UPSC Prelims 2023 Polity questions: topic-wise weightage
UPSC Prelims 2023 asked 13 polity questions in GS Paper I, spread over 6 topics. See the polity weightage for 2023 below, then attempt each question with the official answer and an explanation.
Polity 2023: questions by topic
- Making of the Constitution, Preamble, features and schedules4
- Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties3
- Union and state executive2
- Parliament and state legislatures1
- Federalism, emergency provisions, local government1
- Constitutional and statutory bodies, elections, amendments, rights and governance2
Counted from the 13 questions on this page, tagged by topic in the Battle IAS PYQ bank.
Seeing 13 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 4
Which one of the following statements best reflects the Chief purpose of the 'Constitution' of a country?
Answer (c) & explanation
A Constitution chiefly defines and limits government's powers (c). Every option is something a Constitution does, but the chief purpose is to set out the powers of government and put limits on them. That is what makes a government constitutional, or limited, rather than all-powerful. This idea is called constitutionalism. Option (a) is a secondary task: it gives the goals for lawmaking, through the Preamble and Directive Principles. Option (b) is true but is only the first step. Option (d) is a goal of a welfare state, set by the Indian Constitution, but not the chief purpose of every Constitution.
Notice how India limits power: Fundamental Rights, judicial review, federalism, separation of powers and the basic structure doctrine from Kesavananda Bharati (1973).
four true statements. When UPSC writes "best" or "chief", look for the most basic idea, not the most attractive one.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to 'Scheduled Areas' in India, consider the following statements :
- 1. Within a State, the notification of an area as Scheduled Area takes place through an Order of the President.
- 2. The largest administrative unit forming the Scheduled Area is the District and the lowest is the cluster of villages in the Block.
- 3. The Chief Ministers of the concerned States are required to submit annual reports to the Union Home Ministry on the administration of Scheduled Areas in the States.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Two statements are correct (b). Statement 1 is right: under paragraph 6 of the Fifth Schedule, the President declares an area a Scheduled Area by order, after consulting the State Governor. Statement 2 is right: Scheduled Areas range from whole districts down to clusters of villages within a block. Statement 3 is wrong: the annual report on Scheduled Areas comes from the Governor, and it goes to the President, not from the Chief Minister to the Home Ministry.
Notice the Tribes Advisory Council, of up to 20 members, three-fourths of them ST members of the State Assembly, which advises on tribal welfare. Ten States have Fifth Schedule areas. The Sixth Schedule covers tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
the wrong office (CM for Governor) and the wrong recipient. The Governor is the key figure in the Fifth Schedule.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements in respect of the National Flag of India according to the Flag Code of India, 2002 :
Statement-I :
- One of the standard sizes of the National Flag of India is 600 mm × 400 mm.
Statement-II :
- The ratio of the length to the height (width) of the Flag shall be 3 : 2.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer (d) & explanation
Statement I is wrong but Statement II is correct (d). Statement II is right: the Flag Code of India, 2002 fixes the ratio of length to height at 3 : 2. Statement I is wrong: the Code lists nine standard sizes, from 6300 × 4200 mm down to 150 × 100 mm. Sizes near the middle include 900 × 600 and 450 × 300, but 600 × 400 is not on the list, even though it keeps the ratio.
Notice recent changes. In 2021–22, the Code was amended to allow machine-made and polyester flags, and to let the flag fly day and night when hoisted in the open by the public, for the Har Ghar Tiranga campaign. The Supreme Court held in Naveen Jindal (2004) that flying the flag is part of free expression.
a size that fits the 3 : 2 ratio. Fitting the ratio does not make it a standard size.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements in respect of the Constitution Day :
Statement-I :
- The Constitution Day is celebrated on 26th November every year to promote constitutional values among citizens.
Statement-II :
- On 26th November, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar to prepare a Draft Constitution of India.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer (c) & explanation
Statement I is correct but Statement II is wrong (c). Statement I is right: Constitution Day, or Samvidhan Divas, has been observed on 26 November since 2015 to promote constitutional values. That is the day in 1949 when the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution. Statement II is wrong: the Drafting Committee under Dr B.R. Ambedkar was set up much earlier, on 29 August 1947. The statement has the right person but the wrong event.
Notice the dates: the Constitution came into force on 26 January 1950, chosen because the Congress had declared Purna Swaraj on 26 January 1930. Some provisions, such as citizenship and elections, took effect on 26 November 1949 itself. 2025 marked 75 years of adoption.
