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Class 9 Civics Chapter 5 Extra Questions and Answers Working of Institutions
Working of Institutions Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 5 Very Short Answers Type
Question 1.
Who is the supreme commander of the defence forces in India?
Answer:
The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces in India.
Question 2.
Name the three institutions that play a key role in major decisions of the country.
Answer:
Legislature, executive and judiciary.
Question 3.
What is the national level government called?
Answer:
The national level government is called Central Government, Union Government, or just Government of India.
Question 4.
What is the full form of SEBC?
Answer:
SEBC stands for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes.
Question 5.
Who headed the Second Backward Classes Commission in 1979? What was it popularly called?
Answer:
B.P Mandal headed the Second Backward Classes Commission in 1979. It was popularly called the Mandal Commission.
Question 6.
Mention one of the major recommendations made by the Mandal Commission.
Answer:
It recommended that 27 per cent of government jobs be reserved for the socially and educationally backward classes.
Question 7.
What modification did the Supreme Court make in the Mandal C ommission’s recommendations?
Answer:
The Supreme Court said that well-to-do persons among the backward classes should be excluded from getting the benefit of reservation.
Question 8.
What is called Parliament?
Answer:
A national assembly of elected representatives is called Parliament. It exercises supreme political authority on behalf of the people.
Question 9.
Which institution plays a central role in Modern democracies?
Answer:
It is the Parliament that plays a central role in modern democracies.
Question 10.
In our country, the Parliament consists of two houses. Name them.
Answer:
- The Council of States or the Rajya Sabha, and
- The House of the people or the Lok Sabha.
Question 11.
Who are called civil servants?
Answer:
Persons working in civil services are called civil servants.
Question 12.
What is the function of the civil servants?
Answer:
The civil servants work under political executive and assist them in carrying out the day-to-day administration.
Question 13.
Whom does the President appoints as the Prime Minister of India?
Answer:
The president appoints the leader of the majority party as the Prime Minister of India.
Question 14.
In which matter do the Lok Sabha exercise more powers?
Answer:
The Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters.
Question 15.
Who are Cabinet Ministers?
Answer:
Cabinet Ministers are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in charge of the major ministries.
Question 16.
Why is parliamentary democracy in most countries often known as the Cabinet form of government?
Answer:
It is not practical for all ministers to meet regularly and discuss everything, the decisions are taken in Cabinet meetings. The ministers may haver different views and opinions, but everyone has to own up to every decision of the cabinet.
Question 17.
Every ministry has secretaries. What functions do these secretaries do?
Answer:
The secretaries provide the necessary background information to the ministers to take decisions.
Question 18.
Who is the most powerful within the Cabinet?
Answer:
Within the Cabinet it is the Prime Minister who is the most powerful.
Question 19.
Who is the head of the State?
Answer:
The President in the head of the State.
Question 20.
Who elect the President of India?
Answer:
The President of India is indirectly elected by the elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and the elected Members of the Legislative Assemblies (MLAs).
Question 21.
What do you mean by the Presidential form of government?
Answer:
In the presidential system it is the president who is both the head of the state and the head of the government.
Question 22.
What is called the judiciary?
Answer:
All the courts at different levels in a country put together are called the judiciary.
Question 23.
What does the Indian judiciary consist of?
Answer:
The Indian judiciary consists of a Supreme Court for the entire nation, High Courts in the states, District courts and the courts at local level.
Question 24.
What is meant by an integrated judiciary?
Answer:
An integrated judiciary means the Supreme Court controls the judicial administration in the country. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the country.
Question 25.
What do you mean by ‘independence of the judiciary’?
Answer:
Independence of the judiciary means that it is not under the control of the legislature or the executive. The judges do not act on the direction of the government or according to the wishes of the party in power.
Question 26.
How are the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts appointed?
Answer:
The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Question 27.
Who is appointed the Chief Justice of India?
Answer:
The senior most judge of the Supreme Court is usually appointed the Chief Justice of India.
Question 28.
How can a judge be removed?
Answer:
A judge can be removed only by an impeachment motion passed separately by two-third members of the two houses of the parliament.
Question 29.
What is meant by the Parliamentary system of government?
