Daily Prelims MCQs – Polity – 19th June 2025
- TPP
- Jun 19
- 7 min read
Updated: Jun 20
Welcome to today’s handpicked set of Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) from the Polity section — crafted specially for the UPSC Prelims! These questions aren’t just a quiz — they’re a smart way to see how current affairs connect with core concepts, just like UPSC asks in the exam.
Each question is based on recent news and backed by clear explanations to help you build strong links between dynamic events and static knowledge.
Today’s topics include: Lok Sabha, Justice Hema Committee, affirmative action, Kaka Kalelkar Commission, Eighth Schedule, International Mother Tongue Day, rights of minorities, joint session of Parliament, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA), Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), 1974, and more…
Use this as your daily revision boost to sharpen your understanding, stay exam-ready, and master how UPSC turns news into questions.
Click Here to read the Current Affairs Pointers (CAP) for January 2025- April 2025.
QUESTION 1
Which of the following part/s of the Constitution of India offer scope for introducing affirmative action?
Part III (Article 15 and 16)
Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy)
Part IV-A (Fundamental Duties)
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer (a)
Explanation:
Part III (Article 15 and 16) and Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) of the Constitution offer scope for introducing affirmative action.
Affirmative action is a policy that seeks to increase employment and educational possibilities for people who are under-represented in numerous aspects of our society. It is a series of policies designed to build a justified society for individuals who have previously faced discrimination by giving them priority access to education, employment, healthcare, social welfare, and other services.
QUESTION 2
Consider the following statements:
Statement 1: In 1953, the government set up the First Backward Classes Commission under the chairmanship of Kaka Kalelkar.
Statement 2: It was formed to identify the “socially and educationally backward” communities.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
(a) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 are correct and Statement 2 is the correct explanation for Statement 1.
(b) Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 are correct and Statement 2 is not the correct explanation for Statement 1.
(c) Statement 1 is correct but Statement 2 is incorrect.
(d) Statement 1 is incorrect but Statement 2 is correct.
Answer (a)
Explanation:
While the Constitution ensured reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST), the identification of backward classes was a post-Constituent Assembly phenomenon.
Responding to requests for quota for Other Backward Classes (OBCs), the Congress administration established the First Backward Classes Commission in 1953, chaired by Kaka Kalelkar, to identify “socially and educationally backward” communities. Hence, statements 1 and 2 are correct.
The committee classified 2,399 castes as “socially and educationally backward” based on their social status in the caste hierarchy, educational advancement, and representation in government services, trade, commerce, and industry. Because the panel believed caste to be the sole basis for determining backwardness, rather than economic position, the then-Congress government rejected the findings and allowed the states complete authority to determine the backward classes in their respective regions.
Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 are correct and Statement 2 is the correct explanation for Statement 1.
QUESTION 3
Initially, the Eighth Schedule listed 14 languages. Which of the following languages were not among the 14 languages?
English
Sindhi
Marathi
Punjabi
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 and 4 only
(d) 2 and 4 only
Answer (a)
Explanation:
Every year, February 21 is observed as International Mother Tongue Day, a day with special significance in India, where hundreds of mother tongues are spoken across the subcontinent.
Initially, the Eighth Schedule listed 14 languages: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya (renamed Odiya in 2011), Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
English is not one of the 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule, however Sindhi was added to the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution by the 21st Amendment Act of 1967.
QUESTION 4
The Justice Hema Committee was formed:
(a) to draft a National Policy on Criminal Justice aimed at comprehensive reforms in the criminal justice system.
(b) to examine the structure and functioning of police forces in India and recommend reforms to make them more accountable and professional.
(c) to investigate sexual harassment and gender inequality in the industry.
(d) to suggest reforms in the criminal justice system to make it more efficient and people-friendly.
Answer (c)
Explanation:
The Kerala police withdrew 35 sexual assault complaints filed after the Kerala government announced the Justice Hema Committee report on August 19, 2024.
