UPSC Prelims 2021 Polity questions: topic-wise weightage
UPSC Prelims 2021 asked 19 polity questions in GS Paper I, spread over 6 topics. See the polity weightage for 2021 below, then attempt each question with the official answer and an explanation.
Polity 2021: questions by topic
- Making of the Constitution, Preamble, features and schedules6
- Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties4
- Union and state executive1
- Judiciary1
- Federalism, emergency provisions, local government2
- Constitutional and statutory bodies, elections, amendments, rights and governance5
Counted from the 19 questions on this page, tagged by topic in the Battle IAS PYQ bank.
Seeing 19 Polity questions spread over 6 topics can feel overwhelming. That's exactly why the Battle IAS PYQ Book maps every question topic by topic, so you know what to study first. Download free sample
Making of the Constitution, Preamble, features and schedules 6
We adopted parliamentary democracy based on the British model, but how does our model differ from that model?
- 1. As regards legislation, the British Parliament is supreme or sovereign but in India, the power of the Parliament to legislate is limited.
- 2. In India, matters related to the constitutionality of the Amendment of an Act of the Parliament are referred to the Constitution Bench by the Supreme Court.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Both statements are correct (c). Statement 1 is right: Britain has no single written constitution that limits Parliament, so its Parliament is sovereign and can pass any law. India's Parliament works within a written Constitution, limited by Fundamental Rights, the federal division of powers and judicial review. Even its power to amend is limited by the basic structure doctrine (Kesavananda Bharati, 1973). Statement 2 is right: under Article 145(3), a substantial question on interpreting the Constitution goes to a bench of at least five judges, the Constitution Bench.
Notice that India's model blends British parliamentary sovereignty with American judicial supremacy. Other British features India kept: cabinet government, the speaker, and a nominal head of state.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following best defines the term 'State'?
Answer (a) & explanation
Option (a) best defines the State (a). Political science names four elements of a State: population, territory, government and sovereignty. Option (a) has all four: a community of persons (population), a definite territory, independence from external control (sovereignty) and an organised government. Option (b) leaves out sovereignty and adds aims such as protecting natural rights. Option (c) describes a nation or community with shared culture, and also misses sovereignty. Option (d) adds features, such as an independent judiciary, that a State need not have.
Notice the difference between State and nation: a nation is a people with a shared identity; a State is a political body. Under Article 12, "State" in India also covers bodies like Parliament and local authorities.
(b) is long and sounds complete, but it never mentions independence from outside control.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to India, consider the following statements :
- 1. There is only one citizenship and one domicile.
- 2. A citizen by birth only can become the Head of State.
- 3. A foreigner once granted the citizenship cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only statement 1 is correct (a). Statement 1 is right: India has single citizenship, and the Supreme Court (in Pradeep Jain, 1984) has said there is only one domicile, that of India, not of each State. Statement 2 is wrong: Article 58 needs the President to be a citizen, not a citizen by birth; naturalised citizens are eligible too, unlike in the US. Statement 3 is wrong: under Section 10 of the Citizenship Act, 1955, a naturalised or registered citizen can be deprived of citizenship, for example for fraud or disloyalty.
Notice the ways to gain citizenship: birth, descent, registration, naturalisation and incorporation of territory. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, with rules notified in 2024, eased naturalisation for some groups.
statement 2 borrows the US rule (natural-born citizen) and applies it to India.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following factors constitutes the best safeguard of liberty in a liberal democracy?
Answer (d) & explanation
Separation of powers is the best safeguard of liberty (d). Liberty is safest when no single organ holds all power, so each can check the others. That is Montesquieu's case for the separation of powers in The Spirit of the Laws (1748). Option (a) is a trap: a "committed" judiciary, meaning one committed to the government of the day, as debated in India in the 1970s, is a danger to liberty. Option (b) is wrong: centralising power threatens liberty. Option (c) is wrong: an elected government can still become oppressive, the "tyranny of the majority".
Notice that India has a functional separation of powers rather than a strict one; it is part of the basic structure. The US Constitution follows it most strictly, with checks and balances.
(a) sounds good, but "committed judiciary" was a 1970s phrase for a judiciary loyal to the government.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What was the exact constitutional status of India on 26th January, 1950?
