FEDERALISM
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Which form of power sharing is most commonly referred to as
federalism?
(a) Horizontal division of power
(b) Vertical division of power
(c) Division of power among various communities
(d) Sharing of power among political parties
2. Choose the incorrect statement.
(a) Usually a federation has two levels of governments
(b) Both the levels of governments enjoy theirs powers independent of one
another
(c) In a federal system, a state government has powers of its own
(d) In a federal system, the state government is answerable to the Central
government
3. Which are the basic objectives of a federal system?
(a) To safeguard and promote unity of the country
(b) To accommodate regional diversity
(c) To share powers among different communities
(d) Both (a) and (b)
4. There are two kinds of routes through which federations have been
formed. Which are they?
(a) One route involves independent states coming together on their own to form a
bigger unit
(b) Second route is where a large country decides to divide its powers between
the states and the national government
(c) Both the above (d) None of the above
5. Choose the incorrect statement.
(a) Belgium shifted from a unitary to a federal form in 1993
(b) Belgium shifted from a federal form to a unitary form of government in 1993
(c) Sri Lanka countinues to be a unitary system
(d) Tamil leaders want Sri Lanka to become a federal system
6. Which of the following is incorrect regarding a unitary government?
(a) There is either only one level of government or the sub-units are
subordinate to the Central government
(b) The Central government can pass on orders to the Provincial government
(c) A State government is answerable to Central government
(d) The powers of State governments are guaranteed by the Constitution
7. Which of the following is not one of the key features of federalism?
(a) There are two or more levels of governments
(b) Each tier has its own jurisdiction in specific matters of legislation,
taxation and administration
(c) The existence and authority of each tier of government is constitutionally
guaranteed
(d) The Constitution can be unilaterally changed by any one level of government
8. What is true regarding sources of revenue in a federal system?
(a) States have no financial powers or independent sources of revenue.
(b) States are dependent for revenue or funds on the Central government.
(c) Sources of revenue for each level of government are clearly specified to
ensure its financial autonomy.
(d) States have no financial autonomy.
9. When was the report of the States Reorganisation Commission
implemented?
(a) 1956 (b) 1958
(c) 1960 (d) 1965
10. What is the third tier of government known as?
(a) Village Panchayats
(b) State government
(c) Local self-government
(d) Zila Parishad
11. Local self-government helps in :
(a) Local people’s participation in decisionmaking.
(b) Taking decisions on foreign affairs.
(c) Forming coalition government at the Central level.
(d) None of the above.
12. The Constitution of India originally provided for :
(a) a two-tier system of government.
(b) a three-tier system of government.
(b) a single-tier system of government.
(d) a four-tier system of government.
13. Which level of government in India has the power to legislate on the
‘residuary’ subjects?
(a) Union government
(b) State governments
(c) Local self-government
(d) Both (a) and (b)
14. Which of the following aspects is not applicable to ‘coming
together’ federations?
(a) Independent states come together voluntarily to form a bigger unit.
(b) All the constituent states have equal powers.
(c) Constituent states are strong vis-a-vis the national government.
(d) Constituent states are weak vis-a-vis the federal government.
15. How many of the world’s 192 countries have federal political
systems?
(a) Only 50 (b) Only 25
(c) Only 60 (d) Only 100
16. Which of the following subjects is not included in the Union list?
(a) Defence (b) Foreign affairs
(c) Police (d) Banking
17. Who makes laws on the subjects contained in the Concurrent list?
(a) Union government
(b) State governments
(c) Both Union and State governments
(d) None of these
18. What is not true regarding a Union Territory?
(a) These areas are too small to become an independent state.
(b) These territories do not have the powers of a state.
(c) These territories have Legislative Assemblies.
(d) The Central government has special powers in running these areas.
19. Which is not true regarding changes in power-sharing arrangement
between the centre and the states?
(a) The Parliament cannot on its own change this arrangement.
(b) Any change to it has to be first passed by both the Houses with at least
two-thirds majority.
(c) Then, it has to be ratified by the legislatures of at least half of the
total states.
(d) The Parliament alone has the power to amend the provisions regarding
powersharing.
20. Which language was recognised as the national language by the
Constitution of India?
(a) Hindi (b) English
(c) Tamil (d) None of these
21. In which Schedule of the Indian Constitution are the 22 scheduled
languages included?
