed by the Governor. However, they can be removed ONLY by the:
Ans > President
- The Appointment vs. Removal Paradox: In a unique constitutional and statutory arrangement, while the State Governor holds the power to appoint SHRC members, the law strictly delegates their removal power exclusively to the President of India.
- Strict Grounds for Dismissal: The President cannot remove them arbitrarily; dismissal is only permitted on specific grounds of proved misbehavior or physical/mental incapacity following a detailed, binding inquiry conducted by the Supreme Court of India.
- Securing Regional Independence: This highly specific legal provision is designed to thoroughly protect state-level human rights defenders from facing potential political vindictiveness, harassment, or abrupt dismissal by state governments whose actions they might investigate.
- Parallel with Public Service Commissions: This specialized removal mechanism directly mirrors the constitutional removal process established for members of State Public Service Commissions (SPSCs) to ensure strict operational autonomy at the state level.
📌 Statutory Bodies • CIC
Q.10) The Central Information Commission (CIC) was established by the Central Government in 2005 under the provisions of which Act?
Ans > Right to Information Act
- Landmark Legislative Origins: The Central Information Commission was established directly under the transformative Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005, marking a watershed moment for transparency in Indian governance.
- Strictly Non-Constitutional Status: The CIC is purely a statutory body drawing its powers from parliamentary legislation, making it entirely distinct from constitutional bodies like the Election Commission or the Finance Commission.
- Expansive Jurisdictional Scope: The commission exercises vast appellate jurisdiction over all central public authorities, central public sector undertakings, and any central government-funded non-governmental organizations across the country.
- Enforcing Democratic Transparency: Its fundamental primary mandate is to vigorously enforce the citizens’ statutory right to seek information from the government apparatus, effectively dismantling decades of colonial-era bureaucratic secrecy.
📌 Statutory Bodies • CIC
Q.11) The Central Information Commission consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and not more than how many Information Commissioners?
Ans > 10
- Statutory Maximum Limit: The Right to Information Act deliberately capped the maximum number of Information Commissioners at exactly ten to prevent unnecessary administrative bloating and ensure a streamlined appellate process.
- Dynamic Working Strength: The actual operational strength of the commission frequently fluctuates based on the pending appellate workload and the speed of government appointments, rarely functioning at the absolute maximum legal limit.
- Requirement of Diverse Expertise: The law dictates that members must be individuals of eminence chosen from distinct, diverse fields including law, science, governance, social service, management, journalism, and mass media.
- Egalitarian Appellate Powers: While the Chief Information Commissioner heads the institution administratively, all appointed Information Commissioners possess entirely equal legal and adjudicatory powers when hearing citizen appeals against public authorities.
📌 Statutory Bodies • CIC
Q.12) The Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee headed by the PM. Who else is on this committee?
Ans > The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister
- Tripartite Selection Panel: The President of India formally appoints the CIC leadership based entirely on the binding advice provided by a specialized, three-member high-level selection committee designed to ensure fairness.
- Vital Opposition Representation: The mandatory inclusion of the Leader of the Opposition ensures transparency in the selection process and prevents the ruling political party from unilaterally packing the commission with favorable bureaucrats.
- Flexible Cabinet Representation: The Prime Minister holds the specific discretionary authority to nominate one Union Cabinet Minister of their choosing to complete the three-member selection committee for these critical appointments.
- Notable Exclusion of the Judiciary: Unlike the selection committee for the National Human Rights Commission, neither the Chief Justice of India nor any parliamentary presiding officers are included in the CIC selection process.
📌 Statutory Bodies • CIC
Q.13) Following the RTI (Amendment) Act, 2019, the term of office for the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners is:
Ans > For such term as may be prescribed by the Central Government
- Erasure of the Fixed Tenure: The highly controversial 2019 legislative amendment stripped away the previously guaranteed five-year statutory tenure, granting the Central Government the absolute rule-making power to determine the term length.
- Currently Prescribed Duration: Promptly following the passage of this legislative amendment, the Central Government issued official rules prescribing a term of exactly three years for all newly appointed Information Commissioners.
- Shift in Salary Determination: Before this amendment, their salaries and allowances were strictly equated to those of Election Commissioners; now, they are exclusively determined and modified by the Central Government.
- Widespread Controversy and Criticism: Transparency activists and civil society heavily criticized this amendment, arguing that placing term limits and salaries under direct executive control severely compromises the CIC’s independence and autonomy.
