CBSE Class 10 Social Science Federalism MCQs Set 04

Answer: (d) (I) and (II)

Explanation:
1. Article 371's special provisions for these states are justified mainly by their historically unique circumstances (I) and the need to protect indigenous land rights (II); the other claims about water scarcity or guaranteed preferential employment aren't the actual basis for these provisions.

Teacher's Note:
a) Article 371 is justified by unique history and indigenous land-rights protection.
b) Claims about water scarcity or guaranteed jobs are not the actual basis for these special provisions.

Answer: (a) Madras was the largest province in the country

Explanation:
1. Based on the 1947 map, Madras Province covered the largest area among the provinces shown.

Teacher's Note:
a) Madras was the largest province shown on the 1947 map.
b) Bhutan, Peshawar and Dhaka's locations don't support the other three options.

Answer: (b) Germany has states that share power with the centre

Explanation:
1. Germany is a well-established federal country where constituent states (Länder) share power with the central government.

Teacher's Note:
a) Germany's Länder (states) share power with the federal centre.
b) This is a definite, verifiable fact about Germany's federal structure.

Answer: (b) On the basis of culture and ethnicity

Explanation:
1. These states were carved out based on distinct cultural and ethnic identities, unlike earlier states formed mainly on a linguistic basis.

Teacher's Note:
a) Nagaland, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand were created along cultural/ethnic lines.
b) This differs from the earlier linguistic basis used for most Indian state boundaries.

Answer: (d) They are making laws on a subject from the Concurrent List

Explanation:
1. Forests fall under the Concurrent List, where both Centre and states can legislate, but the Centre's law prevails in case of conflict -- exactly as described here.

Teacher's Note:
a) Forests are a Concurrent List subject, where the Centre's law prevails over conflicting state views.
b) This explains why Parliament's decision became final despite state disagreement.

Answer: (b) Mayor

Explanation:
1. The elected head of a municipal corporation, presiding over its meetings, is called the Mayor.

Teacher's Note:
a) The elected head of a municipal corporation is called the Mayor.
b) District Magistrates, Commissioners and Governors are appointed officials, not elected municipal heads.

Answer: (c) Names of the Scheduled Languages

Explanation:
1. The Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution lists the officially recognised Scheduled Languages.

Teacher's Note:
a) The Eighth Schedule lists India's officially recognised Scheduled Languages.
b) Legislative lists and Panchayat powers are covered in different schedules/parts of the Constitution.

Answer: (b) USA, Switzerland, Australia

Explanation:
1. USA, Switzerland and Australia are classic examples of 'coming together' federations, where independent states voluntarily united, unlike India, Belgium and Spain, which are 'holding together' federations.

Teacher's Note:
a) USA, Switzerland and Australia are 'coming together' federations.
b) India, Belgium and Spain are instead 'holding together' federations.

Answer: (a) Education and Marriage

Explanation:
1. Education and Marriage are State/Concurrent List subjects, unlike the other pairs, which are all Union List subjects.

Teacher's Note:
a) Education and Marriage fall under State/Concurrent List, not Union List.
b) The other three pairs are all genuine Union List subjects.

Answer: (b) Australia – Coming together federation

Explanation:
1. Australia is indeed a genuine example of a 'coming together' federation, making this the correctly matched pair; the others misstate the reservation fraction, Commerce's actual list, or Magadhi's schedule status.

Teacher's Note:
a) Australia genuinely is a 'coming together' federation.
b) The other pairs misstate facts about reservation quotas, legislative lists or scheduled languages.

Answer: (a) Equality of opportunity

Explanation:
1. Allowing candidates to choose their preferred language ensures equality of opportunity in accessing government examinations.

Teacher's Note:
a) Language choice in exams ensures equal opportunity for all candidates.
b) This removes a linguistic barrier that could otherwise disadvantage some candidates.

Answer: (b) The state government retains the power over revenues for the local bodies

Explanation:
1. Local bodies are meant to have their own, devolved sources of revenue for financial autonomy, not have the state government retain full control over their revenues -- making this statement false.

Teacher's Note:
a) Local bodies are meant to have their own devolved revenue sources, not state-retained control.
b) The other three statements correctly describe genuine features of the third tier of democracy.

Answer: (a) (III), (I), (IV) and (II)

Explanation:
1. Gram Panchayat covers a village (III), Panchayat Samiti/Mandal covers a block (I), Zila Parishad covers a district (IV), and the State Government covers the whole state (II) -- increasing in size in that order.

Teacher's Note:
a) Jurisdiction size increases: village → block → district → state.
b) Gram Panchayat is smallest; State Government is largest among these four.

Answer: (b) Federal nation

Explanation:
1. Ethiopia, like Canada, is also governed as a federal nation.

Teacher's Note:
a) Ethiopia is also a federal nation, paralleling Canada.
b) This shows federalism is practised across diverse regions of the world.

Answer: (a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)

Explanation:
1. The 1992 decentralisation step is directly and correctly explained by the constitutional amendments strengthening local self-government (the third tier).

Teacher's Note:
a) The 1992 constitutional amendments directly strengthened local self-government.
b) Both statements are true, and R correctly explains why 1992 marked this decentralisation milestone.

Answer: (b) Vertical division of power

Explanation:
1. Federalism refers to power shared between different levels of government — this is vertical division of power.

