RAS question
Article 48A of the DPSP, which deals with protection and improvement of the environment, was added by which amendment?
Correct answer: (B) 42nd Amendment, 1976.
Article 48A, which directs the State to protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife, was inserted by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976.
Explanation
Article 48A is part of the Directive Principles of State Policy and places an environmental obligation on the State: it must endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard the country's forests and wildlife. The official Legislative Department text of the Constitution prints Article 48A with a footnote stating that it was inserted by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976, section 10. This makes the 42nd Amendment the precise answer, not just because it is a major amendment, but because the Constitution's own amendment note attaches it directly to Article 48A. The same environmental idea is mirrored for citizens in Article 51A(g), which asks them to protect and improve the natural environment.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The 86th Amendment is linked in the official text with changes such as Article 45 and Article 51A(k), while Article 48A's own footnote names the 42nd Amendment.
- (C) The 73rd Amendment is shown in the official text as adding the Eleventh Schedule, while Article 48A's insertion note points to the 42nd Amendment.
- (D) The 44th Amendment appears in the official text as altering other constitutional provisions, whereas the insertion note under Article 48A specifically cites the 42nd Amendment.
Concept
This tests the DPSP cluster and the constitutional treatment of environmental protection. RAS repeatedly asks article-amendment links because they connect static polity facts with governance themes such as forests, wildlife and citizen duties.