📌 Statutory Bodies • CVC
Q.14) The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was set up in 1964 on the recommendations of the Committee on Prevention of Corruption, headed by:
Ans > K. Santhanam
- Origins in Anti-Corruption Needs: The Central Vigilance Commission was born out of the pressing administrative need to combat growing systemic corruption and bribery within the rapidly expanding central government administration post-independence.
- The Foundational Santhanam Blueprint: K. Santhanam’s high-level Committee on Prevention of Corruption (1962-64) comprehensively outlined the urgent necessity for a centralized, independent vigilance institution to oversee executive operations.
- Initial Weak Executive Status: For nearly four decades following its inception in 1964, the CVC operated entirely on a mere executive resolution by the Home Ministry, severely lacking any formal statutory or constitutional backing.
- Designed as an Apex Watchdog: From its inception, it was designed to be fundamentally free from any executive authority, meant to exclusively advise central agencies on planning, executing, and reviewing their internal vigilance operations.
📌 Statutory Bodies • CVC
Q.15) The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was conferred statutory status by the Parliament in which year?
Ans > 2003
- Crucial Supreme Court Intervention: The landmark Vineet Narain judgment by the Supreme Court in 1997 heavily criticized political interference in corruption probes and legally mandated statutory status for the CVC to ensure its independence.
- Transition from Ordinance to Act: The government initially granted statutory status via temporary presidential ordinances starting in 1998, but it was finally solidified permanently by the Parliament passing the Central Vigilance Commission Act in 2003.
- Supervisory Powers Over the CBI: The 2003 Act specifically empowered the CVC to exercise binding superintendence over the functioning of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) specifically regarding investigations under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
- Massively Enhanced Independence: Gaining statutory status fundamentally transformed the CVC from a weak, advisory board into a highly powerful, legally protected anti-corruption watchdog capable of holding senior bureaucrats accountable.
📌 Statutory Bodies • CVC
Q.16) The CVC is a multi-member body consisting of a Central Vigilance Commissioner and not more than how many vigilance commissioners?
Ans > Two
- Compact Multi-Member Structure: The Commission is intentionally kept small and highly concentrated, featuring exactly one Central Vigilance Commissioner serving as the chairperson alongside a legal maximum of just two Vigilance Commissioners.
- Rigorous Background Requirements: Appointed members are typically outstanding, high-ranking civil servants or acclaimed experts with decades of experience in finance, insurance, banking, law, or complex vigilance administration.
- Stringent Appointment Process: These crucial commissioners are appointed by the President solely on the binding recommendation of a powerful three-member committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition.
- Advantage of Collaborative Decision Making: The multi-member framework ensures that complex, politically sensitive vigilance policies and high-level corruption investigations are evaluated thoroughly through collective, unbiased administrative wisdom.
📌 Statutory Bodies • CVC
Q.17) They hold office for a term of four years or until they attain the age of:
Ans > 65 years
- A Highly Unique Four-Year Term: Unlike the vast majority of Indian statutory bodies that feature standard three or five-year terms, the CVC operates on a distinct four-year tenure mandated by its governing legislation.
- Strict Maximum Age Constraint: The stringent 65-year retirement ceiling ensures that the senior officers placed at the helm of this demanding anti-corruption agency remain physically and intellectually active during their tenure.
- Absolute Bar on Future Employment: To preserve absolute integrity and prevent post-retirement political favors, retiring commissioners are completely ineligible for any further diplomatic or administrative employment under central or state governments.
- Guaranteed Security of Tenure: To prevent political intimidation, commissioners can only be removed by the President for proven misbehavior or incapacity following a legally binding inquiry conducted exclusively by the Supreme Court.
📌 Federal Agencies • CBI
Q.18) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was set up in 1963 by a resolution of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It derives its powers to investigate from which Act?
Ans > Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946
- Deep Pre-Independence Roots: The modern CBI traces its direct origins to the Special Police Establishment (SPE), which was created in 1941 specifically to investigate massive procurement bribery during World War II.
- Formalization via DSPE Act: The Delhi Special Police Establishment Act of 1946 formally granted wide-ranging police powers, legal authority, and territorial jurisdiction to the agency, operating initially under the Department of Personnel.
- Creation by Executive Resolution: While the agency strictly exercises statutory police powers under the 1946 DSPE Act, the institution named “CBI” itself was technically formed via a simple 1963 Home Ministry executive resolution.
- Severe Jurisdictional Limitations: Because its powers stem entirely from the DSPE Act, the CBI requires explicit, formal “general consent” from individual state governments to investigate any crimes within their territorial boundaries.