Teacher's Note:
a) Don't confuse this with horizontal division of power, which refers to the three organs of government (legislature, executive, judiciary).

Answer: (a) India

Explanation:
1. India is a 'holding together' federation, not a 'coming together' one; the USA, Switzerland and Australia are all examples of 'coming together' federations.

Teacher's Note:
a) Coming together = independent states unite (USA); Holding together = one country divides power (India).

Answer: (a) A large country dividing power between constituent states and the national government

Explanation:
1. In a holding together federation, a large country decides to share its power between its constituent states and the national government.

Teacher's Note:
a) India, Spain and Belgium are the standard examples of holding together federations.

Answer: (d) Governmental power is divided between different levels of government

Explanation:
1. The defining feature of federalism is that power is divided between different levels of government (e.g. national and state), not just within one level.

Teacher's Note:
a) Option (b), dividing power among the three organs, describes horizontal power sharing — a different concept.

Answer: (a) Union List

Explanation:
1. Foreign affairs is a subject of national importance and falls under the Union List.

Teacher's Note:
a) There is no such thing as a 'Federal List' in the Indian Constitution — only Union, State and Concurrent Lists, plus residuary subjects.

Answer: (a) Eighth Schedule

Explanation:
1. The 22 Scheduled Languages are listed under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Teacher's Note:
a) The Tenth Schedule deals with anti-defection; don't mix the two up.

Answer: (d) 1965

Explanation:
1. The Constitution originally envisaged phasing out English for official use by 1965, though this plan was not implemented in full.

Teacher's Note:
a) English continues to be used alongside Hindi for official purposes to this day.

Answer: (c) Of both national and state importance

Explanation:
1. The Concurrent List includes subjects of common interest to both the Centre and the states.

Teacher's Note:
a) Examples include education, forests, and marriage and divorce.

Answer: (a) One-third

Explanation:
1. One-third of seats in panchayats and municipalities are reserved for women.

Teacher's Note:
a) This reservation came through the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts.

Answer: (b) The central law prevails

Explanation:
1. When Centre and state laws conflict on a Concurrent List subject, the central law prevails.

Teacher's Note:
a) This is a frequently tested rule — remember 'Concurrent List, Centre wins'.

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:
1. All three statements about India's language policy are correct.

Teacher's Note:
a) Hindi (official) + English (continuing official use) + 21 other Scheduled Languages = 22 total Scheduled Languages.

Answer: (c) No language is given the status of national language

Explanation:
1. India's Constitution does not grant any language the status of 'national language' — Hindi is the official language, not the national one.

Teacher's Note:
a) This distinction between 'official' and 'national' language is a common source of confusion — learn it precisely.

Answer: (d) 1953

Explanation:
1. The States Reorganisation Commission was formed in 1953, leading to the reorganisation of states along linguistic lines.

Teacher's Note:
a) Its recommendations led to the States Reorganisation Act of 1956.

Answer: (c) Judiciary

Explanation:
1. The judiciary plays the key role in overseeing that constitutional provisions and procedures are properly followed.

Teacher's Note:
a) This reflects the judiciary's supremacy in interpreting and protecting the Constitution.

Answer: (b) Central government

Explanation:
1. Union Territories are administered directly by the Central Government (through the President), unlike states.

Teacher's Note:
a) Union Territories lack the full powers of a state precisely because of this direct central control.

Answer: (c) Decentralisation

Explanation:
1. This describes decentralisation — moving power downward to local self-government.

Teacher's Note:
a) Decentralisation is sometimes called the 'third tier' of Indian federalism.

Answer: (b) Local self-government

Explanation:
1. The third tier of government, below the Centre and the states, is known as local self-government.

Teacher's Note:
a) Village Panchayats and Zila Parishad are specific institutions within this broader third tier, not the tier's overall name.

Answer: (a) The village, block and district levels

Explanation:
1. Panchayati Raj has three levels: the village (Gram Panchayat), block (Panchayat Samiti/Block Samiti) and district (Zila Parishad).

Teacher's Note:
a) Remember this three-tier structure: Gram → Block → Zila.

Answer: (b) The Gram Sabha

Explanation:
1. Members of the Gram Panchayat are directly elected by the Gram Sabha, which consists of all adult voters of the village.

Teacher's Note:
a) Don't confuse the Gram Sabha (all adult voters, who elect) with the Gram Panchayat (the elected council itself).

Answer: (c) Power taken from central and state governments and given to local government at both urban and rural levels

Explanation:
1. Decentralisation applies to both urban (municipalities) and rural (panchayats) local government, not just one or the other.

Teacher's Note:
a) This is why both Panchayati Raj (rural) and Municipalities (urban) exist as part of decentralisation.

Answer: (d) Gram panchayats

Explanation:
1. A mandal, or block, is made up of a number of Gram Panchayats grouped together.

Teacher's Note:
a) This is the intermediate level between the village and district — also called a Block Samiti or Panchayat Samiti.

Answer: (a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.

Explanation:
1. The power of a large country is divided between its constituent states and the national government.
2. The central government in such a federation is typically more powerful than the states, matching the definition of a holding together federation.

Teacher's Note:
a) Both statements are true, and the reason correctly explains why Belgium and Spain fit this category.