financial devolution

Question 1

Under which article of the Indian Constitution is the Delimitation Commission established after every Census?

Answer 1

Answer: Article 82.

Question 2

What is the composition of the Delimitation Commission?

Answer 2

Answer: A retired Supreme Court judge, the Chief Election Commissioner of India, and the respective State Election Commissioners.

Question 3

What type of body is the Delimitation Commission, and how are its orders treated?

Answer 3

Answer: It is a quasi-judicial body, and its orders are final and cannot be questioned before any court.

Question 3

When was the first Delimitation Commission Act enacted in India?

Answer 3

1952

Question 3

From how much were the seats increased

Answer 3

The commission recommended the increase of the seats in the Lok Sabha from 522 to 542 (later increased to 543 with the addition of one more seat for the new state of Sikkim).

Question 4

Which amendment act allows for the readjustment and rationalisation of territorial constituencies based on the population of the 1991 Census?

Answer 4

Answer: The 84th Amendment Act, 2001

Question 4

How many times have Delimitation Commissions been set up in the history of the Indian republic?

Answer 4

Answer: Four times (1952, 1963, 1973, and 2002).

Question 5

When was the last delimitation exercise that changed the state-wise composition of the Lok Sabha completed?

Answer 5

1976

Question 6

When was the Delimitation Commission for the four north-eastern states and Jammu & Kashmir reconstituted, and who chaired it?

Answer 6

On 6 March 2020, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai.

Question 6

Which Census was used as the basis for funding and tax devolution recommendations to states before the 15th Finance Commission used the x Census?

Answer 6

x= 2011, The 1971 Census.

Question 6

What percentage of the country’s GDP is contributed by the southern states, despite them having only 18% of the country’s population?

Answer 6

Answer: 35%.

Question 7

What was the base Census used for the delimitation of constituencies as provided by the 87th Amendment Act of 2003?

Answer 7

Answer: The 2001 Census.

Question 7

Under which articles are seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in each state?

Answer 7

Answer: Articles 330 and 332.

Question 7

Which Constitutional Amendment prevented interstate delimitation of constituencies until after the 2026 Census?

Answer 7

The 84th Constitutional Amendment, 2002.

Question 7

When were the four north-eastern states removed from the reconstituted Delimitation Commission’s purview?

Answer 7

In March 2021.

Question 7

Which four northeastern states had delimitation deferred and when?

Answer 7

Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur. Due to security risks, by presidential orders issued on 8 February 2008.

Question 7

What did the Forty-second Amendment (1976) freeze, and why?

Answer 7

It froze the total number of Parliamentary and Assembly seats in each state until the 2001 Census to allow time for family planning measures to reduce fertility rates in states with higher fertility rates.

Question 8

What is the current basis for delimitation of parliamentary constituencies within states?

Answer 8

The 2001 Census, as per the Delimitation Act, 2002.