Who among the following was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India as the 12th member in the year 2024?
- (a)Ghulam Ali
- (b)Ilaiyaraaja
- (c)Sudha Murty
- (d)Satnam Singh Sandhu
Correct — C, Sudha Murty. On 8 March 2024 (International Women's Day), President Droupadi Murmu nominated the author-philanthropist Sudha Murty to the Rajya Sabha under Article 80(1)(a), which lets the President nominate up to 12 persons with special knowledge/experience in Literature, Science, Art and Social Service. Her nomination filled the House's 12th and last vacant nominated seat, completing the full quota of 12 nominated members.
- (a)Ghulam Ali — This refers to Ghulam Ali Khatana, a J&K Gujjar-community BJP leader and engineer nominated to the Rajya Sabha in September 2022 — a different person from the Pakistani ghazal singer of the same name, and nominated two years before Sudha Murty, not as the 2024 12th member.
- (b)Ilaiyaraaja — The acclaimed Tamil film composer was nominated to the Rajya Sabha on 6-7 July 2022, along with P.T. Usha and others — two years before Sudha Murty's March 2024 nomination.
- (d)Satnam Singh Sandhu — The Chandigarh University chancellor was indeed nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 2024, but earlier — on 30 January 2024, ahead of Sudha Murty's 8 March 2024 nomination, which is the one that completed the last (12th) vacant seat.
Article 80(1)(a) empowers the President to nominate up to 12 members to the Rajya Sabha, drawn from persons with special knowledge or practical experience in Literature, Science, Art and Social Service. These nominated members serve full terms like elected members but represent no constituency or party at the time of nomination.
MPPSC/UPSC test 'who was nominated and when' using a cluster of genuine recent nominees as distractors — the trap is knowing only that someone WAS nominated, without pinning down the exact date/order, since several such nominations happened across 2022-2024.
- Article 80(1)(a): the President nominates up to 12 Rajya Sabha members for special knowledge/experience in Literature, Science, Art and Social Service.
- Sudha Murty was nominated on 8 March 2024; Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar administered her oath.
- Her nomination completed the Rajya Sabha's full quota of 12 nominated members.
- Other recent nominees: Ilaiyaraaja and P.T. Usha (July 2022), Ghulam Ali Khatana (September 2022), Satnam Singh Sandhu (January 2024).
All four option-names are genuine Rajya Sabha nominees — only Sudha Murty's March 2024 nomination completed the 12th seat.
- Assuming all Rajya Sabha 'celebrity' nominees named in the options were nominated in the same year — they actually span 2022 to 2024.
- Confusing Ghulam Ali Khatana (nominated MP from J&K, 2022) with the Pakistani ghazal singer of the same name.
MPPSC/UPSC test 'who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha and when/as which numbered member' — anchor each celebrity nominee to their exact nomination date, not just the fact of nomination.
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
Same underlying concept — the constitutional category of 'nominated members' of the Rajya Sabha and their distinct voting rights — as tested by this question's focus on a specific 2024 nominated member.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution, the President can nominate persons having special knowledge or practical experience in which of the following fields to the Rajya Sabha?
- (a)Literature, Science, Art and Social Service
- (b)Law, Administration, Defence and Trade
- (c)Sports, Cinema, Business and Politics
- (d)Agriculture, Industry, Finance and Education
Answer(a) Literature, Science, Art and Social Service (Article 80(3)).
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in July 2022, before Sudha Murty's 2024 nomination?
- (a)Sudha Murty
- (b)Ilaiyaraaja
- (c)Satnam Singh Sandhu
- (d)Ghulam Ali Khatana
Answer(b) Ilaiyaraaja — nominated in July 2022, two years before Sudha Murty.