Answer:
In the Parliamentary system of government the Parliament is supreme.
Working of Institutions Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 5 Short Answers Type
Question 1.
What was the objective of the Mandal Commission? Mention one of the recommendations that it make in its report.
Answer:
- The Government of India appointed the second Backward Classes Commission in 1979 under the supervision of B.P Mandal. Since its head was B.P Mandal it came to be known the as Mandal Commission.
- The main objective of this commission was to identify the socially and educationally backward classes in India and recommend steps to be taken for their advancement.
- The Commission gave its Report in 1980 and made many recommendations. One of these was that 27 per cent of government jobs be reserved for the socially and educationally backward classes.
Question 2.
How did people react to the decision to implement the recommendations of the Mandal Commission?
Answer:
(i) The decision to implement the Mandal Commission’s recommendations led to widespread protests and counter protests, some of which were violent. People reacted strongly because this decision affected thousands of job opportunities.
(ii) Some felt that existence of inequalities among people of different castes in India needed job reservations. The felt, this would give a fair opportunity to those communities who so far had not adequately been represented in government employment.
(iii) Others felt that this was unfair as it would deny equality of opportunity to those who did not belong to backward communities. They would be denied jobs even though they could be more qualified. Some felt that this would generate caste feelings among people and hamper national unity.
Question 3.
Name the three institutions that play a key role in major decisions in a democratic country. How do these institutions work?
Answer:
The three institutions are: Legislature, executive and judiciary.
- Legislature: It is an assembly of people’s representatives with the power to enact laws for a country. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures have authority to raise taxes and adopt the budget and other money bills.
- Executive: It is a body of persons having authority to initiate major policies, make decisions and implement them on the basis of the Constitution and laws of the country.
- Judiciary: It is an institution empowered to administer justice and provide a mechanism for the resolution of legal disputes.
Question 4.
In our country, the Parliament consists of two Houses. Describe briefly these two Houses.
Answer:
(i) These two Houses are known as the Council of States or the Rajya Sabha and the House of the People or the Lok Sabha.
(ii) The Rajya Sabha is usually elected indirectly and performs some special functions. The most common work of this House is to look after the interests of various states, regions or federal units.
(iii) The Lok Sabha is usually directly elected by the people and exercises real power on behalf of the people.
Question 5.
What are the two categories that make up the executive? Describe them.
Answer:
- In a democratic country, two categories make up the executive. The first category which is elected by the people for a specific period is called the political executive. Political leaders who take the big decisions fall in this category.
- In the second category, people are appointed on a long-term basis. This is called the permanent executive or civil servants. Persons working in civil services are called civil servants. They remain in office even when the ruling party changes. These officers work under political executive and assist them in carrying out the day-to-day administration.
Question 6.
How is the Prime Minister appointed in our country?
Answer:
(i) Prime Minister is the most important political institution in the country. But there is no direct election to the post of the Prime Minister. The President appoints the Prime Minister.
(ii) But the President cannot appoint anyone he/she likes. The president appoints the leader of the majority party or the coalition of parties that commands a majority in the Lok Sabha, as Prime Minister.
(iii) In case no single party or alliance gets a majority, the President appoints the person most likely to secure a majority support. The Prime Minister does not have a fixed tenure. He continues in power so long as he remains the leader of the majority party or coalition.
Question 7.
Give the brief description of the Council of Ministers.
Answer:
Council of Ministers is the official name for the body that includes all the Ministers. It usually has 60 to 80 Ministers of different ranks:
- Cabinet Ministers are usually top level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in charge of the major ministries. Usually the Cabinet Ministers meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of Ministers. Cabinet is thus the inner the ring of the Council Ministers. It comprises about 20 ministers.
- Ministers of State with independent charge are usually in-charge of smaller Ministries. They participate in the Cabinet meeting only when specially invited.
- Ministers of State are attached to and required to assist Cabinet Ministers.
Question 8.
“The rise of coalition politics in recent years has imposed certain constraints on the power of the Prime Minister”. Explain.
Or
What are the limitations of the Prime Minister in coalition government?