Answer (b) & explanation
India was a Sovereign Democratic Republic (b). On 26 January 1950, the Preamble described India as a "Sovereign Democratic Republic". The words "Socialist" and "Secular" were added by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, during the Emergency, along with "integrity". So option (c) and option (d) describe India only after 1976. Option (a) is wrong because it leaves out "Sovereign", which was there from the start.
Notice that the Preamble is based on Nehru's Objectives Resolution (13 December 1946). The Supreme Court held it is part of the Constitution in Kesavananda Bharati (1973), after saying otherwise in the Berubari case (1960). In 2024, the Court upheld the 1976 additions.
(d) is today's text. The question asks about 1950.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Constitutional government means
Answer (d) & explanation
Constitutional government means a government limited by the Constitution (d). A constitutional government is a limited government: its powers are bound by a higher law that it cannot override at will, with rights for citizens and checks such as judicial review. It may be federal or unitary, and parliamentary or presidential. Option (a) is wrong: a federal structure is not required. Options (b) and (c) are wrong: whether the head has nominal or real powers decides parliamentary versus presidential, not whether the government is constitutional.
Notice the idea of constitutionalism: the limits on power, not just the existence of a written text. A dictatorship may have a written constitution and still not be a constitutional government. Britain has constitutionalism without a single written constitution.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties 4
'Right to Privacy' is protected under which Article of the Constitution of India?
Answer (c) & explanation
Privacy is protected under Article 21 (c). A nine-judge bench in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) held that privacy is a fundamental right, part of life and personal liberty under Article 21, and of the freedoms in Part III as a whole. The bench overruled M.P. Sharma (1954) and Kharak Singh (1962) on this point. Article 15 (a) bars discrimination. Article 19 (b) protects six freedoms, such as speech. Article 29 (d) protects the culture of minorities.
Notice the follow-ups: the Aadhaar judgment (2018), which upheld Aadhaar with limits, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, whose rules were notified in 2025. Privacy, like other rights, can be limited by a fair law.
Article 19 looks right because privacy feels like a "freedom". The Court rooted it mainly in Article 21.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
A legislation which confers on the executive or administrative authority an unguided and uncontrolled discretionary power in the matter of application of law violates which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India?
Answer (a) & explanation
Unguided discretion violates Article 14 (a). Article 14 guarantees equality before law and equal protection of the laws. Since E.P. Royappa (1974), the Supreme Court has treated arbitrariness as the opposite of equality. A law that hands officials unguided and uncontrolled discretion lets them treat equals unequally, so it fails Article 14. Article 28 (b) deals with religious instruction in schools. Article 32 (c) is the right to move the Supreme Court for remedies. Article 44 (d) is the Directive on a Uniform Civil Code.
Notice Maneka Gandhi (1978), which linked Articles 14, 19 and 21 (the golden triangle). The Shayara Bano case (2017) used manifest arbitrariness to strike down triple talaq.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Under the Indian Constitution, concentration of wealth violates
Answer (b) & explanation
Concentration of wealth violates the Directive Principles (b). Article 39(c) directs the State to ensure that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment. It is a Directive Principle of State Policy. Option (a) is wrong: the Right to Equality (Articles 14–18) deals with legal equality and discrimination. Option (c) is wrong: the Right to Freedom (Articles 19–22) covers speech, movement and life. Option (d) is wrong: the "concept of welfare" is a broad idea, not a constitutional provision.
Notice that the 25th Amendment (1971) added Article 31C to protect laws giving effect to Article 39(b) and (c). Directive Principles are not enforceable in court (Article 37).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is the position of the Right to Property in India?
Answer (b) & explanation
Property is a legal right available to any person (b). The 44th Amendment (1978) removed the right to property from Part III, the Fundamental Rights. It is now a constitutional (legal) right under Article 300A: "No person shall be deprived of his property save by authority of law." The word "person" covers non-citizens and companies too, not just citizens. So option (a) is wrong for limiting it to citizens. Options (c) and (d) are wrong: it is no longer a Fundamental Right, but it is still a legal right.
