CBSE Class 10 Social Science Federalism MCQs Set 06

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.

Answer: (c) A is true, but R is false.

Explanation:
1. India does have a federal government, so the assertion is true.
2. But power in India is shared across a three-tier system — central, state and local self-government — not held solely by the central authority, so the reason is false.

Teacher's Note:
a) A common trap: students assume federalism means central power alone, when it actually means power is divided.

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

Explanation:
1. Residuary subjects are indeed those not covered by the three Lists, such as computer software and e-commerce, which emerged after the Constitution was framed.
2. The Union Government has the power to legislate on these subjects.

Teacher's Note:
a) E-commerce and computer software are the standard examples of residuary subjects given in the textbook.

Answer: (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.

Explanation:
1. India does have a federal system, with a central government and separate state governments for different regions, so the assertion is true.
2. The reason is also a true description of a unitary system, but it doesn't explain why India IS federal — it just defines the opposite system.

Teacher's Note:
a) A classic 'both true, but not a correct explanation' pairing — read carefully whether the reason actually explains the assertion.

Answer: (d) A is false, but R is true.

Explanation:
1. This assertion is false: changing the Constitution's basic federal structure is deliberately difficult, requiring at least a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament, plus ratification by at least half the state legislatures.
2. The reason is true: Parliament indeed cannot amend such provisions on its own.

Teacher's Note:
a) This difficulty is a deliberate safeguard of India's federal structure — the 'rigid constitution' feature of federalism.

Answer: (d) A is false, but R is true.

Explanation:
1. The assertion is false: coalition governments form when no single party wins a clear majority, which has nothing specifically to do with financial crises.
2. The reason is true: coalitions do indeed help form a government at the Centre in such situations.

Teacher's Note:
a) Don't confuse the cause (lack of a majority) with an unrelated condition (financial crisis).

Answer: (c) A is true, but R is false.

Explanation:
1. Hindi is indeed identified as (one of) India's official languages, so the assertion is true.
2. But the reason is false: because Hindi is spoken by only about 40% of Indians, the Constitution safeguarded other languages by recognising 21 further languages as Scheduled Languages, specifically to PREVENT Hindi-speaker dominance, not create it.

Teacher's Note:
a) This question tests whether you understand the safeguard, not just the fact — the policy protects minority languages, it doesn't privilege Hindi speakers.

Answer: (b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.

Explanation:
1. Both statements are independently true: the Zila Parishad Chairperson heads the Zila Parishad (formed by a district's Panchayat Samitis), and the Mayor heads a municipality.
2. But the two facts are about different institutions, so the reason does not explain the assertion.

Teacher's Note:
a) Zila Parishad = rural (district level); Municipality/Mayor = urban — parallel but separate structures.

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

Explanation:
1. The 1992 Constitutional Amendment (73rd and 74th) did indeed strengthen the third tier of government.
2. This included regular elections for local bodies, reservation of seats for OBCs, SCs, STs and women, and the creation of State Election Commissions.

Teacher's Note:
a) 1992 is the key year to remember for this landmark decentralisation reform.

Answer: (c) A is true, but R is false.

Explanation:
1. The assertion is true: local government is indeed the third tier.
2. The reason is false: decentralisation actually strengthened democracy by bringing it to the grassroots level, not weakened it.

Teacher's Note:
a) Watch for assertion-reason questions that flip the real effect — decentralisation strengthens, not weakens, democracy.