26 November is real, so the date feels safe. Ask what happened on it.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties 3
In essence, what does 'Due Process of Law' mean?
Answer (a) & explanation
Due process means the principle of natural justice (a). Due process of law, from the US Constitution, asks whether a law itself, and the way it is applied, is fair and reasonable. At its heart are the rules of natural justice: hear the other side (audi alteram partem) and no one should judge his own case. Option (b) is the opposite idea: procedure established by law, written in India's Article 21, which only asks whether a valid law was followed. Options (c) and (d) are parts of fairness but not its essence.
Notice the turn in Maneka Gandhi v Union of India (1978): the Supreme Court held that the procedure must be fair, just and reasonable, bringing due process into India in effect. Earlier, A.K. Gopalan (1950) had taken the narrow view.
option (b) is the Indian phrase, not its opposite number. UPSC asked what "due process" means, not what our text says.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
Statement-I :
- The Supreme Court of India has held in some judgements that the reservation policies made under Article 16(4) of the Constitution of India would be limited by Article 335 for maintenance of efficiency of administration.
Statement-II :
- Article 335 of the Constitution of India defines the term 'efficiency of administration'.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer (c) & explanation
Statement I is correct but Statement II is wrong (c). Statement I is right: in cases such as Indra Sawhney (1992) and M. Nagaraj (2006), the Supreme Court held that reservation in posts under Article 16(4) must be weighed against the "efficiency of administration" under Article 335. Statement II is wrong: Article 335 only uses the phrase; it does not define it. Courts have had to give it meaning case by case.
Notice later rulings: Jarnail Singh (2018) dropped the need to show SC/ST backwardness for promotion quotas, and B.K. Pavitra (2019) said reservation does not by itself harm efficiency. The 82nd Amendment (2000) allowed relaxed qualifying marks for SC/STs in promotions, added as a proviso to Article 335.
"defines". The Constitution uses many phrases it never defines.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. According to the Constitution of India, the Central Government has a duty to protect States from internal disturbances.
- 2. The Constitution of India exempts the States from providing legal counsel to a person being held for preventive detention.
- 3. According to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, confession of the accused before the police cannot be used as evidence.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Two statements are correct (b). Statement 1 is right: Article 355 makes it the Union's duty to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance, and to ensure it is run according to the Constitution. Statement 2 is right: Article 22(3) says the rights to be told the grounds of arrest, to consult a lawyer and to be produced before a magistrate do not apply to preventive detention. Statement 3 is wrong: POTA did the opposite: confessions made to senior police officers (SP rank and above) could be used as evidence, which drew much criticism.
Notice that under normal law, the Evidence Act (now the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023) makes confessions to the police inadmissible. POTA was repealed in 2004.
POTA was controversial exactly because it made police confessions admissible. The ordinary rule (no police confessions) did not apply.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Union and state executive 2
Consider the following statements :
- 1. If the election of the President of India is declared void by the Supreme Court of India, all acts done by him/her in the performance of duties of his/her office of President before the date of decision become invalid.
- 2. Election for the post of the President of India can be postponed on the ground that some Legislative Assemblies have been dissolved and elections are yet to take place.
- 3. When a Bill is presented to the President of India, the Constitution prescribes time limits within which he/she has to declare his/her assent.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Answer (d) & explanation
None of the statements is correct (d). Statement 1 is wrong: Article 71(2) says acts done by the President before the election is declared void stay valid. Statement 2 is wrong: the election cannot be put off because some Assemblies stand dissolved, and under Article 71(4) the poll cannot be questioned on that ground. Statement 3 is wrong: Article 111 sets no time limit for assent. The President may give assent, withhold it, or return a non-money Bill once.
Notice the recent debate. In 2025, a Supreme Court bench set timelines for Governors in a Tamil Nadu case, but on a Presidential Reference later that year, a Constitution Bench held that courts cannot impose such fixed timelines. This is why people speak of the President's pocket veto.
"None" feels risky, so students force one statement to be true. Write T or F against each line first, then trust the count.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements in respect of election to the President of India :
- 1. The members nominated to either House of the Parliament or the Legislative Assemblies of States are also eligible to be included in the Electoral College.
- 2. Higher the number of elective Assembly seats, higher is the value of vote of each MLA of that State.
