Article 338 of the Constitution of India is related to the
- (a)National Commission for Scheduled Castes
- (b)National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
- (c)National Commission for Backward Classes
- (d)National Human Rights Commission
Correct — A, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC). Article 338 of the Constitution establishes the NCSC, which safeguards the interests of Scheduled Castes — investigating complaints, monitoring constitutional and legal safeguards, and reporting to the President.
- (b)National Commission for Scheduled Tribes — Wrong Article. NCST was carved out of the original combined SC/ST Commission by the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, and now has its own dedicated provision — Article 338-A.
- (c)National Commission for Backward Classes — Wrong Article. NCBC became a constitutional body only later, under Article 338-B (inserted by the 102nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 2018) — not Article 338.
- (d)National Human Rights Commission — Wrong basis entirely. NHRC is a statutory body created under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 — not a constitutional body under Article 338.
Article 338 sits in Part XVI of the Constitution (special provisions for certain classes). It originally created one combined National Commission for SCs & STs (1990, 65th Amendment); the 89th Amendment (2003) split it into two separate bodies — NCSC under Article 338, and NCST under a newly inserted Article 338-A.
MPPSC/UPSC test the Article-Commission-amendment chain directly. The trap is assuming Article 338 still covers STs too, or assigning NCBC/NHRC (governed by different provisions or a different law altogether) to Article 338.
- Article 338 → National Commission for Scheduled Castes
- Article 338-A → National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (added by the 89th Amendment, 2003)
- Article 338-B → National Commission for Backward Classes (added by the 102nd Amendment, 2018)
- National Human Rights Commission is statutory (Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993), not under Article 338
Only Article 338 itself maps to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes; the other three bodies sit under separate provisions or a separate statute.
- Assuming Article 338 still covers STs — it was split off in 2003
- Confusing NCBC's constitutional Article (338-B) with NCSC's (338)
MPPSC/UPSC usually frame this as a direct 'Article X relates to which Commission' question or a match-the-following across 338 / 338-A / 338-B.
MPPSC_2022_PRE_PaperI_Q302022Under which Article of the Constitution of India has the National Commission for Scheduled Castes been constituted?
- (a) Article 332
- (b) Article 338
- (c) Article 342
- (d) Article 328
Answer(b) Article 338
MPPSC's own 2022 Paper-I asked the reverse framing of the same fact — which Article created the NCSC.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was constituted under which Article of the Constitution, inserted by the 89th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003?
- (a)Article 338
- (b)Article 338-A
- (c)Article 338-B
- (d)Article 342
Answer(b) Article 338-A.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following is a statutory (not a constitutional) body?
- (a)National Commission for Scheduled Castes
- (b)National Commission for Scheduled Tribes
- (c)National Commission for Backward Classes
- (d)National Human Rights Commission
Answer(d) National Human Rights Commission — created under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, not by a constitutional amendment.