Sunday, July 23, 2017

List of All the Presidents of India



No.
Name
Elected
Tenure
1.Rajendra Prasad1952-195726 January, 1950 – 12 May, 1962
2.Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan196213 May, 1962 – 13 May, 1967
3.Zakir Husain196713 May, 1967 – 3 May, 1969
4.Varahagiri Venkata Giri (Acting)3 May, 1969 – 20 July, 1969
5.Mohammad Hidayatullah*20 July, 1969 – 24 August, 1969
6.Varahagiri Venkata Giri1969
24 August 1969 – 24 August, 1974
7.Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed197424 August, 1974 – 11 February, 1977
8.Basappa Danappa Jatti (Acting)11 February, 1977 – 25 July, 1977
9.Neelam Sanjiva Reddy197725 July, 1977 – 25 July, 1982
10.Giani Zail Singh198225 July, 1982 – 25 July, 1987
11.Ramaswamy Venkataraman198725 July, 1987 – 25 July, 1992
12.Shankar Dayal Sharma
1992
25 July, 1992 – 25 July, 1997
13.Kocheril Raman Narayanan199725 July, 1997 – 25 July, 2002
14.A. P. J. Abdul Kalam200225 July, 2002 – 25 July, 2007
15.Pratibha Patil200725 July, 2007 – 25 July, 2012
16.Pranab Mukherjee201225 July, 2012 – 25 July, 2017
17.Ram Nath Kovind201725 July, 2017 – Incumbent

Thursday, July 6, 2017

INDIAN POLITY PRACTICE QUESTIONS

1. The system of government in India established by the constitution:
1. Parliamentary
2. Federal
3. Quasi federal
a) 1, 2, 3
b) 1, 2
c) 1 Only
d) None

2. Which one of the following is/are feature/s NOT common to both the Indian Federation and the American Federation?
1. A single citizenship
2. Three lists in the Constitution
3. Dual judiciary
4. A federal supreme court to interpret the Constitution
a) 1 & 2
b) 1, 2 & 3
c) All
d) 1 & 3

3. Which of the following statements regarding the Constituent Assembly are true?
1. It was not based on adult franchise
2. It resulted from direct elections
3. It was a multi-party body
4. It worked through several committees
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 3
c) 1 and 4
d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

4. Which of the following electoral systems is/are have been adopted for various elections in India?
1. System of direct election on the basis of adult suffrage
2. System of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote
3. List system of proportional representation
4. Cumulative system of indirect elections
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
a) 1 and 2
b) 1 and 3
c) 1, 2 and 3
d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

5. Which of the following determines that the Indian Constitution is federal?
1. A written and rigid Constitution
2. An independent Judiciary
3. Vesting of residuary powers with the Centre
4. Distribution of powers between the Centre and the States
a) 1 & 4
b) 1, 3 & 4
c) Only 4
d) None

6. Which one of the following is not explicitly stated in the Constitution of India but followed as a convention?
a) The Finance Minister is to be a Member of the Lower House
b) The Prime Minister has to resign if he loses majority in the Lower House
c) All the parts of India are to be represented in the Council of Ministers
d) In the event of both the President and the Vice-President demitting office simultaneously before the end of their tenure the Speaker of the Lower House of the Parliament will officiate as the President

7. Which of the following is/are extra- constitutional and extra-legal device(s) for securing cooperation and coordination between the States in India?
1. The National Development Council
2. The Governor's Conference
3. Zonal Councils
4. The Inter-State Council
a) 1 and 2
b) 1, 3 and 4
c) 1, 3 and 4
d) 1,2, 3 and 4

8. Which of the following are matters on which a constitutional amendment is possible only with
the ratification of the legislatures of not less than one-half of the States?
1. Election of the President
2. Representation of States in Parliament
3. Any of the Lists in the 7th Schedule
4. Abolition of the Legislative Council of a State
a) 1, 2 and 3
b) 1, 2 and 4
c) 1, 3 and 4
d) 1,2, 3 and 4

9. Assertion (A): The word 'minority' is not defined in the Constitution of India.
Reason (R): The Minorities Commission is not a constitutional body.
In the context of the above two statements, which one of the following is correct?
a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
b) Both Aand R are true, but R is not a correct explanation of A
c) A is true, but R is false
d) A is false, but R is true

10. Assertion(A): The reservation of thirty-three percent of seats for women in Parliament and State
legislatures does not require Constitutional amendment.
Reason(R): Political parties contesting elections can allocate thirty-three percent of seats they
contest to women candidates without any Constitutional amendment.
In the context of the above two statements, which one of the following is correct?
a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
b) Both Aand R are true, but R is not a correct explanation of A
c) A is true, but R is false
d) A is false, but R is true

11. The Indian parliamentary system is different from the British parliamentary system in that
India has which of the following:
1. Both a real and a nominal executive
2. A system of collective responsibility
3. Bicameral legislature
4. The system of judicial review
a) 1, 2 & 3
b) 2 & 4
c) Only 2
d) Only 4

