Question 1.

Mention the institutions which take major decisions and its

implementation in a country.
Answer:
The institutions which take major decisions and its
implementation in a country are:

1. Legislative
2. Judiciary
3. Executive

Question 2.
What are different terms used for a national government in
India?
Answer:
The national level government is also called Central
Government, Union Government or Government of India.

Question 3.
What do you mean by Office Memorandum?
Answer:
An Office Memorandum explains the policy or decision of the
government issued by an appropriate authority.

Question 4.
Which ministry comprises the Department of Personnel and
Training?
Answer:
The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
comprises the Department of Personnel and Training.

Question 5.
Mention one important policy decision issued in the
Government of India Order of August 13, 1990.
Answer:
It said that 27 per cent of the vacancies in the civil posts and
services under the government are reserved for the Socially
and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC).

Question 6.
Explain SEBC.
Answer:
SEBC stands for Socially and Educationally Backward Classes,
another name for all those who belong to castes that are
considered backward by the government.

Question 7.
Who were eligible for the benefit of job reservation before the
order of August 13, 1990?
Answer:
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were eligible for the
benefit of job reservation.

Question 8.
What is the president’s role in the Parliament?
Answer:
The President is the head of the state and the highest formal
authority on the country.

Question 9.
What is the Prime minister’s role in the Parliament?
Answer:
The Prime minister is the head of the government and actually
exercises all governmental power. He takes most of the
decisions in the Cabinet meetings

Question 10.
What major bodies constitute the Parliament?
Answer:
The Parliament consists of the President and the two houses:
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The prime minister must have the
support of a majority of the Lok Sabha members.
Question 11.
What was the Mandal commission? What were its
recommendations?
Answer:
The Government of India had appointed the Second
Backward Classes Commission in 1979.

It was headed by B.P. Mandal. Hence it was popularly called

the Mandal commission.

It was asked to determine the criteria to identify the socially and

educationally backward classes in India and recommended
steps to be taken for their advancement.

The Commission gave its report in 1980 and made many

recommendations. One of these was that 27 percent of all jobs
be reserved for SEBC’s.

Question 12.
What happened in the 1979 Lok Sabha elections?
Answer:
The Janata Dal promised to implement the Mandal Commission
recommendations if they came to power. When they came to
power in the 1989 elections their leader, VP Singh became the
Prime Minister. Several developments took place in the years
to follow.
Question 13.
What developments took place after Janata Dal’s victory in the
elections?
Answer:

Question 14.
What was the result of this implementation?
Answer:

Question 15.
What is the role of the Supreme and High court?
Answer:
They settle disputes arising out of government decisions.
Question 16.
How did the people react to the implementation? What did the
Supreme Court do?
Answer:
People and associations opposing this order filed case.
Wanted the order to be declared invalid and stopped.
Court bunched then together-Indira Sawhney and others VS
Union of India case
11 Judges heard both sides=decided order was valid by
majority.
Order was amended=”well to do people amongst the backward
classes were to be excluded from this benefit”
Department of Personnel and Training issued a new Office
Memorandum on September 8, 1993.
Question 17.
Why do we need Political Institutions?
Answer:
1. The government is responsible for ensuring security to
the citizens and providing facilities for education and
health to all.
2. It collects taxes and spends the raised money on
administration, defence and development programmes.
3. It formulates and implements several welfare schemes.

Question 18.
What are institutions? Why institutions?
Answer:
Several arrangements are made by the government called
institutions. A democracy works well if the institutions perform
functions assigned to them.
Institutions involve rules and regulations; meetings, routines
and committees. This often leads to complications and delays.
Although some of these can be very useful. They provide an
opportunity to a wider set of people to be consulted in any
decision,
Institutions make it difficult to make a good decision fast, but
also prevent bad decisions to be made in a rush. Thus, the
government insists on institutions.
Question 19.
Give 3 examples of government institutions and their functions?
Answer:
1. Prime Minister & Cabinet Institution-Take important policy
decisions.
2. Civil Servants (work together)-Take steps to implement
the ministers decision.
3. Supreme Court-Settles disputes between government and
the citizens.
Question 20.
What is Parliament?
Answer:
In a democracy, an association of elected representatives
exercise supreme political power on behalf of the people. In
India such an assembly of elected representatives is called a
parliament. At the state level such an association is called the
legislature of a legislative assembly.
Question 21.
Why do we need a parliament?
Answer:
1. Parliament is the highest authority of law making in a
country. This task of law making or legislature is so
important that these assemblies are called the legislature.
In countries around the world the parliament has the
power to make new laws, abolish laws, change laws and
even make new ones in their place.
2. Parliaments around the globe exercise some control over
the government. In India this control is direct and full.
Thus, the government can only make a decision if they are
supported by the parliament.
3. The parliament controls the money that the government
has. In most countries public money cannot be spent
without the parliament sanctioning it.
 4. The parliament is the highest forum of discussion and
debate on any public issue or nation policy. It can seek
information about any matter.
Question 22.
What are institutions? Why institutions?
Answer:
Several arrangements are made by the government called
institutions. A democracy works well if the institutions perform
functions assigned to them.