Council of Ministers MCQ - Practice Questions with Answers

The Prime Minister set 2047, the centenary of Indian Independence, as the target year for India to become a fully developed nation under the Viksit Bharat vision. He directed every ministry to publish a sectoral 25-year roadmap aligned with the Viksit Bharat 2047 milestones.

The Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003 inserted limits on the size of the Council of Ministers. For states, Article 164 provides that the total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, shall not exceed 15% of the members of the Legislative Assembly, with a minimum of twelve ministers. The 95th Amendment dealt with reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Anglo-Indian nomination extension. The 75th Amendment concerned rent tribunals. The 89th Amendment separated the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes from the Scheduled Castes commission.

Statements 1 and 3 are correct. Statement 2 is incorrect because the resignation was accepted under settled constitutional convention without a floor test; a floor test is required only when there is doubt about majority. The Governor invites the leader of the legislature party of the ruling Congress to form the new ministry.

A person who is not a member of the state legislature may be appointed as a Minister, but must become a member within six months; otherwise the person ceases to be a Minister. This rule follows the constitutional scheme for state ministers. Three months and four months are shorter than the permitted constitutional window, so they do not match the rule. Twelve months is too long because the non-member cannot continue for a full year without securing membership. Hence the correct duration is six months.

Under Article 75 of the Constitution, the Union Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. This means the ministry must retain the confidence of the directly elected House, and loss of that confidence affects the whole Council. The President appoints the Prime Minister and ministers, but collective responsibility is not owed to the President. The Prime Minister leads the Council, yet the constitutional accountability is to the House of the People. The Rajya Sabha participates in parliamentary control, but it is not the chamber to which the Union Council is collectively responsible.