How many seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes in the Lok Sabha?
- (a)59
- (b)69
- (c)79
- (d)84
Correct — D, 84. Of the 543 elected seats in the Lok Sabha, 84 are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47 for the Scheduled Tribes under Article 330 of the Constitution. The number of reserved seats is fixed in proportion to the SC/ST population of each state, and the present figures were set by the delimitation order based on the 2001 Census. So 84 is the SC total across the country.
- (a)59 — Does not match the SC reservation — the correct total is 84; 59 corresponds to no standard reserved-seat figure for the Lok Sabha.
- (b)69 — Incorrect — the SC reserved total is 84, not 69.
- (c)79 — Incorrect — close to but not the SC figure; the reserved SC seats number 84 (47 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes).
- (d)84 — This is the correct option, not a distractor.
The Constitution reserves Lok Sabha seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes under Article 330 (a parallel provision, Article 332, does the same for State Legislative Assemblies). Reservation means the seat can only be contested by SC (or ST) candidates, though all voters in that constituency vote. The number of reserved seats in each state is proportional to that state's SC/ST share of the population and is fixed by the Delimitation Commission — currently 84 SC and 47 ST out of 543 elected Lok Sabha seats.
The reliable way to the answer is to remember the pair '84 SC and 47 ST'. The distractors (59, 69, 79) are near-round decoys with no basis; the ST figure 47 is the classic confusion, so lock 84 to SC and 47 to ST.
- 84 Lok Sabha seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes; 47 for Scheduled Tribes.
- The reservation is provided by Article 330 of the Constitution (Article 332 for State Assemblies).
- The number of reserved seats is proportional to the state's SC/ST population, fixed by delimitation (based on the 2001 Census).
- Reservation of SC/ST seats has been periodically extended under Article 334; the separate nomination of Anglo-Indians ended with the 104th Amendment (2020).
- Confusing the SC figure (84) with the ST figure (47)
- Confusing 'reservation' of seats with the earlier 'nomination' of Anglo-Indians
- Thinking the reserved seats are a fixed fraction rather than population-proportional
MPPSC asks the number or the Article directly; UPSC asks the mechanism — that reservation is proportional to population and fixed by delimitation. Anchor: 84 SC, 47 ST, Article 330.
If the number of seats allocated to a state in the Lok Sabha is 42, then the number of seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes in that state will be
- (a) 21
- (b) 14
- (c) 7
- (d) 6
Answer(d) 6
Same concept — SC reservation in the Lok Sabha under Article 330, fixed in proportion to the state's SC population (not a set fraction).
The State which has the largest number of seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in Lok Sabha is
- (a) Bihar
- (b) Gujarat
- (c) Uttar Pradesh
- (d) Madhya Pradesh
Answer(d) Madhya Pradesh
Same theme — reserved Lok Sabha constituencies (here ST), distributed among states by their SC/ST population share.
In which Article of the Indian Constitution is there a provision of reservation of seats for Scheduled Tribes in the State Assembly?
- (a) Article 339
- (b) Article 332
- (c) Article 334
- (d) Article 243D
Answer(b) Article 332
The twin provision — Article 332 reserves SC/ST seats in State Assemblies, just as Article 330 does for the Lok Sabha in this question.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Lok Sabha is provided under which Article of the Constitution?
- (a)Article 330
- (b)Article 332
- (c)Article 338
- (d)Article 340
Answer(a) Article 330 — Article 332 covers State Legislative Assemblies.
- practice — not a real PYQ
How many seats in the Lok Sabha are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes?
- (a)41
- (b)47
- (c)59
- (d)84
Answer(b) 47 — against 84 reserved for the Scheduled Castes.