(a) Tenth schedule (b) Eighth schedule
(c) Twelfth schedule (d) Ninth schedule
22. Which period saw the rise of regional political parties in many
states of the country?
(a) Period after 1990
(b) Period after 2000
(c) Period after 1980
(d) Period after
1970
23. Match the following columns.
(A) (B)
1. Union of India (a) Sarpanch
2. State Government (b) Prime Minister
3. Municipal Corporation (c) Governor
4. Gram Panchayat parties (d) Mayor
(a) 1 – d, 2 – b, 3 – a, 4 – c (b) 1 – a, 2 – b, 3 – b, 4 – c
(c) 1 – b, 2 – c, 3 – d, 4 – a (d) 1 – c, 2 – a, 3 – d, 4 – b
24. Which body conducts the elections to panchayats and municipalities?
(a) Election Commission
(b) State Election Commission
(c) State High Court
(d) Parliament
25. Rural local government is popularly known as :
(a) Zila Parishad (b) Panchayat Samiti
(c) Panchayati Raj (d) None of the above
26. Which of these is incorrect, based on the Consitutional Amendment,
1992?
(a) One-fourth of positions are reserved for women.
(b) Regular elections should be held to the local government bodies.
(c) Seats are reserved for SCs, STs and OBCs.
(d) State Election Commission look also they electing.
27. Who administers the whole district?
(a) Sarpanch
(b) Mayor
(c) District Magistrate or Collector
(d) Sessions Judge
QUESTIONS
FROM CBSE EXAMINATION PAPERS
1. The system of panchayat Raj involves :
(a) Village, block and district levels
(b) Village and state levels
(c) Vilalge, district and state levels
(d) Village, state and union levels
2. Which one is not the part of 3 tier system of Panchayat Raj?
(a) Muncipalities
(b) Village Panchayat
(c) Block Samiti
(d) Zila Parishad
3. Which one of the following countries is good examples of ‘holding
together federations’?
(a) USA (b) Switzerland
(c) Australia (d) India
4. Which one of the following lists includes subject of common interest
to both the union government and the state government?
(a) Union list (b) Concurrent list
(c) State list (d) None of these
5. Which among the following states in India has a special status?
(a) Punjab (b) Jharkhand
(c) Jammu and Kashmir
(d) Himachal Pradesh
6. When power is taken away from Central and State governments and given
to local government, it is called :
(a) Distribution (b) Centralisation
(c) Reorganisation (d) Decentralisation
7. Which of the following was not a provision of the Act of 1956 passed
in Sri Lanka?
(a) Sinhala was recognised as the only official language
(b) Buddhism was to be protected by the state
(c) Provinces were given autonomy
(d) Sinhalas were favoured in government jobs
8. Which of the following country is not an example of ‘holding
together’ federations?
(a) USA (b) Spain
(c) India (d) Belgium
9. Both the Union and the State government can make laws on the subjects
mentioned in the :
(a) Union list (b) State list
(c) Concurrent list
(d) None of the above
10. Which of the following countries is an example of ‘coming together’
federation?
(a) India (b) Pakistan
(c) USA (d) Sri Lanka
11. Which of the following is not a subject of the Union List?
(a) Foreign affairs (b) Currency
(c) Banking (d) Law and order
12. Choose the correct statement regarding language policy of the Indian
Government.
(a) English is our national language
(b) Citizens are free to choose any language as national language
(c) Hindi is our national language
(d) Constitution of India did not declare any language as national language
13. As per language policy of Indian Government, which one of the
following statements is true regarding the status of Hindi language?
(a) Only Hindi is our National language
(b) Hindi is the official language
(c) Hindi has been accepted as the mother tongue of all the Indians
(d) None of the above
14. Which one of the following countries has the federal form of
government?
(a) Egypt (b) Sri Lanka
(c) Australia (d) England
15. Which of the following countries has coming Together Federation.
(a) The U.S.A (b) India (c) Spain (d) Belgium
16. Who among the following is called head of the state at the state
level?
