CBSE Class 10 Social Science Federalism Important Questions Set 05

Answer: A federation is a system of government in which power is divided between a central authority and various constituent units of the country. India, Belgium and the USA are examples.

Teacher's Note:
1. The two levels are separately answerable to the people.
2. Distinguish it from a unitary system.

Answer: The Union List, the State List and the Concurrent List. Subjects not in any list are residuary subjects.

Teacher's Note:
1. The Union government alone makes laws on the Union List.
2. On the Concurrent List the union law prevails in a conflict.

Answer: Union List: defence. State List: police. Concurrent List: education.

Teacher's Note:
1. Railways and banking are also Union subjects, while agriculture is a State subject.
2. Marriage and forests are also on the Concurrent List.

Answer: Residuary subjects are those that do not fall in any of the three lists, such as computer software. The Union government has the power to legislate on them.

Teacher's Note:
1. They were not known when the Constitution was framed.
2. Remember it is the Union that decides.

Answer: A coalition government is formed when two or more political parties join together on a common programme because no single party has a majority.

Teacher's Note:
1. It has encouraged power sharing between the centre and states.
2. Coalitions have been common since 1990.

Answer: It consists of all the voters in a village and meets to approve the budget and review the work of the gram panchayat.

Teacher's Note:
1. The gram panchayat is accountable to it.
2. It is the foundation of rural local government.

Answer: 1. Coming together federations: independent states come together to form a bigger unit and pool their sovereignty, for example the USA, Switzerland and Australia. The states have equal powers.
2. Holding together federations: a large country divides its power between the national government and states, for example India, Spain and Belgium. The central government tends to be more powerful.

Teacher's Note:
1. The route decides the balance of power between levels.
2. Give examples for both.

Answer: 1. Local issues like water supply, street cleaning and drainage are best settled locally.
2. People can participate directly in decision-making.
3. Money is spent more efficiently and with greater accountability.

Teacher's Note:
1. It also helps deepen democracy at the grassroots.
2. Link local knowledge with participation.

Answer: 1. The constitutional provisions are clearly laid out.
2. The nature of democratic politics ensures respect for diversity.
3. The creation of linguistic states, flexibility in language policy and changes in centre-state relations helped.

Teacher's Note:
1. Federalism works when people believe in it.
2. Mention democratic politics as the key.

Answer: 1. The party at the centre tried to undermine the powers of states.
2. The central government often misused the Constitution to dismiss state governments ruled by other parties.
3. This was against the spirit of federalism.

Teacher's Note:
1. After 1990, the rise of regional parties and coalitions improved the situation.
2. Mention misuse of the dismissal power.

Answer: 1. Municipalities are set up in towns.
2. Municipal corporations are set up in big cities.
3. Both are controlled by elected bodies, with a municipal chairperson heading a municipality and a mayor heading a corporation.

Teacher's Note:
1. The 73rd and 74th amendments made them constitutional bodies.
2. Name the head of each body.

Answer: 1. The Constitution does not give the status of national language to any single language.
2. Hindi is the official language, but English is also used for official purposes.
3. States have their own official languages, and exams for central jobs can be taken in many languages.

Teacher's Note:
1. Promotion of Hindi does not mean imposition on states.
2. Flexibility is the key word.

Answer: 1. There are two or more levels of government ruling the same citizens.
2. Each level has its own jurisdiction, specified in the Constitution.
3. Fundamental provisions of the Constitution cannot be changed by one level alone.
4. Courts act as umpires if disputes arise.
5. Sources of revenue are clearly specified, and the dual objectives are to safeguard unity and accommodate regional diversity.

Teacher's Note:
1. Federalism is different from a unitary system.
2. Take care to list all five features.

Answer: 1. Union List: subjects of national importance such as defence, foreign affairs and banking, on which only the Union can legislate.
2. State List: subjects of state and local interest such as police, trade, commerce, agriculture and irrigation, on which states legislate.
3. Concurrent List: subjects of common interest such as education, forests, trade unions, marriage and adoption, on which both legislate; the Union law prevails in a conflict.
4. Residuary subjects are those not in any list, and the Union government legislates on them.

Teacher's Note:
1. This distribution avoids conflict between the two levels.
2. Give examples for each list.

Answer: 1. The Constitution was amended to make the third tier of democracy more powerful and effective.
2. Regular elections to local bodies are constitutionally mandatory.
3. Seats are reserved for SCs, STs and OBCs.
4. At least one-third of seats are reserved for women.
5. A State Election Commission conducts the elections, and state governments must share power and revenue with local bodies.

Teacher's Note:
1. These steps strengthened local government.
2. Mention the year and the women reservation.

Answer: 1. The Constitution did not give the status of national language to any single language.
2. Hindi was identified as the official language, but with English also used for official purposes.
3. States have their own official languages.
4. A candidate for a central government exam may choose any recognised language.
5. Promotion of Hindi does not mean imposing Hindi on states.

Teacher's Note:
1. This approach prevented a Sri Lanka-like situation.
2. Contrast it with the Sinhala only policy.

Answer: 1. At the village level is the gram panchayat, headed by a sarpanch and elected by the people.
2. It works under the Gram Sabha, which includes all voters.
3. At the block level is the panchayat samiti, whose members are elected by panchayat members of the area.
4. At the district level is the zila parishad, formed by elected members and includes members of the Lok Sabha and MLAs of that district.
5. Together they form a three-tier system of local self-government.

Teacher's Note:
1. Urban areas have municipalities and corporations.
2. Draw a hierarchy of the three tiers.