These DAV SST Book Class 8 Solutions Pdf and DAV Class 8 SST Chapter 18 Question Answer – The Union Government: The Legislature are thoughtfully prepared by experienced teachers.
DAV Class 8 SST Ch 18 Question Answer – The Union Government: The Legislature
DAV Class 8 SST Ch 18 Solutions – The Union Government: The Legislature
Something to Know
A. Tick (✓) the correct option.
Question 1.
Which one of the following subjects comes under the Union List?
(a) foreign affairs
(b) forests
(c) drugs and medicines
(d) information technology
Answer:
(a) foreign affairs
Question 2.
Which one of the following statements about Lok Sabha is correct?
(a) It can never be dissolved.
(b) Its members are elected indirectly.
(c) It cannot pass a no-confidence motion.
(d) Money bills can only be introduced in Lok Sabha.
Answer:
(d) Money bills can only be introduced in Lok Sabha.
Question 3.
Which one of the following statements about the Indian Parliament is true?
(a) It is the highest law-making body of India.
(b) It controls the Union Executive as well as the Judiciary.
(c) All the members of Parliament are elected for a term of five years.
(d) Indian Parliament is unicameral.
Answer:
(a) It is the highest law-making body of India.
Question 4.
Each member of Rajya Sabha has a term of-
(a) four years
(b) five years
(c) six years
(d) seven years
Answer:
(c) six years
Question 5.
During Lok Sabha elections, reserved constituencies are meant for-
(a) minority community
(b) the disabled and handicapped
(c) women only
(d) scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
Answer:
(d) scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
B. Fill in the blanks.
1. The topmost level of government in India is ________ Government.
Answer:
Union
2. In case of a disagreement over a law made on the same subject from the Concurrent List, the law made by ________ prevails over the law made by ________ .
Answer:
Centre; State
3. The Principle of ________ , ________, ________ gives all adult citizens the right to vote.
Answer:
Universal; adult; franchise.
4. The President of India is an ________ part of the Parliament.
Answer:
integral
5. ________ represents the people of India and ________ represents the states of India.
Answer:
Lok Sabha; Rajya Sabha
C. Write True or False for the following statements.
1. A Governor is Head of the State, whereas a Chief Minister is the Head of the State Government.
Answer:
True
2. The women are adequately represented in the Indian Parliament.
Answer:
False
3. No bill can become a law without the approval of the President of India.
Answer:
True
4. The Chairman of Rajya Sabha cannot vote on any issue in Rajya Sabha.
Answer:
True
5. The Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha enjoy equal power regarding the amendment of the Constitution.
Answer:
True
D. Answer the following questions in brief.
Question 1.
Why did India opt for a federal form of government? Explain.
Answer:
In a vast country like India with diverse languages, religions, customs, traditions, lifestyles, climatic con¬ditions and geographical features, it becomes difficult to have a single unified administrative set-up. Therefore, we opted for a federal form of government.
Question 2.
How have the Legislative powers been divided between the Union Government and the State Government?
Answer:
The Legislative powers have been divided between the Union Government and the State Government into three lists
- Union List
- State List
- Concurrent List.
Question 3.
Describe the composition of the Union Government in India.
Answer:
The Union Government comprises of:
- The Legislature or Parliament comprised of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
- The Executive: the President of India, the Prime Minister and the Union Council of Ministers.
- The Judiciary: The Supreme Court of India consisting of the Chief Justice of India and 25 sitting Judges (maximum number can be 31).
Question 4.
Highlight any three dissimilarities between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha with respect to their composition.
Answer:
| Lok Sabha | Rajya Sabha |
| (i) The members are directly elected by the people. | (i) The members are elected by the elected member of State Legislatives. |
| (ii) The maximum strength shall not exceed 550. | (ii) The maximum strength in 250. |
| (iii) The normal tenure is 5 years. | (iii) The Rajya Sabha is a permanent house which can never be dissolved. |
Question 5.
Mention any three advantages of Universal Adult Franchise.
Answer:
Three advantages of Universal Adult Franchise:
- This right gives the people an opportunity to actively participate in the political process of the country.
- They elect their representatives who constitute the Parliament that controls and guides the Union Government.
- People express their trust in the functioning of our democratic set-up.
E. Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
Describe any five major functions of the Indian Parliament.
Ans.
The Indian Parliament performs various functions:
1. It is the highest law-making body. It makes laws on all the subjects enlisted in the Union List, the Concurrent List and the Residuary Subjects.
2. It exercises control over the executive and keeps a check on the ministers and their work. The members of the Parliament have the right to question the ministers about the working of their ministries. If it is not satisfied with the functioning of the ministers, the Lok Sabha can pass a vote of no-confidence.
3. The Parliament passes the annual budget of the central government every year. The government cannot impose any tax or incur any expenditure if the proposals are not approved by the Parliament.
4. The Parliament is empowered to remove the President, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts through the process of impeachment.
5. The members of the Parliament exercise their right to vote to elect the President and the Vice President of India.
Question 2.
Compare the legislative and financial powers of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. On the basis of your comparison, which one of the two Houses is more powerful and how?
Ans.
An ordinary bill can be introduced in either House of the Parliament. But a money bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. Approval of both Houses in necessary for passing a Bill. In case of disagreement (only in case of ordinary bills) a majority vote in taken in a joint meeting of both Houses. There is no provision to hold a joint sitting in case of money bills or amendment bills.
Ragarding money matters, the Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha. Money bills can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. If the Rajya Sabha makes any recommendation regarding a money bill, the Lok Sabha may or may not accept it. Hence, the Lok Sabha is a more powerful House.
Question 3.
How is the Speaker of Lok Sabha elected? Mention her/his powers and functions.
Answer:
The Speaker of Lok Sabha is elected by the members from amongst themselves. There is a tradition that the Speaker is elected from the majority party and the Deputy Speaker from the opposition party. Powers and functions of the Speaker are as follows:
- The Speaker presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha. In her/ his absence, the House is chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
- The Speaker maintains discipline and decorum of the House. If the situation demands, the Speaker can adjourn the House.
- All the petitions and documents addressed to the House are received by the Speaker.
- It is the Lok Sabha Speaker who presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses of the Parliament.
Question 4.
Explain the composition of Rajya Sabha. Who can be elected as a member and for how long? Why is Rajya Sabha called a Permanent House?
Answer:
(i) The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha is 250. Out of these, 12 members are nominated by the President of India and the remaining 238 are elected from the States and Union Territories by the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies. The 12 nominated members are distinguished personalities who excel in various fields of art, literature, science, social service, sports, etc.
(ii) Members of the Rajya Sabha should be citizens of India and not less than 30 years on age. His/Her name must be in the voters’ list.
(iii) The Rajya Sabha is a permanent House which can never be dissolved. After every two years, one-third of its members retire and elections are held to fill these seats. Each member of the Rajya Sabha completes a term of six years.
(iv) The Vice President of India is the Presiding Officer of the Rajya Sabha.
(v) The Vice President presides over the meetings of the Rajya Sabha, conducts its proceedings and maintains the discipline and decorum of the House. In his absence, the Deputy Chairman performs his duties.
Question 5.
Describe the procedure followed by the Union Parliament in passing an ordinary bill.
Answer:
The making of a law is initiated by introducing a legislative proposal for the ordinary bill in either of the two Houses of the Parliament. It goes through three readings in each House. Approval of both the Houses is necessary for passing a bill.
For example, in the first reading, the member introducing the bill takes the permission of the House to introduce the bill and explain the purpose of the bill. In the second reading, a general discussion is held, followed by a detailed discussion, step by step. In the third reading, the bill as a whole is put to vote. If passed by a majority, it is sent to the other House. There, the House adopts the same procedure. When both Houses pass the bill, it is sent to the President for his assent.
In case of disagreement between the two Houses, a majority vote is taken in the joint meeting of both the Houses.
Value Based Question
In the last few years, the Union Government of India has been asserting its powers vehemently whether it is reducing the subjects in State List, or increasing subjects in Concurrent List, or bringing economic reforms like demonetisation, GST, etc.
Question 1.
Identify the reasons for the Central Government to be more powerful in a country like India.
Answer:
The Indian Constitution provides a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the Union government and the State governments. It contains Union List, State List and Concurrent List.
(i) All the 97 subjects of the Union List are of national importance. Only the Parliament has the exclusive power to legislate on them. Some of the subjects in the Union List are defence, foreign affairs, war and peace, railways, post offices, currency, foreign exchange, etc. that the Central Government deals.
(ii) The State List contains 66 subjects like police, local government, public health and sanitation, agriculture, forests, etc. The State Legislature has exclusive power to make laws on these subjects.
The third list is the Concurrent List which has 52 subjects and includes subjects, such as marriage and divorce, transfer of property other than agricultural land, adulteration of foodstuffs, drugs and medicines, labour welfare, etc. The Parliament as well as the State Legislatures both may make laws on the subjects enlisted in the Concurrent List. But in case of conflict, the central law prevails over the state laws.
The subjects not included in these three lists or any such matter fall under the category of residuary subjects. The central government alone can make laws on these residuary subjects through the Parliament, which is the legislative organ of the Central government. The Parliament consists of the President of India and two Houses- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
The head of the Central government is the Prime Minister who enjoys real powers. From the MPs who belong to his/her party, the Prime Minister selects ministers to work with him to implement decisions for welfare of the country. These ministers take charge of different areas of government functioning such as health, education, foreign affairs, tourism, etc.
Question 2.
‘Is the Central Government going against the principles of federalism?’ Express your opinion.
Answer:
Do yourself.
Map Skill
On an outline political map of India, locate and label the following states which have low number of constituencies.
(a) Sikkim
(b) Arunachal Pradesh
(c) Mizoram
(d) Nagaland
(e) Manipur
(f) Tripura
Answer:
Something to Do
Question 1.
Organise a debate in the class in which three students will speak for and three against the topic given below:
The division of subjects in the Union List, State List and the Concurrent List has made the Central Govern¬ment dominate over the States in every respect.’
Answer:
Do yourself.
Question 2.
Identify any five subjects from the Union List, which according to you, should have been in the State List. Justify your choice with arguments.
Answer:
Do yourself.
Question 3.
Visit the websites http:/en.wikipedia. org/ wiki/ Government of India, http://www.indianetzone.com/40/ state governments india.htm and www.vakilbabu.com to get a complete information about the Union Government and list of subjects in the three lists.
The Union Government: The Legislature
Answer:
Do yourself.
DAV Class 8 Social Science Chapter 18 Question Answer – The Union Government: The Legislature
A. Fill In the blanks.
1. The Parliament is constituted by the ________ representatives of the people.
Answer:
elected
2. ________ is also called the Lower House.
Answer:
Lok Sabha
3. ________ represents the people of India, whereas ________ represents the states of India.
Answer:
Lok Sabha; Rajya Sabha
4. The ________ of the Parliament exercise their vote in the President’s election.
Answer:
members
B. Tick (✓) the correct option.
Question 1.
The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha is-
(a) 530
(b) 540
(c) 550
(d) 560
Answer:
(c) 550
Question 2.
The normal term of Lok Sabha is –
(a) 2 years
(b) 3 years
(c) 4 years
(d) 5 years
Answer:
(d) 5 years
Question 3.
Who can dissolve the Lok Sabha before its tenure?
(a) The Prime Minister
(b) The President
(c) The Lok Sabha Speaker
(d) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Answer:
(b) The President
Question 4.
The first Speaker of the Lok Sabha was-
(a) M.M. Munshi
(b) G.V. Mavalankar
(c) Pherozshah Mehta
(d) Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
Answer:
(b) G.V. Mavalankar
Question 5.
The required age for becoming the member of the Lok Sabha is-
(a) 25 years
(b) 27 years
(c) 30 years
(d) 35 years
Answer:
(a) 25 years
C. State whether the following statements are true or false:
1. The House of People is known as Rajya Sabha.
Answer:
False
2. The members of Rajya Sabha are directly elected by the people.
Answer:
False
3. No bill can become a law without the approval of the President of India.
Answer:
True
4. Regarding amendment of the Constitution, both the Houses enjoy equal power.
Answer:
True
5. The members of Parliament elect the Vice President of India.
Answer:
False
6. Women are adequately represented in the Indian Parliament.
Answer:
False
C. Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
Describe the composition of Lok Sabha.
Ans.
The maximum strength of the Lok Sabha shall not exceed 550. Out of this, 530 members are directly elected by the people from different states, whereas the remaining 20 are elected from the Union Territories.
