RAS question
Article 356 of the Indian Constitution deals with:
Correct answer: (D) President's Rule in States.
Article 356 of the Constitution of India deals with President's Rule in States when the constitutional machinery of a State has failed.
Explanation
Article 356 identifies the situation as a failure of constitutional machinery in States. It applies when the President, on a Governor's report or otherwise, is satisfied that the Government of the State cannot be carried on according to the Constitution. In that situation, the President may issue a Proclamation, which is why the MCQ answer is President's Rule in States. The key limiter is "State": the provision is not about war-based National Emergency, Financial Emergency, or Union Territories. It tests the emergency provisions by matching the article number to the constitutional condition it covers, not just to the general word "emergency."
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A National Emergency due to war or external aggression belongs to Article 352, while Article 356 is confined to failure of constitutional machinery in a State.
- (B) Financial Emergency belongs to Article 360, whereas Article 356 concerns a State government that cannot be carried on according to the Constitution.
- (C) Article 356 expressly refers to States and a Governor's report; this option shifts the setting to Union Territories, which are governed under different provisions.
Concept
This tests emergency provisions in Indian Constitution and Governance, especially the distinction between National, State and Financial Emergency. It recurs in RAS because article-number mapping decides many constitutional governance questions.