"Amit Shah already has the key portfolios of Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation in 2025. Think of these statements: 1. He remains Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation post the 2024 elections. 2. The Home Ministry is responsible for internal security, borders, and disaster management. 3. The Home Minister enjoys a constitutionalized fixed 6-year term. Which one of the above is/are true?
- (a)1 and 2 only
- (b)2 and 3 only
- (c)1 and 3 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3 all are correct
Answer
Why
Correct — A. Statement 1 is true. In the third Modi ministry, sworn in on 9 June 2024, Amit Shah took Home Affairs and Cooperation again on 10 June 2024.
Statement 2 is true. The Home Ministry handles internal security, border management through its Department of Border Management, and disaster response through its Disaster Management Division.
Statement 3 is false. Under Article 75(2) ministers hold office during the pleasure of the President, so no term is fixed → option (a).
Why the others are wrong
- (b)2 and 3 only — It keeps the false statement and drops a true one. No minister has a fixed term, and Shah did keep Home and Cooperation when portfolios were allocated on 10 June 2024.
- (c)1 and 3 only — Statement 3 sinks it. Ministers serve during the pleasure of the President under Article 75(2), so there is no constitutional 6-year term for the Home Minister or any other minister.
- (d)1, 2 and 3 all are correct — Not all three hold. Article 75(2) fixes no term for a minister: ministers hold office during the pleasure of the President, so statement 3 is false.
Concept
A Union minister's tenure comes from Article 75, not from a fixed term.
The President appoints ministers on the Prime Minister's advice, and they hold office during the pleasure of the President. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
The one period Article 75 does fix is six consecutive months: a minister who is not a member of either House for that long ceases to be a minister.
The Ministry of Cooperation was created on 6 July 2021, and Amit Shah became its first minister the next day, holding it alongside Home Affairs.
Key facts
- Article 75(2): the Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the President.
- Article 75(5): a minister who is not a member of either House of Parliament for six consecutive months ceases to be a minister.
- The third Modi ministry was sworn in on 9 June 2024. Amit Shah took Home Affairs and Cooperation on 10 June 2024.
- The Ministry of Cooperation was created on 6 July 2021, with Amit Shah as its first minister.
Study next
Common traps
- Reading the six-month rule of Article 75(5), or a Rajya Sabha member's six-year term, as a fixed term for ministers.
- Rejecting statement 2 because the NDMA is chaired by the Prime Minister, when the Home Ministry still has a Disaster Management Division.
The Home Minister also appears at 18 Sep 2025, 12:30, GA Q.13, which asks in what capacity he chairs a Zonal Council. Collective responsibility under Article 75 is tested at 15 Sep 2025, 16:00, GA Q.14.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.