CDS (II) 2022 GK Q103: Which one of the following is not a category under which

Q: What is the answer to CDS (II) 2022 GK Q103?

D. Correct — D, State Service. Article 80 of the Constitution lets the President nominate twelve members to the Council of States, and it names the qualifying fields exactly: special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service. Three of the four options are on that list. The fourth, State Service, is not — and it could not be, because the whole point of the nominated seats is to bring into Parliament people whose distinction lies outside government, in the arts, in research and in public work. Officers of the state services reach Parliament, if at all, the way anyone else does, by election after leaving service. Note also that the missing member of the constitutional quartet is social service, and 'State Service' is engineered to look like a truncation of it.

CDS (II) 2022 General Knowledge · Question 103 of 120

Question text verified against the official CDS question paper.

Which one of the following is not a category under which the President of India nominates Members of Parliament?

(a)Literature
(b)Science
(c)Art
(d)State Service

Answer

Why

Correct — D, State Service. Article 80 of the Constitution lets the President nominate twelve members to the Council of States, and it names the qualifying fields exactly: special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service. Three of the four options are on that list. The fourth, State Service, is not — and it could not be, because the whole point of the nominated seats is to bring into Parliament people whose distinction lies outside government, in the arts, in research and in public work. Officers of the state services reach Parliament, if at all, the way anyone else does, by election after leaving service. Note also that the missing member of the constitutional quartet is social service, and 'State Service' is engineered to look like a truncation of it.

Why the others are wrong

(a)Literature — Named in Article 80. Writers have been nominated repeatedly; the field is on the constitutional list and cannot be the exception the question is looking for.
(b)Science — Named in Article 80. Scientists are among the most frequently nominated members under this provision.
(c)Art — Named in Article 80, and by far the most visible of the four in practice — musicians, dancers, actors and painters have all held nominated seats.

Concept

The Rajya Sabha's maximum strength under Article 80 is 250 — up to 238 representing the States and Union Territories, plus 12 nominated by the President. The House's actual strength today is 245, of whom 233 are elected and 12 nominated. The nominated members enjoy the same rights as elected members with one exception: they may not vote in the election of the President, though they may vote in the election of the Vice-President.

The item is a straight recall of a four-word list, and the fastest route to it is a mnemonic — literature, science, art, social service. Then look for the option that is close to one of the four but not one of them, which is the standard way this question is built. A related nomination power is worth carrying alongside, because papers like to pair them: the President's power under Article 331 to nominate two Anglo-Indians to the Lok Sabha lapsed with the Constitution (One Hundred and Fourth Amendment) Act, 2019, effective 25 January 2020. So at the time of this 2022 paper, and today, the only nominations to Parliament are the twelve to the Rajya Sabha; the Anglo-Indian seats no longer exist.

Key facts

Article 80 provides for twelve members nominated by the President to the Council of States.
The qualifying fields are special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service.
Maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha is 250; the actual strength is 245, of whom 233 are elected and 12 nominated.
Nominated members may not vote in the presidential election, but may vote in the vice-presidential election.
Nomination of Anglo-Indians to the Lok Sabha under Article 331 ended with the 104th Amendment, effective 25 January 2020.

Study next

Composition of the Rajya Sabha under Article 80 and the Fourth ScheduleThe special powers of the Rajya Sabha under Articles 249 and 312Qualifications, disqualifications and the anti-defection rules as they apply to nominated membersThe 104th Amendment and the end of Anglo-Indian nominationNomination to State Legislative Councils by the Governor, and how the fields differ

Common traps

Adding 'social service' from memory and then not noticing that the option offered is 'State Service'.
Assuming nominated members have no vote at all; they vote on legislation and in the vice-presidential election, just not in the presidential one.
Carrying over the Anglo-Indian nomination to the Lok Sabha, which was abolished with effect from 25 January 2020.

As an odd-one-out on the four fields, as a count question on how many members are nominated, or inside a statements item on the rights of nominated members.

Related PYQs

UPSC_2013_GS1_Q702013Open & attempt →

Consider the following statements: 1. The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha are not the members of that House. 2. While the nominated members of the two Houses of the Parliament have no voting right in the presidential election, they have the right to vote in the election of the Vice President. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer(b) 2 only

The same twelve members, tested on what they may do rather than on how they qualify. Statement 2 there is the standard follow-up to this CDS item — nominated members are barred from the presidential election but not from the vice-presidential one.

CDS_GK_2021_I_Q772021

Which one of the following statements about the composition of the Parliament is not correct?

(a) Representatives of the states in Rajya Sabha are elected directly by the people.
(b) Representatives from Union Territories in Lok Sabha are chosen by direct elections.
(c) Rajya Sabha has 12 nominated members.
(d) Lok Sabha has seats reserved for SCs and STs.

Answer(a) Representatives of the states in Rajya Sabha are elected directly by the people.

The same chapter of the Constitution, one paper earlier, and it carries the twelve nominated seats in one of its options. There the false statement is the claim that State representatives in the Rajya Sabha are chosen directly by the people — they are elected by the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies. Here the false item is the field itself.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are not entitled to vote in which one of the following?
- (a)The election of the Vice-President of India
- (b)The election of the President of India
- (c)A motion of no confidence in the Council of Ministers
- (d)The passage of a Constitution Amendment Bill
Answer(b) The election of the President of India — the presidential electoral college is confined to elected members of Parliament and of the State Legislative Assemblies; nominated members do vote for the Vice-President.
practice — not a real PYQ
The nomination of members of the Anglo-Indian community to the Lok Sabha was discontinued by which Constitutional Amendment?
- (a)The 101st Amendment
- (b)The 102nd Amendment
- (c)The 103rd Amendment
- (d)The 104th Amendment
Answer(d) The 104th Amendment — the Constitution (One Hundred and Fourth Amendment) Act, 2019 let the Article 331 provision lapse with effect from 25 January 2020, while extending reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.