Under Article 16, equality of opportunity in public employment is guaranteed to:

Explanation

Article 16(1) fixes the beneficiary of equality of opportunity in public employment as all citizens. The official constitutional text says there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State. That wording is narrower than Article 14, which applies to all persons. In public employment, the protected class is citizens, and citizenship is the threshold. Therefore, a resident, taxpayer, or any person who is not a citizen does not fall within the guarantee framed in Article 16(1).

Why the other options are wrong

• (A) Taxpayer status is not the constitutional test in Article 16(1); the guarantee is framed for all citizens, not for all who pay tax.
• (B) Residence alone is too broad because Article 16(1) uses citizenship, not residence, as the class entitled to equality of opportunity in public employment.
• (D) All persons is the broader Article 14 formulation, whereas Article 16(1) is restricted to citizens.

Concept

This tests the Fundamental Rights distinction between general equality and equality in public employment. It recurs in RAS because Articles 14 and 16 look similar but protect differently defined classes.

Source

• The Constitution of India, Legislative Department

Related questions

• A bill to amend the Constitution can be introduced:
• A bill under Article 3 for the formation of a new State requires:
• A CAG audit of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) revealed that what percentage of beneficiaries had blank, zero, Null or N/A bank-account details?
• A Financial Emergency under Article 360 must be approved by Parliament within:
• A joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament can be summoned under which Article?
• A joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament under Article 108 can be called to resolve a deadlock on: