SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 21 September 2025, Shift 1 · General Awareness · Question 18 of 99

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

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SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Which of the following statements about the Inter-State Council (ISC) is/are correct? A) The Inter-State Council is headed by the Prime Minister of India. B) It functions as a recommendatory body rather than a tribunal for dispute resolution.

(a)Only 1
(b)Only 2
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The stem labels the statements A) and B), and the options call them 1 and 2.

A) is true. The Prime Minister chairs the Inter-State Council. Its members include the Chief Ministers of all States and six Union Cabinet Ministers nominated by the PM.

B) is true. Article 263 casts the Council as a body that inquires, investigates and recommends. Even on disputes, it may only inquire into and advise upon them.

Both true → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Only 1 — Drops B), but the Council is recommendatory: Article 263 has it inquire, investigate and recommend. Adjudicating inter-State water disputes is left to tribunals under Article 262.
(b)
Only 2 — Drops A), but the Prime Minister chairs the Inter-State Council. The Union Home Minister chairs its Standing Committee — do not swap the two.
(d)
Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements hold. The Prime Minister chairs the Council, and its role is to advise and recommend, which is what B) says.

Concept

Article 263 lets the President set up an Inter-State Council when the public interest would be served. The Council was constituted by Presidential Order of 28 May 1990, on the Sarkaria Commission's recommendation.

The Prime Minister chairs it. Members include the Chief Ministers of all States and of Union Territories with legislatures, Administrators of other UTs, and six Union Cabinet Ministers nominated by the PM.

Do not confuse the Council with a tribunal. Inter-State river water disputes go to tribunals that Parliament provides for under Article 262, not to the Inter-State Council.

Key facts

Article 263 provides for an Inter-State Council, set up by the President when the public interest would be served.
The Council was constituted by Presidential Order of 28 May 1990, on the recommendation of the Sarkaria Commission.
The Prime Minister chairs the Council, and the Union Home Minister chairs its Standing Committee.
Article 263 lists three duties: inquiring into and advising upon inter-State disputes, investigating subjects of common interest, and making recommendations.

Study next

Article 262 and the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956Zonal Councils under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956The Punchhi Commission (2007) on Centre–State relations

Common traps

Giving the chair to the Union Home Minister — he chairs the Council's Standing Committee, not the Council.
Reading Article 263's mention of disputes as making the Council a tribunal — it inquires and advises, it does not decide.

The Council is also asked at 22 Sep 2025, 09:00, GA Q.25 (its 1990 origin, its Article 263 basis and its lack of enforcement power) and at 18 Sep 2025, 12:30, GA Q.15 (Sarkaria report, Council and Punchhi Commission in order).

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: General Policy — all 308 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.