Answer:
The emergence of coalition government has put some barriers on the power of the Prime Minister:
(i) The Prime Minister of a coalition government cannot take decisions as he/she likes. He has to accommodate different groups and factions in his party as well as among alliance partners.
(ii) He also cannot ignore the views and positions of the coalition partners and other parties, on whose support the survival of the government depends.
Question 9.
How is the President elected in our country?
Answer:
In our country the President is not elected directly by the people. The elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and the elected Members of the Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) elected him. A candidate standing for President’s post has to get a majority of votes to win the election. This ensures that the President can be seen to represent the entire nation. He remains the nominal executive and can never claim the kind of direct popular mandate that the Prime Minister can.
Question 10.
Enlist the disputes that can be taken by the Supreme Court.
Answer:
The Supreme Court can take up the following types of disputes:
- Between citizens of the country;
- Between citizens and the government;
- Between two or more state governments; and
- Between governments at the Union and State level.
The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in civil and criminal cases. It can hear appeals against the decisions of the High courts.
Question 11.
How can you say that in India courts are independent of the legislature and the executive?
Answer:
In India, we have courts independent of the legislature and the executive.
(i) The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
(ii) In practice it now means that the senior judges of the Supreme Court select the new judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. There is very little scope for interference by the political executive.
(iii) The senior most judge of the Supreme Court is usually appointed the Chief Justice. Once a person is appointed as judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court it is nearly impossible to remove him or her from that position.
Working of Institutions Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 5 Long Answers Type
Question 1.
What is Parliament? Why do we need it?
Or
In what different ways does Parliament exercise political authority on behalf of the people?
Answer:
In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives exercise supreme political authority on behalf of the people. Such an assembly is called Parliament. At the state level this is called Legislature or Legislative Assembly.
Parliament exercises political authority on behalf of the people in many ways:
(i) It is the final authority for making laws in any country. Parliaments all over the world can make new laws, change existing laws, or abolish existing laws and make new ones in their place.
(ii) Parliaments all over the world exercise some control over those who run the government. In some countries like India this control is direct and full.
(iii) Parliaments controls all the money that governments have. In most countries any of the public money can be spent only when the Parliament sanctions it.
(iv) Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national policy in any country. Parliament can seek information about any matter.
Question 2.
What are the powers and functions of the Prime Minister of India?
Answer:
The Prime Minister of India is the head of the government and exercises wide ranging powers:
(i) He/she chairs cabinet meetings. He/she coordinates the work of different departments. His/her decisions are final in case disagreements arise between departments.
(ii) He/she exercises general supervision of different ministries. All ministers work under his/her leadership.
(iii) The Prime Minister distributes and redistributes work to the ministers. He/she also has the power to dismiss ministers. When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.
(iv) He is a link between the President and the people. He/she is the person who is actually responsible for the effective functioning of the government.
(v) The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers. The whole body works together under him/her as a team. Thus, if the cabinet is the most powerful institution in India, within the Cabinet it is the Prime Minister who is the most powerful.
Question 3.
Give a detailed description of the powers of the President of India.
Answer:
The President is the elected head of the state. He/she heads the executive body of the Indian Union. He/
she issues orders to enforce laws made by the Parliament. He/she exercise the following powers:
- The Council of Ministers themselves is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
- All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in his/her name.
- All top-level officials of the Union government sire appointed by the President and can be removed by him/her.
- He/she has the power to appoint the ambassadors to other countries. He/she also receives the ambassadors and other envoys from foreign countries.
- All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President.
- A bill passed by the Parliament becomes a law only after the President gives assent to it. If the president wants, he/she can delay this for some time and send the bill back to the parliament for reconsideration.
- The President can grant pardon to anyone sentenced by the courts.
- The President exercises direct control on the administration of Union Territories.
Working of Institutions Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 5 Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) Questions
Question 1.
Which House of the Parliament is more powerful in India and why? Give reasons.
Answer:
The Lower House also called the Lok Sabha is more powerful. The reasons are given below:
(i) Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both the Houses. But if there is a difference between the two Houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session in which members of both the Houses sit together. Since the Lok Sabha has larger number of members, its view is likely to prevail in such a meeting.