Question 2.
What are the qualifications to become a member of Lok Sabha?
Answer:
The qualifications to become a member of Lok Sabha are:
- He/She must be a citizen of India.
- He/She must have completed the age of 25 years.
- His/Her name must be there in the voter’s list.
- He/She should not be a government servant.
Question 3.
Explain the various provisions regarding the tenure of Lok Sabha.
Answer:
- The normal term of Lok Sabha is five years. However, the President of India can dissolve it earlier also, but only on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.
- The term of the Lok Sabha can be extended for a period of one year at a time, if such a bill is passed by the Parliament to meet some emergency situation.
Question 4.
What is the main purpose behind reservation of seats in the Lok Sabha?
Answer:
The main purpose behind reservation of seats in Lok Sabha is to assist and uplift the weaker sections of the society and bring them into the national mainstream.
Question 5.
Why is the Rajya Sabha called a permanent House?
Answer:
The Rajya Sabha is called a permanent house because it is never dissolved. After every two years, one-third of its members retire and elections are held to fill these seats.
Question 6.
What are the two other names of the Lok Sabha?
Answer:
The Lok Sabha is also known as the House of the People and the Lower House.
Question 7.
What are the two other names of the Rajya Sabha?
Answer:
The Rajya Sabha is also known as the Council of States and the Upper House.
Question 8.
Who does the Lok Sabha represent?
Answer:
The Lok Sabha represents the people of India.
Question 9.
How can you say that the President of India is an integral part of the Parliament?
Answer:
No bill can become a law without the approval of the President.
Question 10.
How many Lok Sabha members are elected from the Union Territories?
Answer:
Twenty members are elected from the Union Territories.
Question 11.
What does the President do in case the Anglo-Indian community is not represented adequately in the Lok Sabha?
Answer:
The President has the power to nominate two members from this community.
Question 12.
‘Some seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes’. What does this mean?
Answer:
This means that persons belonging to these categories only can contest the election from the Reserved Constituencies.
Question 13.
How is the Speaker of the Lok Sabha elected?
Answer:
The members of the Parliament elect the Speaker of the Lok Sabha from among themselves after the elections. He/She is generally from the ruling party but is supposed to act in an impartial manner.
Question 14.
Who are the 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha?
Answer:
The 12 nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are distinguished personalities who excel in various fields of arts, literature, science or social service.
Question 15.
Mention one function of the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Answer:
The Lok Sabha Speaker maintains discipline and decorum of the House. If the situation demands, he/she can adjourn the House.
D. Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1.
What is the significance of the right to vote in a democratic country? Give three points.
Answer:
(i) The right to vote gives the people an opportunity to actively participate in the political process of the country.
(ii) They elect their representatives who constitute the Parliament that controls and guides the government, (in) People express their trust in the functioning of our democratic set up.
Question 2.
What is meant by reserved constituencies? Mention any two reasons for setting up these constituencies. (DAV)
Answer:
Our Constitution makers were worried that in an open electoral competition, certain weaker section may not stand a good chance to get elected to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. So, they devised a special system of reserved constituenceis for them. Some constituencies are reserved for people who belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The purpose behind such a reservation is to assist and uplift the weaker sections of the society and bring them into the national mainstream.
Question 3.
What is a bill? How does it become a law?
Answer:
(i) The Parliament is the highest law¬making body. It can introduce new laws as well as change the old ones. A law is first introduced in the form of a bill in either of the two Houses of the Parliament. However, the Money Bill is always introduced in the Lok Sabha.
(ii) Then comes the stage when approval of both the Houses is necessary for passing the bill. In case of difference between the two Houses (applicable to ordinary bills only), a majority vote is taken in the joint meeting of both the Houses.
(iii) After a bill is approved by both the Houses, it is sent to the President for his/her consent. After the consent is provided, the bill becomes a law.
Something to Do
Question 1.
Watch the live telecast of Question Hour from Lok Sabha TV channel and then discuss the following points in the class:
(a) To what extent does the Question Hour keep a check on the ministers?
(b) Are the questions being asked really provoking and useful?
(c) Are you satisfied with the answers being given by the ministers and why?
(d) Suggest some measures to make Question Hour more effective and relevant.
Answer:
Students are suggested to do themselves.