- 3. The value of vote of each MLA of Madhya Pradesh is greater than that of Kerala.
- 4. The value of vote of each MLA of Puducherry is higher than that of Arunachal Pradesh because the ratio of total population to total number of elective seats in Puducherry is greater as compared to Arunachal Pradesh.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only statement 4 is correct (a). Statement 1 is wrong: only elected members of Parliament and of State Assemblies, including Delhi and Puducherry, vote; nominated members are left out. Statement 2 is wrong: an MLA's vote value is the State's 1971 population divided by its elected seats, then by 1,000, so more seats for the same population means a lower value. Statement 3 is wrong: a Kerala MLA's vote (152) is worth more than a Madhya Pradesh MLA's (131). Statement 4 is right: Puducherry's value (16) is higher than Arunachal's (8), for the reason given.
Notice that Uttar Pradesh has the highest value, 208, and Sikkim the lowest, 7. An MP's vote is the total value of all MLAs divided by the number of elected MPs, about 700.
statement 2 sounds logical but has the ratio upside down. Population is on top, seats below.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Parliament and state legislatures 1
With reference to Finance Bill and Money Bill in the Indian Parliament, consider the following statements :
- 1. When the Lok Sabha transmits Finance Bill to the Rajya Sabha, it can amend or reject the Bill.
- 2. When the Lok Sabha transmits Money Bill to the Rajya Sabha, it cannot amend or reject the Bill, it can only make recommendations.
- 3. In the case of disagreement between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, there is no joint sitting for Money Bill, but a joint sitting becomes necessary for Finance Bill.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Answer (b) & explanation
Two statements are correct (b). Statement 1 is right: a Finance Bill that is not a Money Bill (an Article 117 bill) goes through the Rajya Sabha like an ordinary Bill, so the Rajya Sabha can amend or reject it. Statement 2 is right: for a Money Bill (Article 110), the Rajya Sabha can only make recommendations within 14 days, which the Lok Sabha may ignore. Statement 3 is wrong: there is indeed no joint sitting for a Money Bill, but for a Finance Bill a joint sitting is possible, not "necessary".
Notice that only the Speaker certifies a Bill as a Money Bill. The use of this route for laws like Aadhaar (2016) was challenged, and a larger bench of the Supreme Court is examining it.
"necessary" in statement 3. A joint sitting is an option the President may use, never automatic.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Federalism, emergency provisions, local government 1
Consider the following statements :
Statement-I :
- In India, prisons are managed by State Governments with their own rules and regulations for the day-to-day administration of prisons.
Statement-II :
- In India, prisons are governed by the Prisons Act, 1894 which expressly kept the subject of prisons in the control of Provincial Governments.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Answer (a) & explanation
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.
Constitutional and statutory bodies, elections, amendments, rights and governance 2
In India, which one of the following Constitutional Amendments was widely believed to be enacted to overcome the judicial interpretations of the Fundamental Rights?
No official answer (question dropped) & notes
UPSC dropped this question, so no answer was counted. The ideas are still worth knowing. The 1st Amendment (1951) answered court rulings on land reform and free speech: it added the Ninth Schedule to shield land laws and new limits to Article 19(2). The 42nd Amendment (1976) also tried to put laws based on the Directive Principles beyond Fundamental Rights challenges. The 44th (1978) undid many Emergency changes, and the 86th (2002) made education a Fundamental Right. More than one option fits "widely believed", which is likely why it was dropped.
Notice the long tussle: courts struck down laws, Parliament amended, and Kesavananda Bharati (1973) finally set the basic structure limit on amendments.
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 organizations/bodies in India :
- 1. The National Commission for Backward Classes
- 2. The National Human Rights Commission
- 3. The National Law Commission
- 4. The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
How many of the above are constitutional bodies?
Answer (a) & explanation
Only one of them is a constitutional body (a). Item 1 is right: the National Commission for Backward Classes became a constitutional body through the 102nd Amendment (2018), which added Article 338B. Item 2 is wrong: the National Human Rights Commission is a statutory body under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. Item 3 is wrong: the Law Commission is set up by a government order for a fixed term, so it is neither constitutional nor statutory. Item 4 is wrong: the NCDRC is a statutory body under consumer protection law, now the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Notice the other constitutional commissions: NCSC (Article 338) and NCST (Article 338A). The 22nd Law Commission was led by Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi.
NCBC was statutory (1993) before 2018. Old notes still call it statutory.
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.