UPPSC 2024 Prelims GS Paper-I · Question 102 of 150

Correct — C, A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4. Take the four pairs one at a time. (A) The Consolidated Fund of India is created by Article 266 — Article 266(1) directs that all revenues received by the Government of India, all loans it raises by the issue of treasury bills, loans or ways-and-means advances, and all money it receives in repayment of loans shall form one consolidated fund called 'the Consolidated Fund of India', and Article 266(3) adds that no money out of it may be appropriated except in accordance with law. So A → 1. (B) The Finance Commission is created by Article 280, under which the President constitutes a Commission — a Chairman and four other members — within two years of the commencement of the Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year or earlier, to recommend the distribution of the net proceeds of shareable taxes between the Union and the States and among the States, and the principles governing grants-in-aid to the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India. So B → 3. (C) Financial Emergency is Article 360, the third and least-used emergency provision, under which the President may proclaim an emergency if satisfied that a situation has arisen whereby the financial stability or credit of India or of any part of its territory is threatened. So C → 2. (D) The Comptroller and Auditor-General of India is created by Article 148, which provides that there shall be a CAG appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal and removable only in the manner and on the grounds on which a Judge of the Supreme Court is removed. So D → 4. Reading the four in order gives A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4, which is option (c) — the marked answer. The efficient exam technique here is not to solve all four pairs but to fix one you are certain of and eliminate. Article 148 for the CAG rules out (b) instantly, and Article 266 for the Consolidated Fund — the Article printed on every Appropriation Act — rules out (a) and (b) together; between the survivors (c) and (d) only the B and C slots differ, so a single fact, that 360 is Financial Emergency, closes the question.

• (a)A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4 — It gets the second half right — Financial Emergency to Article 360 and the CAG to Article 148 — but swaps the first two. It puts the Consolidated Fund of India under Article 280 and the Finance Commission under Article 266, which is precisely backwards. Article 280 constitutes the Finance Commission; Article 266 constitutes the Consolidated Fund. The swap is tempting because the two provisions are linked in substance: Article 280(3)(b) asks the Finance Commission to recommend the principles governing grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States 'out of the Consolidated Fund of India'. Sharing a sentence does not mean sharing an Article number.
• (b)A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2 — Every one of the four pairs is wrong — it is a complete rotation of the list. It assigns the Consolidated Fund to Article 148 (which is the CAG), the Finance Commission to Article 266 (the Consolidated Fund), Financial Emergency to Article 280 (the Finance Commission), and the CAG to Article 360 (Financial Emergency). One certain pairing is enough to discard this option outright.
• (d)A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4 — This is the near-miss and the option that actually costs marks. It gets the two outer pairs right — Consolidated Fund to Article 266 and CAG to Article 148 — and then interchanges the two middle ones, putting the Finance Commission under Article 360 and Financial Emergency under Article 280. Article 360 is the Financial Emergency provision in Part XVIII, alongside Article 352 (National Emergency) and Article 356 (President's Rule); Article 280 sits in Part XII and creates the Finance Commission. The trap works on the word 'financial' appearing in both entries, so drill the number pair 280/360 in opposite directions until it is automatic.

Part XII of the Constitution ('Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits') builds the Union's money machinery in a fixed sequence, and prelims questions are almost always drawn from that sequence. Article 265 forbids any tax except by authority of law; Article 266 creates the Consolidated Fund of India and the Public Account of India; Article 267 creates the Contingency Fund; Article 280 creates the Finance Commission; and Articles 148 to 151, sitting in Part V under 'Comptroller and Auditor-General of India', create the auditor who checks that money leaving the Consolidated Fund left it lawfully. Article 360, in Part XVIII, is the separate emergency lever for when national finances themselves are in danger. Learning these as a chain — collect, hold, appropriate, audit — is far more durable than memorising four isolated numbers.

UPPSC sets this item as a four-row match precisely because three of the four entries carry the word 'financial' or 'fund', so surface similarity gives no help and only the numbers can separate them. The two mistakes candidates actually make are visible in the options: swapping 266 and 280 (option a) and swapping 280 and 360 (option d). Guard against both with anchors rather than rote. For 266, remember that every Appropriation Act is headed 'to authorise payment and appropriation of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of India' — the Fund is the reservoir, and Article 114(3) says nothing may be withdrawn from it except under a law made by Parliament. For 360, remember that it belongs to the emergency trio 352-356-360 and has never once been proclaimed since 1950, unlike the National Emergency (three times: 1962, 1971, 1975) and President's Rule (well over a hundred times). For 148, remember Dr Ambedkar's description of the CAG as probably the most important officer under the Constitution. Anchors like these survive exam pressure in a way that a bare number list does not.