📌 Federal Agencies • CBI
Q.19) The Director of the CBI has been provided a secure two-year tenure by which Act?
Ans > Central Vigilance Commission Act, 2003
- Shielding Operations from Political Pressure: Historically, CBI Directors were highly vulnerable to abrupt transfers or sudden dismissals by ruling politicians aiming to derail, delay, or sabotage sensitive corruption investigations.
- Impact of Judicial Directives: The Supreme Court’s landmark Vineet Narain ruling legally mandated a minimum secure tenure to explicitly insulate the Director from facing arbitrary executive interference or retaliatory transfers.
- Statutory Enforcement via CVC Act: The CVC Act of 2003 formally amended the older DSPE Act, officially and legally guaranteeing an uninterrupted, secure two-year minimum tenure for the appointed CBI Director.
- Recent Extension Provisions: Recent controversial legislative amendments passed by the Parliament now allow the central government to grant subsequent one-year extensions to the Director, up to a maximum total tenure of five years.
📌 Anti-Corruption • Lokpal
Q.20) The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act (2013) seeks to establish the institution of the Lokpal at the Centre and the Lokayukta at the level of the State. The first Administrative Reforms Commission (1966-70) that recommended these institutions was initially headed by:
Ans > Morarji Desai
- Heavy Scandinavian Inspiration: The foundational concept of the Lokpal in India was heavily inspired by the highly successful institutional model of the Ombudsman found in Scandinavian countries to address citizen grievances.
- First ARC’s Pioneering Recommendation: The Administrative Reforms Commission (initially headed by Morarji Desai before he became Deputy PM) specifically recommended establishing the Lokpal and Lokayukta to fiercely tackle administrative corruption.
- Decades of Frustrating Legislative Delay: Despite the clear 1966 ARC recommendation, it took nearly five decades, massive public protests, and multiple failed parliamentary bills before the comprehensive 2013 Act was finally passed.
- Envisioning a Dual Institutional Structure: The ARC brilliantly envisioned a bifurcated system: the Lokpal handling high-level complaints against union ministers and MPs, while the Lokayuktas would independently handle state-level corruption and grievances.
📌 Anti-Corruption • Lokpal
Q.21) The Lokpal consists of a chairperson and a maximum of how many members?
Ans > 8
- Plurality in Anti-Corruption Leadership: The Lokpal is strategically designed as a robust multi-member anti-corruption authority, comprising a designated Chairperson and a strict legal maximum of eight supporting members.
- Effectively Distributing the Workload: A maximum strength of eight members ensures the massive institution can legally form multiple functional judicial benches to expedite hundreds of pending corruption inquiries simultaneously.
- Stringent Chairperson Qualifications: The Chairperson must ideally be a former Chief Justice of India, a former Supreme Court Judge, or a highly eminent public personality with impeccable integrity and anti-corruption expertise.
- Complex Selection Committee Mechanics: The chairperson and members are appointed by the President strictly based on the recommendation of a high-powered committee headed by the Prime Minister and including the Chief Justice of India.
📌 Anti-Corruption • Lokpal
Q.22) Under the Lokpal Act, what percentage of the members of the Lokpal must be judicial members?
Ans > 50%
- Mandating Crucial Legal Expertise: The Lokpal Act strictly mandates that exactly 50% of the institution’s total working members must possess extensive judicial backgrounds to ensure highly legalistic corruption cases are handled properly.
- Specific Judicial Eligibility Criteria: To qualify for these reserved judicial seats, these specific members must be either sitting or former judges of the Supreme Court or former Chief Justices of various state High Courts.
- The Functional Reason for the Quota: Complex, high-level corruption investigations require the nuanced interpretation of criminal law, evidentiary standards, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, deeply demanding rigorous legal minds.
- Balancing with Non-Judicial Experts: The remaining 50% are non-judicial members drawn strictly from fields like central vigilance, complex corporate finance, anti-corruption policy, civil service, and high-level public administration.
📌 Anti-Corruption • Lokpal
Q.23) Under the Lokpal Act, what percentage of the members of the Lokpal must come from SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, and women?
Ans > 50%
- Landmark Social Representation Quota: The Lokpal Act mandates a historic and strict minimum of 50% representation for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, religious minorities, and women combined.
- Directly Addressing Historic Exclusion: This highly unique institutional quota ensures that historically marginalized communities have a powerful, direct, and continuous voice in the nation’s highest anti-corruption investigations and policy formulations.
