How many members are nominated by the President to the Rajya Sabha?

Correct — D. Article 80 caps the Rajya Sabha at 250 members: not more than 238 representing the States and Union Territories, plus 12 nominated by the President.

Those twelve are chosen for special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service. The House's actual strength today is 245, so the nominated twelve are a fixed and sizeable share of it. Option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  20 — 20 is not a constitutional figure here. The nominated count is fixed at twelve by Article 80 and has never been raised.
• (b)
  15 — 15 appears nowhere in Article 80. It attracts candidates only because twelve and fifteen both feel like plausible round numbers.
• (c)
  10 — 10 is two short. The figure the Constitution names is twelve, worth learning together with the 238 and the 250 that frame it.

The composition of the Rajya Sabha is set by Article 80 together with the Fourth Schedule.

Article 80 caps the House at 250: not more than 238 representatives of the States and Union Territories, and 12 members nominated by the President. The Fourth Schedule allocates seats among the States.

Nominated members are there for eminence rather than electoral strength, and the Constitution names four fields — literature, science, art and social service.

Key facts

• Article 80 caps the Rajya Sabha at 250 members, of whom 12 are nominated by the President.
• Nominated members are chosen for special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service.
• The actual strength of the Rajya Sabha is 245.
• The 104th Constitutional Amendment ended the nomination of Anglo-Indians to the Lok Sabha from January 2020.

Common traps

• Confusing the twelve nominated to the Rajya Sabha with the two Anglo-Indians formerly nominated to the Lok Sabha.
• Quoting 245, the actual strength, where the question asks only about the nominated share.

No directly related past PYQ was found.