• Article 266 — Article 266(1) constitutes the Consolidated Fund of India from all revenues received by the Government of India, all loans raised by treasury bills, loans or ways-and-means advances and all money received in repayment of loans; Article 266(2) creates the Public Account of India for all other public money; Article 266(3) bars appropriation from the Fund except in accordance with law. The Contingency Fund of India is a separate provision, Article 267.
• Article 280 — the President constitutes a Finance Commission of a Chairman and four other members within two years of the commencement of the Constitution and thereafter every fifth year or earlier, to recommend the distribution of the net proceeds of shareable taxes between the Union and the States and among the States, the principles governing grants-in-aid to the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India, and measures to augment State funds to supplement Panchayat and Municipality resources (added by the 73rd and 74th Amendments). Under Article 281 the President must lay its recommendations, with the action-taken memorandum, before each House of Parliament.
• Article 360 — Financial Emergency, proclaimed if the President is satisfied that the financial stability or credit of India or of any part of its territory is threatened; it needs approval by both Houses within two months, and while it is in force the President may direct reduction of salaries and allowances of persons serving the Union, expressly including Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. It has never been proclaimed in India.
• Article 148 — the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India is appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal and can be removed only in the manner and on the grounds on which a Supreme Court Judge is removed; the salary and conditions of service are laid down by Parliament, and both the CAG's salary and the administrative expenses of his office are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India, i.e. not put to the vote of Parliament. Article 149 fixes his duties and powers, Article 151 requires his reports on Union accounts to be laid before each House of Parliament.
• Neighbouring numbers that turn up as distractors: Article 265 (no tax except by authority of law), Article 267 (Contingency Fund), Article 112 (Annual Financial Statement, i.e. the Budget), Article 114 (Appropriation Bills), Article 352 (National Emergency) and Article 356 (President's Rule).

• Swapping 266 and 280. The Finance Commission recommends grants-in-aid 'out of the Consolidated Fund of India', so the two appear in one sentence — but the Fund is 266 and the Commission is 280.
• Swapping 280 and 360 because both entries contain the word 'financial'. Fix it by location: 280 is in Part XII (Finance), 360 is in Part XVIII (Emergency Provisions).
• Confusing the Consolidated Fund (Art. 266) with the Contingency Fund (Art. 267). UPPSC has asked the Contingency Fund Article directly in 2021, so both numbers are live.
• Assuming the CAG's tenure of six years or age 65 comes from Article 148. Article 148 leaves salary and conditions of service to Parliament; the six-year/65-year rule comes from the CAG (DPC) Act, 1971.

UPPSC overwhelmingly prefers the four-row Article-to-institution match with a coded answer, exactly as here and as in its 2023 paper; UPSC more often asks a single Article's content in prose ('the authorisation for withdrawal of funds from the Consolidated Fund must come from…') or tests a consequence of the provision. Either way the examinable unit is the Article number plus one sentence of what it actually does.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which Article of the Constitution of India provides for the constitution of a Finance Commission?

  • (a)Article 266
  • (b)Article 267
  • (c)Article 280
  • (d)Article 360

  Answer(c) Article 280 — the President constitutes a Finance Commission of a Chairman and four other members every fifth year or earlier. Article 266 creates the Consolidated Fund and the Public Account, Article 267 the Contingency Fund, and Article 360 provides for Financial Emergency.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Consider the following statements about the Financial Emergency under the Constitution of India: 1. It is provided for by Article 360. 2. While it is in operation, the President may direct the reduction of salaries of Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. 3. It has been proclaimed once, during 1975-77. Which of the statements given above are correct?

  • (a)1 and 2 only
  • (b)2 and 3 only
  • (c)1 and 3 only
  • (d)1, 2 and 3

  Answer(a) 1 and 2 only — Article 360 provides for Financial Emergency, and Article 360(4)(b) expressly permits directions reducing the salaries and allowances of Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. Statement 3 is false: a Financial Emergency has never been proclaimed in India; the 1975-77 proclamation was a National Emergency under Article 352.