- Application Across Both Categories: This stringent demographic representation requirement applies universally to both the judicial and non-judicial member categories during the complex selection process of the Lokpal institution.
- Structurally Preventing Elite Capture: By legally enforcing strict demographic diversity at the top level, the legislation successfully prevents the dangerous concentration of investigative power among privileged, upper-class societal segments.
📌 State Bodies • Lokayukta
Q.24) Which state was the first to establish the institution of Lokayukta in India (in 1971)?
Ans > Maharashtra
- Pioneering State-Level Action: While the national government continuously delayed the passage of the central Lokpal bill for decades, Maharashtra courageously led the federal system by establishing the Lokayukta in 1971.
- Technical Legislative Timeline Distinction: Odisha technically passed the very first Lokayukta legislation in 1970, but Maharashtra was the first state to practically implement the law and physically establish the working institution.
- Providing a Structural Blueprint: Maharashtra’s pioneering administrative framework served as a vital structural and legal blueprint that subsequently guided other progressive states like Rajasthan, Bihar, and Karnataka in creating their own watchdogs.
- Direct State-Level Grievance Redressal: The newly created institution provided ordinary citizens a dedicated, legally empowered independent platform to directly report rampant corruption by state-level public servants and regional politicians.
📌 Federal Agencies • NIA
Q.25) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) was constituted in 2009 under the NIA Act, 2008, in the aftermath of which major incident?
Ans > 2008 Mumbai terror attacks (26/11)
- A Tragic Catalyst for Creation: The devastating 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks brutally exposed massive intelligence coordination failures across states, highlighting the urgent, undeniable need for a highly specialized federal counter-terrorism agency.
- Incredibly Swift Legislative Action: In an unprecedented response, the Indian Parliament expedited the drafting and passed the National Investigation Agency Act in December 2008, mere weeks after the tragic Mumbai siege concluded.
- Possessing Overriding Federal Powers: Unlike the CBI, which requires state permission, the NIA possesses unique concurrent jurisdiction, allowing it to unilaterally investigate terror cases across any state without seeking local government consent.
- Continuously Expanding Mandate: Initially focused strictly on pure terrorism cases, recent parliamentary amendments have aggressively expanded the NIA’s investigative scope to include human trafficking, counterfeit currency networks, and severe cyber-terrorism.
📌 Disaster Management • NDMA
Q.26) The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is the apex body for disaster management in India. Who heads this authority?
Ans > The Prime Minister
- The Apex Disaster Authority: Established formally under the Disaster Management Act of 2005, the NDMA operates as the absolute highest policy-making and coordinating body for all disaster management strategies in India.
- Ensuring Ultimate Executive Leadership: The Prime Minister serves as the ex-officio chairperson, ensuring that national disaster response receives the absolute highest level of political, financial, and administrative priority during massive crises.
- A Monumental Shift in Disaster Paradigm: The creation of the NDMA marked a fundamental national paradigm shift, moving from a purely reactive, relief-centric approach to a highly proactive, science-backed prevention and mitigation strategy.
- Coordinating the Complex Federal Structure: The national authority coordinates seamlessly with State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs), which are correspondingly and legally headed by the respective State Chief Ministers for localized execution.
📌 Historical Bodies • NDC
Q.27) The National Development Council (NDC) was established by an executive resolution of the Government of India in August of which year?
Ans > 1952
- Post-Independence Economic Integration: Formed specifically in August 1952 via a simple executive resolution, the NDC was designed heavily to integrate state governments deeply into the national economic planning and development process.
- Bridging the Crucial Planning Gap: While the Planning Commission was entirely responsible for drafting the technical plans, the NDC acted as the crucial, high-level advisory body that practically reviewed and gave final political approval.
- An Entirely Non-Statutory Framework: Exactly like the Planning Commission it worked alongside, the NDC functioned entirely as an extra-constitutional and non-statutory body, completely lacking any formal parliamentary or legislative backing.
- Experiencing Waning Relevance: Following the historic abolition of the Planning Commission in 2014 and the subsequent rise of NITI Aayog’s inclusive Governing Council, the NDC has effectively become an obsolete institution.
📌 Historical Bodies • NDC
Q.28) Who is the ex-officio chairman of the National Development Council (NDC)?
Ans > The Prime Minister
- The Supreme Federal Planning Council: By having the Prime Minister as its ex-officio chairman, the NDC enjoyed immense, almost unchallengeable political authority during the highly centralized era of India’s Five-Year Plans.
- Massive Composition of the Council: The council was a massive political gathering, legally including all Union Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers of every single state, and all the appointed members of the Planning Commission.