In July 2017, the Kerala government established the Justice Hema Committee to look into sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the industry. This was the first such committee established by any state in the country.
The report discovered a culture of sexual harassment in the Malayalam cinema industry. The Committee reported the existence of a casting couch (in which powerful men demand sexual favours from women in exchange for film roles), frequent suggestive and vulgar comments made by men at work, and drunk male co-actors forcing themselves into women’s rooms, among other things.
The Committee also discovered that numerous women did not report cases of sexual assault for fear of retaliation.
QUESTION 5
With reference to the rights of minorities, consider the following statements:
Article 30 of the Constitution of India provides for the rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions.
Only religion-based minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
The State can discriminate against any educational institution in awarding funding because it is managed by a minority, regardless of religion or language.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) None
Answer (a)
Explanation:
Article 30 of the Constitution of India provides for the rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
All minorities, regardless of religion or language, have the right to create and run educational institutions of their choosing. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.
When enacting any law providing for the compulsory acquisition of any property of an educational institution established and administered by a minority, the State must ensure that the amount fixed by or determined under such law for the acquisition of such property does not restrict or abrogate the right guaranteed.
The State shall not discriminate against any educational institution in awarding funding because it is managed by a minority, regardless of religion or language. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
QUESTION 6
Why is the Lok Sabha called the popular chamber?
(a) A joint session of Parliament is chaired by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
(b) The strength of Lok Sabha is and will always be greater than that of Rajya Sabha
(c) It is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of adult suffrage.
(d) The Lok Sabha has greater authority in financial matters than the Rajya Sabha.
Answer (c)
Explanation:
According to FAQs at sansad.in
“The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of adult suffrage. That is why it is called the popular chamber.”
QUESTION 7
Consider the following key Acts:
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)
The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA)
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA)
The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), 1974
Which of the above acts is the Enforcement Directorate empowered to enforce:
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Answer (d)
Explanation:
Mandate to enforce laws
While the ED has a broad mandate to investigate offences related to money laundering and foreign exchange violations, it’s empowered to enforce the following key laws:
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA): The ED traces assets from money laundering activities and is responsible for ensuring the prosecution of offenders and confiscation (permanent seizure of ownership, usually after conviction) of such assets.
The Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA): The law enforcement agency is also responsible for imposing penalties on offenders of FEMA and in the cases pertaining to violations committed prior to the repeal of the FERA of 1973, which FEMA replaced, thus being responsible for the handling of legacy FERA cases.
The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (FEOA): The ED is mandated to attach (temporarily seizing of property without assuming ownership to prevent sale, usually during trial phase) and confiscate properties of economic offenders evading Indian law by fleeing abroad.
The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), 1974: The Directorate is the sponsor of cases under the law and can initiate preventive detention proceedings on FEMA violations based on COFEPOSA.
QUESTION 8
With reference to the office of Deputy Speaker, consider the following statements:
Like the Speaker, the Constitution states that the Deputy Speaker must be appointed in the first sitting of the newly elected Member of Parliaments of the House of People.
The Deputy Speaker has the same general powers as the Speaker when presiding over the House.
There was no Deputy Speaker for the entire duration of the 16th, 17th and 18th Lok Sabha.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer (b)
Explanation:
There was no Deputy Speaker for the entire duration of the 17th Lok Sabha (2019-24). M Thambi Durai of the AIADMK, a BJP ally at the time, was Deputy Speaker of the 16th Lok Sabha (2014-19). The Opposition had the post of Deputy Speaker continuously from 1990 through 2014. Hence, statement 3 is not correct.
According to Article 95(1), the Deputy Speaker performs the duties of the Speaker if the post is vacant. The Deputy Speaker has the same general powers as the Speaker when presiding over the House. All references to the “Speaker” in the Rules are deemed to be references to the Deputy Speaker as well for the times when he or she presides. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
Both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker must be appointed “as soon as may be”. Article 93 states that “The House of the People shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the House to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker”. Hence, statement 1 is not correct.
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