12. Consider the following statements regarding the National Human Rights Commission of India( NHRC):
1. Its Chairman must be a retired Chief Justice of India
2. It has formations in each state as State Human Rights Commission
3. Its powers are only recommendatory in nature
4. It is mandatory to appoint a woman as a member of the Commission
a) 1, 2, 3 and 4
b) 2 and 4
c) 2 and 3
d) 1 and 3

13. The members of the Constituent Assembly which drafted the Constitution of India were:
a) Nominated by the British Parliament
b) Nominated by the Governor General
c) Elected by the Legislative Assemblies of various provinces
d) Elected by the Indian National Congress and Muslim League

14. Consider the following statements with reference to India:
1. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners enjoy equal powers but receive unequal salaries
2. The Chief Election Commissioner is entitled to the same salary as is provided to a judge of the Supreme Court
3. The Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court
4. The term of office of the Election Commissioner is five years from the date he assumes his office or till the day he attains the age of 62 years, whichever is earlier:
Which of these statements are correct?
a) 1 and 2
b) 2 and 3
c) 1 and 4
d) 2 and 4

15. Consider the following statements: In the electoral college for Presidential Election in India:
1. The value of the vote of an elected Member of Legislative Assembly equals
2. The value of the vote of an elected Member of Parliament equals
3. There were more than 5000 members in the latest election
Which of these statement is/are correct?
a) 1 and 2
b) Only 2
c) 1 and 3
d) Only 3

ANSWERS:

1) b, 2) b, 3) c, 4) a, 5) c, 6) b, 7) a, 8) a, 9) b, 10) d, 11) d, 12) d, 13) c, 14) b, 15) b

Sunday, July 2, 2017

Goods and Services Tax (GST)

GST is a unified taxation system which would end multiple taxation across the states and create a level playing field for businesses throughout the country, much like the developed nations. It is a multi-stage destination-based tax which will be collected at every stage, starting from procuring the raw material to selling the final product. The credit of taxes paid at the previous stage(s) will be available for set-off at the next stage of supply. Being destination or a consumption based, the GST will also end multiple taxes levied by Centre and the State Governments like Central Excise, Service Tax, VAT, Central Sales Tax, Octroi, Entry Tax, Luxury Tax and Entertainment Tax etc.  This will lower the overall tax burden on the consumer and will benefit the industry through better cash flows and working capital management. Currently, 17 State and Central levies are being applied on goods as they move from one State to the other.

BENEFITS

Different estimates peg the net advantage to the Gross Domestic Product, up to two percentage points.  The GST regime is also expected to result in better tax compliance, thereby increasing its revenue and narrowing the Budget deficit. All the imported goods will be charged Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) which is equivalent to the Central GST + State GST. This will bring equality with taxation on local products.

Mainly, there will be three types of taxes under the GST regime: Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), State (or Union Territory) Goods and Services Tax (SGST) and Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST). Tax levied by the Centre on intra-State supply of goods or services would be called the CGST and that to be levied by the States and Union Territories(UTs) would be called the SGST respectively. The IGST would be levied and collected by the Centre on inter-State supply of goods and services. Four supplementary legislations approving these taxes, namely the Central GST Bill, the Integrated GST Bill, The GST (Compensation to States) Bill, and the Union Territory GST Bill were passed by the Lok Sabha in May this year, making the realisation of 1st July, 2017 deadline a reality.

All the matters related to the GST are dealt upon by the GST Council headed by the Union Finance Minister while all the State Finance Ministers are its Members. The GST Council also has a provision to adjudicate disputes arising out of its recommendation or implementation thereof.

TAX RATES

The GST Council has fixed four broad tax slabs under the new GST system - 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. On top of the highest slab, there is a cess on luxury and demerit goods to compensate the States for revenue loss in the first five years of GST implementation. Most of the goods and services have been listed under the four slabs, but a few like gold and rough diamonds have exclusive tax rates. Also, some items have been exempted from taxation. The essential items have been kept in the lowest tax bracket, whereas luxury goods and tobacco products will invite higher tax.

17-YEAR-LONG WAIT

Many countries in the world switched to a unified taxation system very early. France was the first country to do so in 1954 and many others followed, some by implementing GST and others by using a different form of Value Added Tax (VAT). In India, the discussion on GST started in the year 2000, in the NDA Government led by the former Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Finally, after 17 years of consensus building, 101st Constitution Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament in 2016. The States had apprehension of reduction in their revenue and their desire to keep some lucrative goods out of the GST baskets like alcohol, petroleum and real estate among others.

IMPACT ON CONSUMERS

From agarbattis (incense sticks) to luxury cars - all these goods will be taxed under different slabs. Movie tickets costing less than Rs 100 have been kept in the 18% GST slab while those over Rs 100 will attract 28% tax under GST. Tobacco products have been kept under a higher tax bracket. Industries such as textiles and, gems and jewellery are subject to a GST rate of 5%

The Government has shown its strong determination and stuck to implementing the GST with effect from 1st July, 2017. The road ahead would require a lot of resolve by the implementing agencies like the Goods and Services Network, states and the industry.    To sail through initial hiccups and successfully steer the ship of the economy, the Government needs to show the same determination and courage. A bold initiative like GST taken for the welfare of the country must lead to a grand success.