- A Vital Consensus Building Mechanism: The Prime Minister’s ultimate leadership was absolutely critical in resolving severe economic disagreements and bitter resource allocation disputes between different states competing for limited central funds.
- Executing Historical Policy Approvals: Under the Prime Minister’s chairmanship, this specific council possessed the final political and administrative authority to formally adopt and greenlight India’s ambitious, multi-trillion rupee Five-Year Plans.
📌 State Bodies • SIC
Q.29) A State Information Commission consists of a State Chief Information Commissioner and not more than how many State Information Commissioners?
Ans > 10
- Building a Parallel State Architecture: The Right to Information Act of 2005 purposefully and explicitly mandated the creation of State Information Commissions to work right alongside the overarching Central Information Commission.
- Capping the Membership Strength: To maintain strict administrative efficiency and prevent states from creating bloated bureaucracies, the central law strictly caps the number of State Information Commissioners at a maximum of exactly ten.
- Strict Jurisdictional Boundaries: These powerful state-level commissions exercise exclusive and final appellate jurisdiction over all public authorities, panchayats, and civic bodies functioning strictly under their respective state governments.
- The Final State Appellate Authority: They serve as the absolute highest independent appellate authority within the state for any ordinary citizens who have been unlawfully denied information by local or state government departments.
📌 State Bodies • SIC
Q.30) Who appoints the State Chief Information Commissioner and the State Information Commissioners?
Ans > The Governor
- State-Level Executive Formalization: The Governor of the respective state formally and officially appoints the State Chief Information Commissioner and all supporting members, perfectly mirroring the President’s exact role at the central level.
- Relying on Binding Committee Recommendations: The Governor acts strictly on the advice of a specific three-member selection committee, completely lacking any independent discretionary power to appoint candidates of their own personal choosing.
- Composition of the State Selection Committee: This highly crucial recommending committee is firmly headed by the State Chief Minister and mandatory includes the Leader of the Opposition and one designated State Cabinet Minister.
- Enforcing Political Neutrality Measures: The deliberate, statutory inclusion of the state’s Leader of the Opposition is specifically designed to thoroughly prevent the ruling regional party from unlawfully monopolizing appointments with compliant bureaucrats.
📌 Quick Summary — Polity Set 75
- NITI Aayog: Established on Jan 1, 2015, replacing the Planning Commission to act as a policy think tank.
- NITI: Stands for National Institution for Transforming India.
- NITI Aayog Leadership: The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairperson.
- NITI Governing Council: Comprises the PM, State Chief Ministers, and UT Lt. Governors.
- NHRC Establishment: Founded in 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act (a statutory body).
- NHRC Chairperson Eligibility: Post-2019, any retired SC Judge or CJI can be appointed.
- NHRC Appointment Panel: Recommended by a 6-member committee headed by the Prime Minister.
- NHRC Tenure: 3 years or until the age of 70 (amended in 2019).
- SHRC Removal: Appointed by the Governor but can only be removed by the President.
- Central Information Commission: Established in 2005 under the RTI Act.
- CIC Members: Consists of a Chief Information Commissioner and max 10 Information Commissioners.
- CIC Appointment Panel: Headed by the PM, with the Leader of Opposition and a Union Cabinet Minister.
- CIC Tenure: Determined by the Central Government (currently 3 years following the 2019 amendment).
- CVC Origins: Formed in 1964 upon the recommendation of the K. Santhanam Committee.
- CVC Statutory Status: Attained formal statutory backing in 2003.
- CVC Members: Consists of a Central Vigilance Commissioner and max two vigilance commissioners.
- CVC Tenure: Holds a unique 4-year term or until the age of 65.
- CBI Authority: Derives investigative powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
- CBI Director Tenure: Granted a secure 2-year tenure by the CVC Act, 2003.
- First ARC: Headed by Morarji Desai; recommended creating the Lokpal and Lokayukta.
- Lokpal Membership: Comprises a Chairperson and a maximum of 8 members.
- Lokpal Quotas: Mandates 50% judicial members and 50% reservation for SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, and women.
- First Lokayukta: Maharashtra established it first in 1971.
- NIA Establishment: Constituted post the 2008 Mumbai (26/11) terror attacks.
- NDMA Leadership: The Prime Minister is the head of the National Disaster Management Authority.
- National Development Council: Formed in August 1952 via executive resolution; headed by the PM.
- State Information Commission: Capped at a maximum of 10 Information Commissioners, appointed by the Governor.
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