Indian Polity

Article 243P defines key terms for Part IX-A dealing with municipalities; the constitutional framework for municipalities is mainly contained in Part IX-A, Articles 243P–243ZG.

Article 110 defines a Money Bill. It specifies matters such as taxation, government borrowing and appropriation of funds from the Consolidated Fund of India.

The words “Socialist”, “Secular” and “Integrity” were inserted into the Preamble by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976.

The Election Commission of India conducts elections to Parliament, the Presidency, Vice-Presidency and state legislatures, but Panchayat and Municipal elections are conducted by State Election Commissions under Article 243K and Article 243ZA.

Article 343 provides that the official language of the Union is Hindi in Devanagari script, with English continuing for specified official purposes under law.

The Uniform Civil Code is mentioned in Article 44, under the Directive Principles of State Policy.

PIL stands for Public Interest Litigation, a mechanism through which courts can hear matters affecting public or collective interests.

The Government of India Act, 1935 provided for provincial autonomy and is associated with the constitutional status of Assam as a separate province.

The expression “equality before law” in Article 14 reflects the British constitutional tradition, while “equal protection of laws” is associated with the US Constitution.

A federal government is based on an agreement/constitutional division of powers between the Centre and States. India’s federal structure is laid out through the Constitution and the Seventh Schedule.

Article 75 deals with the appointment and other constitutional provisions relating to the Prime Minister and Union ministers.

Article 56 specifies the term of office of the President as five years, subject to the constitutional provisions on resignation, removal and continuation until a successor enters office.

The Regulating Act, 1773 made the Governor of Bengal the Governor-General of Bengal; the later Charter Act of 1833 made the office Governor-General of India.

The Governor appoints the State Election Commissioner under Article 243K. The SEC supervises Panchayat elections in the state.

The source key identifies Chhattisgarh as the first state to introduce NOTA. India introduced NOTA nationally through the 2013 Supreme Court judgment in PUCL v. Union of India.

Sukumar Sen was India’s first Chief Election Commissioner. He served from 1950 to 1958 and supervised the first general elections of 1951–52.

The writ of Mandamus literally means “We command.” It directs a public authority to perform a legal duty.

The President of India appoints the Attorney General under Article 76. The Attorney General is the Union’s highest law officer.

The Adjournment Motion is a Lok Sabha device for raising a definite matter of urgent public importance and is not available in the Rajya Sabha in the same form.

A Financial Emergency under Article 360 has never been proclaimed in India. National Emergency and President’s Rule have been used.