(ii) Lok Sabha had more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes the budget of the government or any other money related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it. The Rajya Sabha can only delay it by 14 days or suggest changes in it. The Lok Sabha may or may not accept these changes.
(iii) The Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. Only a person who enjoys the support of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha is appointed the Prime Minister. If the majority of the Lok Sabha members say they have ‘no confidence’ in the Council of Ministers, all ministers including the Prime Minister, have to quit. The Rajya Sabha does not have this power.
Question 2.
How can you say that the judiciary in India is one of the most powerful in the world?
Answer:
It is a fact that the judiciary in India is one of the most powerful in the world. The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution of the country. They can declare invalid any law of the legislature or the actions of the executive, whether at the Union level or at the State level, if they find such a law or the action is against the Constitution. Thus, they can determine the Constitutional validity of any legislation or action of the executive in the country, when it is challenged before them. This is known as the judicial review.
The Supreme Court of India has also ruled that the basic principles of the Constitution cannot be changed by the Parliament. The power and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the guardian of the Fundamental Rights.
In recent years the courts have given several judgements and directives to protect public interest and human rights. Anyone can approach the courts if public interest is hurt by the actions of government. The courts intervene to prevent the misuse of the government’s power to make decisions. They check malpractices on the part of public officials.
Working of Institutions Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 5 Value-based Questions (VBQs)
Question 1.
Why does the political executive have more power than the non-political executive?
Or
Why is the minister more powerful than the civil servant?
Answer:
The civil servant is usually more educated and has more expert knowledge of the subject. For example, the advisors working in the Finance Ministry know more about economics than the Finance Minister. Sometimes the ministers may know very little about the technical matters that come under their ministry.
This could easily happen in ministries like Defence, Industry, Health, Science and Technology. In spite of these facts, the minister has the final say on these matters. The reason is that in a democracy the will of the people is supreme. The minister is elected by the people and thus empowered to exercise the will of the people on their behalf.
He or she is finally answerable to the people for all the consequences of his/her decision. That is why the minister takes all the final decisions. The minister decides the overall framework and objectives in which decisions on policy should be made. The minister is not expected to be an expert in the matters of his or her ministry. He or she takes the advice of experts (civil servants) on all technical matters.
Question 2.
What does the President do when no party or coalition gets a majority in the Lok Sabha?
Or
Explain the discretionary power of the President.
Answer:
When a party or coalition of parties secures a clear majority in the elections, the President, has to appoint the leader of the majority party or the coalition that enjoys majority support in the Lok Sabha. But sometimes there occurs a situation when no party or coalition gets a majority in the Lok Sabha.
In such a situation the President exercises her/his discretion. The President appoints a leader who in his/ her opinion can muster majority support in the Lok Sabha. In such a case, the President can ask the newly appointed Prime Minister to prove majority support in the Lok Sabha within a specified time.
Question 3.
“The judiciary in India enjoys a high level of confidence among the people”. Explain.
Answer:
(i) The judiciary in India is very powerful and can do whatever is needed to protect the rights of the citizens. Anyone can approach the courts if public interest is hurt by the actions of government. One can write to the judges even on a post-card. The court will take up the matter if the judges find it in public interest.
(ii) The courts intervene to prevent the misuse of the government’s power to make decisions. They check malpractices on the part of public officials.
That’s why the judiciary enjoy’s a high level of confidence among the people.
Question 4.
What is the importance of political institutions in a democratic government?
Or
To attend various tasks, several arrangements are made in all modern democracies. Such arrangements are called institutions.
What values are associated with these institutions?
Answer:
Legislature, executive and judiciary are political institutions which perform functions assigned to them. The values associated with these institutions are:
(i) Institutions involve rules and regulations. This can bind the hands of leaders. Institutions involve meetings, committees and routines. This often leads to delays and complications. Therefore, dealing with institutions can be frustrating. One might feel that it is much better to have one person take all decisions without any rules, procedure and meetings. But that is not the spirit of democracy.
(ii) Some of the delays and complications introduced by institutions are very useful. They provide an opportunity for a wider set of people to be consulted in any decisions.
(iii) Institutions make it difficult to have a good decision taken very quickly. But they also make it equally difficult to rush through a bad decision. That is why democratic governments insist on institutions.