UPPSC 2020 Prelims Q118: What can be the minimum strength of Council of Ministers

Q: What is the answer to UPPSC 2020 Prelims Q118?

B. Correct — B, 12. Article 164(1A) of the Constitution provides that 'the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a State shall not be less than twelve.' This floor was inserted by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 (the same clause also caps the Council at 15% of the total members of the Legislative Assembly). So even a small State cannot have fewer than 12 ministers including the Chief Minister — making 12 the minimum.

UPPSC 2020 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 118 of 150

Verified against the official question paper. Answer as per the official UPPSC answer key.

What can be the minimum strength of Council of Ministers including Chief Minister in the States?

(a)10
(b)12
(c)13
(d)14

Answer

Why

Correct — B, 12. Article 164(1A) of the Constitution provides that 'the total number of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a State shall not be less than twelve.' This floor was inserted by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 (the same clause also caps the Council at 15% of the total members of the Legislative Assembly). So even a small State cannot have fewer than 12 ministers including the Chief Minister — making 12 the minimum.

Why the others are wrong

(a)10 — Wrong — the constitutional floor is twelve, not ten; Article 164(1A) fixes the minimum at 12.
(c)13 — Wrong — 13 is above the prescribed minimum. The Constitution sets the floor at 12, not 13.
(d)14 — Wrong — 14 exceeds the minimum. The 91st Amendment fixed the lower limit at 12.

Concept

The 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 added Article 164(1A) for States (and Article 75(1A) for the Union) to control 'jumbo' ministries and defection-driven reward-giving. For States it set both a ceiling and a floor: the Council of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, must not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly, and must not be fewer than 12. The 12-minister floor protects small States/UTs whose 15% ceiling would otherwise be tiny.

The question tests the lower limit, not the 15% ceiling. Note the floor applies to the Council 'including the Chief Minister'. The number 12 comes straight from Article 164(1A) — the same reform that also fixed the 15% cap most students remember for the ceiling side.

Key facts

Article 164(1A): State Council of Ministers (incl. CM) shall not be less than 12
Same clause caps the Council at 15% of the Legislative Assembly's total strength
Both limits were inserted by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003
The parallel Union provision is Article 75(1A) — 15% of the Lok Sabha's strength

The large white dome of the Vidhan Bhawan (Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly building) and a clock tower rising above the Lucknow skyline in daylight — seat of the UP Legislative Assembly — the State legislature whose strength fixes the 15% ceiling, while Article 164(1A) sets the 12-minister floor for the State Council of MinistersImage: Vujn (Wikipedia) / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Study next

91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 (anti-defection and ministry-size limits)Article 164 — appointment and responsibility of State MinistersArticle 75(1A) — 15% cap on the Union Council of MinistersTenth Schedule and the anti-defection lawCollective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the Legislative Assembly

Common traps

Confusing the 12-minister floor (Art 164(1A)) with the 15% ceiling of the same clause
Applying the Union figures (Lok Sabha) to a question that is specifically about the States

UPPSC/UPSC ask either for the minimum (12) or for the 15% ceiling, and often for the amendment that introduced both (91st).

Related PYQs

UPSC_2007_GS1_Q512007Open & attempt →

Which of the Constitution Amendment Acts seeks that the size of the Council of Ministers at the Centre and in a State must not exceed 15 percent of the total number in the Lok Sabha and the total number of members of the Legislative Assembly of that State, respectively?

(a) 91st
(b) 93rd
(c) 95th
(d) 97th

Answer(a) 91st

Same provision — Article 164(1A) for States (and 75(1A) for the Union), inserted by the 91st Amendment. UPSC 2007 tests the amendment/15% ceiling; this 2020 question tests the 12-minister floor of the very same clause.

UPSC_2009_GS1_Q862009Open & attempt →

Which one of the following Constitutional Amendments states that the total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed fifteen percent of the total number of members of the House of the People ?

(a) 90th
(b) 91st
(c) 92nd
(d) 93rd

Answer(b) 91st

Same 91st-Amendment reform on ministry size — UPSC 2009 asks the Union side (Art 75(1A), 15% of Lok Sabha); this UPPSC 2020 item asks the State-side minimum (Art 164(1A), not less than 12).

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
The maximum size of the Council of Ministers in a State, as fixed by the 91st Amendment, is
- (a)10% of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly
- (b)12% of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly
- (c)15% of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly
- (d)20% of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly
Answer(c) 15% of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly — subject to a minimum of 12.
practice — not a real PYQ
The floor and ceiling on the size of a State Council of Ministers were introduced by which Constitutional Amendment?
- (a)52nd Amendment, 1985
- (b)73rd Amendment, 1992
- (c)91st Amendment, 2003
- (d)97th Amendment, 2011
Answer(c) 91st Amendment, 2003 — it inserted Articles 164(1A) and 75(1A).