(a) Chief Minister
(b) Speaker of Vidhan Sabha
(c) Governor
(d) Mayor
17. Who among the following is the head of a Municipal Corporation?
(a) Home Minister (b) Sarpanch
(c) Governor (d) Mayor
18. Which one of the following subjects is included in the state list?
(a) Agriculture (b) Foreign affairs
(c) Banking (d) Currency
19. Which one of the following subjects is included in the concurrent
list?
(a) Banking (b) Trade
(c) Police (d) Education
20. Which one of the following countries has not adopted the holding
together federation?
(a) India (b) Spain
(c) Belgium (d) Japan
21. Which one of the following is not a feature of federalism?
(a) Two or more levels of Govt.
(b) Different tiers of government govern the same citizens
(c) Courts have the power to interpret the constitution
(d) The centre government can order the state govt.
22. How many other lanugages are recognised as Scheduled Languages by
the constitution, besides Hindi?
(a) 20 (b) 21 (c) 18 (d) 19
23. Which one of the following countries is an example of holding
together federation?
(a) India (b) U.S.A
(c) Australia (d)
Switzerland
QUESTIONS
FROM CBSE EXAMINATION PAPERS
1.
What is the popular name of rural local
government?
2.
Name the agency which works for our safety at
district level.
SHORT
ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1.
Give three reasons for decentralisation of power.
2.
List the main features of the 73rd Amendment Act.
3.
Seats are reserved for women in the local
self-government. Seeing the position of women in India as well as the corruption
in politics, how far do you think this reservation will help?
4.
What is the dual objective of the federal system?
What is required to fulfil them?
5.
What is the role of judiciary in implementing
federalism?
6.
What are the steps taken by our Constitution to
safeguard the different languages?
7.
Why was third-tier of the government created?
8.
Write a note on the local government bodies in
urban areas.
9.
How can you say that the new system of local
government is the largest experiment in democracy conducted anywhere in the
world?
QUESTIONS FROM CBSE EXAMINATION PAPERS
1.
Why is it very difficult to make changes in the
power-sharing arrangement between the Union
Government and State Governments? Explain
with examples.
[2008]
2.
Explain the threefold distribution of legislative
power between the Union government and the
State governments.
LONG
ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
1.
Mention three policies that have strengthened
federalismis India.
2.
Describe any four measures taken to decentralize
power in India.
3.
In which way does the language policy in India
help our country avoid the situation that Sri Lanka is in today?
4.
How can you say that different tiers of government
in India enjoy separate jurisdiction?
QUESTIONS
FROM CBSE EXAMINATION PAPERS
1.
Describe any four features of federalism.
2.
What makes India a federation?
3.
Explain any four features of the third tier of the
government.
4.
Why does the exact balance of power between the
Centre and the State governments vary from one federation to another ? Explain
with two examples.
5.
Explain two achievements and two difficulties of
Local Self-Government in India.
6.
Discuss two kinds of routes through which
federations have been formed?
7.
Critically examine the concept of decentralization
in India.
8.
Explain any four advantages of decentralization?
9.
Describe any four features of the federalism.
10.
Give two arguments in favor of decentralization of
powers to local governments. Give two provisions under the amendment of 1992
which empowers local government in India.
11.
What are the differences between a federal form of
government and a unitary one? Explain.
12.
How has the third tier of government in our
country been made more effective and powerful by the constitutional amendment of
1992?
13.
What is decentralization? Examine the significance
of Decentralization.
14.
How has federal power sharing in India become more
effective than in early years after the constitution cam into force? Explain?
15.
Describe any four constitutional steps taken in
1992 towards decentralization in India.
16.
State any two achievements and any two problems of
the Panchayati Raj system in India.
17.
What is meant by decentralization of power?
Explain the importance of Local Self Government in the light of
decentralization.
18.
Describe the three fold distribution of
legislative powers between the Union government and the State governments. Who
can make laws on the subjects which are not covered under these lists and what
name has been given to such subjects?
19.
The exact balance of power between the central and
the state government. Varies from one federation to another. Explain with the
help of two suitable examples.
20.
‘Federal power sharing is more effective today
than it was in the early years after the constitution come in to force. Justify
the statement by analyzing the situation before and now.
21.
What is decentralization? In what three ways does
it help, the successful functioning of democracy?
22.
Describe in brief the language policy of India?
23.
Write any four characteristics of language policy
of India.
24.
Distinguish between ‘coming together’ and ‘holding
together’ type of federations.