Notice that the right was once in Articles 19(1)(f) and 31. Because it is not a Fundamental Right, a person must go to a High Court under Article 226, not straight to the Supreme Court under Article 32.
"citizens only". Article 300A says "person".
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Union and state executive 1
With reference to the Union Government, consider the following statements :
- 1. N. Gopalaswamy Iyengar Committee suggested that a minister and a secretary be designated solely for pursuing the subject of administrative reform and promoting it.
- 2. In 1970, the Department of Personnel was constituted on the recommendation of the Administrative Reforms Commission, 1966, and this was placed under the Prime Minister's charge.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong per the key: the N. Gopalaswamy Ayyangar report (1949) dealt with reorganising the machinery of government, mainly the grouping of ministries, and did not propose a minister and secretary solely for administrative reform. Statement 2 is right: the First Administrative Reforms Commission (1966), first chaired by Morarji Desai and later by K. Hanumanthaiya, led to the Department of Personnel in 1970, placed under the Prime Minister.
Notice that the Department of Personnel is now part of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, still under the PM. The Second ARC (2005), chaired first by Veerappa Moily, gave 15 reports.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Judiciary 1
With reference to Indian judiciary, consider the following statements :
- 1. Any retired judge of the Supreme Court of India can be called back to sit and act as a Supreme Court judge by the Chief Justice of India with prior permission of the President of India.
- 2. A High Court in India has the power to review its own judgement as the Supreme Court does.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only statement 1 is correct (a). Statement 1 is right: Article 128 lets the Chief Justice of India, with the President's previous consent, request a retired Supreme Court judge to sit and act as a judge again. Statement 2 turns on the words "as the Supreme Court does". Article 137 gives the Supreme Court an express power to review its own judgments. The Constitution has no matching article for High Courts, which draw review power from the Code of Civil Procedure and their status as courts of record. So UPSC treated statement 2 as wrong.
Notice the matching rule for High Courts: Article 224A lets a Chief Justice ask a retired High Court judge to sit again. The Supreme Court revived this to clear pending cases in 2021.
read statement 2 as a question about the text of the Constitution. Article 137 has no High Court twin.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Federalism, emergency provisions, local government 2
With reference to India, consider the following statements :
- 1. When a prisoner makes out a sufficient case, parole cannot be denied to such prisoner because it becomes a matter of his/her right.
- 2. State Governments have their own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong: parole is a concession, not a right. The authority may refuse it even when grounds exist, for example if release would threaten public order. Statement 2 is right: prisons are a State subject (Entry 4, State List), so each State frames its own Prisoners Release on Parole Rules. Parole is a temporary release, for reasons such as a death or wedding in the family, and the time may or may not count towards the sentence.
Notice the difference from furlough, which is a periodic short release as a matter of good conduct, and from remission, which cuts the sentence. The Union issued the Model Prisons Act, 2023 for States to adopt.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following in Indian polity is an essential feature that indicates that it is federal in character?
Answer (a) & explanation
An independent judiciary is the essential federal feature (a). A federation divides power between the Union and the States. That division needs an independent umpire to settle disputes between them and to interpret the Constitution, so the independence of the judiciary is an essential federal feature. In India, the Supreme Court settles Centre–State disputes under Article 131. Option (b) can exist in a unitary state with regional seats. Option (c) is a matter of politics, not structure. Option (d) concerns rights, which unitary states also protect.
Notice the other federal features: a written Constitution, division of powers (Seventh Schedule), bicameralism and a rigid amendment process. India is often called "quasi-federal", after K.C. Wheare.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Constitutional and statutory bodies, elections, amendments, rights and governance 5
Consider the following statements :
- 1. In India, there is no law restricting the candidates from contesting in one Lok Sabha election from three constituencies.
- 2. In 1991 Lok Sabha Election, Shri Devi Lal contested from three Lok Sabha constituencies.
- 3. As per the existing rules, if a candidate contests in one Lok Sabha election from many constituencies, his/her party should bear the cost of bye-elections to the constituencies vacated by him/her in the event of him/her winning in all the constituencies.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
No official answer (question dropped) & notes
UPSC dropped this question from evaluation, so no answer was scored. The likely trouble was statement 2: Devi Lal did contest from three Lok Sabha seats in 1991 (Sikar, Rohtak and Ferozepur), but the wording was disputed. The current law is clear. Statement 1 is wrong: since 1996, Section 33(7) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 lets a candidate contest from at most two constituencies. Statement 3 is wrong: no rule makes the party pay for bye-elections; the Election Commission has only suggested that the candidate pay.
