Which of the following Articles of the Indian Constitution mentions that ‘The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good’?

Correct — A. The words quoted in the stem are the text of Article 39(b) — that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good.

Article 39 sits in Part IV, the Directive Principles of State Policy, and each of its clauses states a different economic goal. The clause about distributing the community's material resources is clause (b), which is option (a) on this paper.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Article 39(a) — Article 39(a) secures the right to an adequate means of livelihood for citizens, men and women equally. It is about livelihood, not about how community resources are distributed.
• (c)
  Article 39(c) — Article 39(c) directs that the economic system should not result in concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment. Close in spirit, but it targets concentration, not distribution.
• (d)
  Article 39(d) — Article 39(d) is equal pay for equal work for both men and women. It is the wages clause, and the stem says nothing about pay.

Article 39 is the economic core of the Directive Principles, Part IV of the Constitution, Articles 36 to 51.

Its clauses read as a list of state goals: (a) adequate means of livelihood, (b) distribution of material resources for the common good, (c) no concentration of wealth, (d) equal pay for equal work.

Clause (e) protects the health and strength of workers and children, and clause (f) provides for children to develop in freedom and dignity.

Under Article 37 these principles are not enforceable by any court, yet the Constitution calls them fundamental in the governance of the country.

Key facts

• Article 39(b) directs that ownership and control of the material resources of the community be so distributed as best to subserve the common good.
• Article 39 falls in Part IV of the Constitution, the Directive Principles of State Policy, which run from Article 36 to Article 51.
• Article 37 makes the Directive Principles non-justiciable while declaring them fundamental in the governance of the country.
• Article 31C shields laws made to give effect to Articles 39(b) and 39(c) from challenge under Articles 14 and 19.

Common traps

• Swapping 39(b) and 39(c) because both deal with wealth in the economy
• Hunting for the clause in Part III when Article 39 is a Directive Principle in Part IV

No directly related past PYQ was found.