State Government: Chief Minister, Assembly and Council

Sucheta Kripalani became Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in October 1963, the first woman to head a State government, and served until 1967. Nandini Satpathy became Chief Minister of Odisha later, in 1972. Sarojini Naidu was a first in Uttar Pradesh too, but as Governor (1947), and J. Jayalalithaa first became Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu only in 1991.

Under Article 164(3), before a Minister enters upon his office, the Governor administers to him the oaths of office and of secrecy according to the forms set out in the Third Schedule. The Chief Minister takes the same oaths before the Governor. The Chief Justice of the High Court administers the oath only to the Governor (Article 159), and members of the Legislature swear before the Governor or a person appointed by him (Article 188).

The Chief Minister heads the Council that aids and advises the Governor (Article 163(1)), advises on the appointment of other Ministers (Article 164(1)) and communicates decisions and legislative proposals to the Governor (Article 167). The Advocate General, however, is appointed by the Governor under Article 165(1) and holds office during his pleasure. The Governor acts on the Council's advice in making the choice, but the constitutional appointing authority is the Governor, so appointing the Advocate General is not a function of the Chief Minister.

Statement 1 is correct: Article 194(4) extends the powers, privileges and immunities of members to every person who has the right to speak in and take part in the proceedings of a House or its committees, and Article 177 gives that right to the Advocate General. Statement 2 is incorrect: he is a law officer appointed by the Governor under Article 165 and holding office during his pleasure; he is not a Minister and not a member of the Council of Ministers. The Attorney General has the same position at the Union under Articles 88 and 105(4).

Three are correct. Article 165(1) requires the Advocate General to be a person qualified to be appointed a judge of a High Court. Article 165(3) says he holds office during the pleasure of the Governor and receives such remuneration as the Governor may determine. Statement 4 is wrong: Article 177 gives him the right to speak in and take part in the proceedings of either House and its committees, but expressly not to vote. The Constitution fixes no term and no removal procedure for him.

Three are appointed by the Governor. The Advocate General is appointed under Article 165(1). The State Election Commissioner is appointed under Article 243K(1). The Chairperson and members of the State Human Rights Commission are appointed by the Governor by warrant under his hand and seal under section 22 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, on the recommendation of a committee headed by the Chief Minister. The Chief Election Commissioner of India is appointed by the President under Article 324(2), now through the procedure of the 2023 Act on Election Commissioners.

Neither statement is correct. Article 164(1B) says a member of either House of a State Legislature who is disqualified under the Tenth Schedule shall also be disqualified from being appointed a Minister until his term would have expired or until he is re-elected, whichever is earlier; no recommendation by the Chief Minister can override it. The clause was inserted by the 91st Amendment Act, 2003, which also deleted the split exception from the Tenth Schedule. The 52nd Amendment Act, 1985 had created the Tenth Schedule itself.

Three. The proviso to Article 164(1), as amended by the 94th Amendment Act, 2006, requires a Minister in charge of tribal welfare, who may also be in charge of the welfare of Scheduled Castes and backward classes, in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. The original 1950 text named Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa; the amendment removed Bihar, since most of its Scheduled Tribe population went to Jharkhand in 2000, and added the two new States. So Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha qualify, but Bihar does not.

Items 1, 2 and 3 are the members (a). After the 2002 amendment, the North Eastern Council Act makes the Council of the Governors and Chief Ministers of the north-eastern States (item 1 and 2), plus three members nominated by the President (item 3). The amendment also brought Sikkim in, making eight States, and turned the NEC into a regional planning body. Item 4 is wrong: the Union Home Minister is not one of the members named in the Act, so options (b), (c) and (d) fail.

Notice the later change: in 2018, the Union Cabinet made the Home Minister the ex-officio Chairman and the DoNER minister Vice-Chairman, by executive decision. That is why the question says "according to the Act". The NEC is based in Shillong.

Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.

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Items 1, 3 and 4 are correct (b). The National Development Council (1952) was chaired by the Prime Minister (1) and included all Union Cabinet ministers (3), the Chief Ministers of all States (4), administrators of Union Territories, and members of the Planning Commission. Item 2 is wrong: the Finance Commission chairman was not a member. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.

Notice its fate: the NDC approved the Five-Year Plans, but after NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015, it has not met; NITI's Governing Council, with the PM, all Chief Ministers and UT Lt Governors, now does a similar job. The last NDC meeting was in 2012, approving the 12th Plan. Trap: the Finance Commission is a constitutional body but was outside the NDC.

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Neither statement is correct (d). Statement I is wrong: under the Fifth Schedule, the State's executive power still covers Scheduled Areas. No local body takes over total administration. What changes is that the Governor reports to the President, can modify laws for these areas, and a Tribes Advisory Council advises. Statement II is wrong: the Union can give the State directions on how to run these areas, but nothing lets it take over the administration. So options (a), (b) and (c) fail.

Notice the Sixth Schedule, for tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, which does create Autonomous District Councils with law-making powers. PESA, 1996 extends panchayats to Fifth Schedule areas with strong gram sabha powers.

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Statement I is wrong, Statement II is right (d). Under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, Statement II is right: the Centre decides which minerals count as "minor" (Section 3(e)). Statement I is wrong: the States make the rules for granting minor mineral concessions (Section 15), and they keep the royalty. So options (a), (b) and (c) fail.

Notice examples of minor minerals: sand, gravel, building stone, marble and brick earth. Illegal sand mining is a big problem that States must police. Major minerals, such as coal, iron ore and bauxite, are regulated mostly by the Centre. In 2024, the Supreme Court held that States can tax mineral-bearing land.

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All three statements are not correct (d). Statement I is wrong: Article 243B lets States with a population under 20 lakh skip the intermediate level, so it does not exist in all States. Statement II is wrong: the minimum age is 21, not 30 (Article 243F). Statement III is wrong: the State Finance Commission is set up by the Governor under Article 243I, not the Chief Minister, and it reviews all panchayats. So all three are not correct.

Notice the trap: the question asks which are not correct. Other 73rd Amendment (1992) features: a State Election Commission (Article 243K), one-third seats for women (many States give 50%), and the Eleventh Schedule with 29 subjects.

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Both statements are correct and II explains I (a). Statement I is right: prisons are Entry 4 of the State List, so each State runs them under its own jail manual and rules. Statement II is right: the colonial Prisons Act, 1894 still applies and treats prisons as a provincial matter. UPSC accepted that this old arrangement explains why States run prisons today.

Notice the reform push. In 2023, the Home Ministry issued a Model Prisons Act, to replace the 1894 Act, with ideas like open jails, video trials and help for rehabilitation. India's prisons are overcrowded, and most inmates are undertrials, people not yet convicted. The Supreme Court has repeatedly urged bail for poor undertrials and the end of caste-based work in jails (2024).

Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.

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