Notice that a winner of two seats must quit one within 14 days under Section 70. Before 1996, there was no limit on the number of seats.
UPSC did not evaluate this question, so no official answer exists. Use it for practice only.
UPSC dropped this question from evaluation; there is no official answer.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. 'Right to the City' is an agreed human right and the UN-Habitat monitors the commitments made by each country in this regard.
- 2. 'Right to the City' gives every occupant of the city the right to reclaim public spaces and public participation in the city.
- 3. 'Right to the City' means that the State cannot deny any public service or facility to the unauthorized colonies in the city.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (d). The "Right to the City" is an idea from the French thinker Henri Lefebvre (1968). Statement 1 is wrong: it was taken up in the UN's New Urban Agenda (Habitat III, Quito, 2016), but it is not a binding, agreed human right that UN-Habitat monitors country by country. Statement 2 is right: it covers every resident's claim to reclaim public spaces and take part in city decisions. Statement 3 is right: it means the State cannot deny basic services to people in unauthorised colonies.
Notice India's urban schemes: PMAY-Urban, AMRUT and the Smart Cities Mission. The 74th Amendment (1992) gave constitutional status to urban local bodies.
"agreed human right" and "monitors" turn a policy idea into a treaty. Words like these usually signal a wrong statement.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to India, consider the following statements :
- 1. Judicial custody means an accused is in the custody of the concerned magistrate and such accused is locked up in police station, not in jail.
- 2. During judicial custody, the police officer in charge of the case is not allowed to interrogate the suspect without the approval of the court.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Only statement 2 is correct (b). Statement 1 is wrong: in police custody, the accused is held in a police lock-up; in judicial custody, he is in jail under the magistrate's control, not in a police station. Statement 2 is right: during judicial custody, the police can question the suspect only with the court's permission. Police custody is limited to 15 days in total, within the first part of the remand period.
Notice that the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS, 2023), which replaced the CrPC from 1 July 2024, lets the 15 days of police custody be taken in parts during the first 40 or 60 days. D.K. Basu (1997) laid down guidelines on arrest and custody.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
At the national level, which ministry is the nodal agency to ensure effective implementation of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006?
Answer (d) & explanation
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs is the nodal agency (d). The Forest Rights Act, 2006 recognises the rights of forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers over land they cultivate and forest resources they use. Because it is a law for tribal and forest communities, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs is its nodal ministry. Option (a) is a trap: the Environment Ministry handles forest conservation laws, such as the Forest (Conservation) Act. Options (b) and (c) are wrong: Panchayati Raj and Rural Development have no nodal role, though the gram sabha is central to the Act.
Notice the three kinds of rights: individual, community and community forest resource rights. Mendha Lekha in Maharashtra got the first community forest rights.
(a): the word "Forest" in the Act's name pulls you to MoEFCC.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements in respect of Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards :
- 1. Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards are titles under the Article 18(1) of the Constitution of India.
- 2. Padma Awards, which were instituted in the year 1954, were suspended only once.
- 3. The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of five in a particular year.
Which of the above statements are not correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
All three statements are not correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong: in Balaji Raghavan v. Union of India (1995), the Supreme Court held that the Bharat Ratna and Padma awards are not titles under Article 18(1), so they cannot be used as prefixes or suffixes to names. Statement 2 is wrong: the awards were suspended twice, in 1977–80 and 1992–98. Statement 3 is wrong: the Bharat Ratna is normally limited to three a year, not five; 2024 was an exception, with five awards, including Karpoori Thakur and M.S. Swaminathan.
Notice that both awards were instituted in 1954. The Padma awards have three grades: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, announced on the eve of Republic Day.
the question asks for statements that are not correct. Circle "not" before you start.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
All years by topic
Every question from 2011 to 2026, grouped by syllabus topic, with year-wise trends.