CBSE CLASS 9 - SOCIAL SCIENCE - WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS ( Q and A) (#cbseNotes)

SOCIAL SCIENCE - WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS

Q & A

Q1: What do you mean by the term institution? Why are they required?

Answer: Several arrangements are made in all modern democracies to perform  various tasks. Such arrangements are called institutions. Some of the tasks performed by these institutions are:

1.  To ensure security to the citizens and provide facilities for education and  health to all.

2.  To collect taxes and spend the money thus raised on administration, defence and development programmes.

3.  To formulate and implement several welfare schemes.

4.  To solve the disputes: if they arise on various decisions or on their  implementation.


A democracy works well when the various institutions perform functions assigned to them.

Q2: Which three institutions are responsible to run a democratic government in India? Mention their respective roles.

Answer: The three institutions responsible to run a democratic government in India are:



1. Legislature:
  It is assembly of people's representatives with 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. At national level; it is called Parliament and at state level, it is called Legislative Assembly.

2. Executive:
  The functionaries at different levels of the government who take day to day decisions are collectively known as executive. They are in charge of the execution of policies of the government. e.g. President, Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers.

3. Judiciary:
  All courts at different levels of the country put together are called judiciary. The Indian Judiciary consists of the Supreme Court for the entire nation, High' courts at state level, District courts and the courts at local level.


Q3: What is Parliament ? Discuss the powers and functions of the Parliament.

Answer: In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives exercises supreme political authority on behalf of the people. In India, such a national assembly of elected representatives is called the Parliament.

The powers and functions of the Parliament are:
1.  It has the power to legislate on all the subjects under the jurisdiction of the central government.
2.  It passes ordinary and financial bills.
3.  It approves emergency proclaimed by the President.
4.  Elected members of both the houses of the Parliament participate in the elections of the President of India.
5.  The Vice President is elected by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
6.  It has the power to remove the President, Vice President and Judges of the High Court and Supreme Court through special procedures.
7.  It also exercises control over the executive.
8. It also discusses the policies of the government.


Q4:  Distinguish between the two houses of the Parliament.

Answer:

SNo.	Attribute	Lok Sabha	Raj Sabha
1.	Also called	House of the People	Council of States
2.	Elections	Members are directly elected by the people.	Members are indirectly elected by the members of the legislative assemblies of the states.
3.	Tenure	Its members are elected for 5 yrs, But it can be dissolved before the expiry of its term.	It is a permanent house. Its members are elected for a period of 6 years.
4.
5.	Eligibility	A person must be a citizen of India and atleast 25 years of age.	A person must be a citizen of India and atleast 30 years of age.
6.	Power	Lok Sabha is more powerful than Rajya Sabha.	Rajya Sabha is not as powerful as the Lok Sabha.
7.	No. of Members	It can have 552 Members. Out of these 530 are elected from different states and the remaining 29 from Union Territories. 2 members can be nominated by the President from Anglo — Indian Community.	It has 250 members. 238 are representatives from the states and Union Territories and 12 are nominated by the President of India.

Q5: 'Lok Sabha is more powerful than the Rajya Sabha.',Justify.

Answer:
1.    Ordinary Bill: Any ordinary bill needs to be passed by both the houses. But if there is a difference in opinion between the two houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session. Because of the larger number of members, the view of the Lok Sabha is likely to prevail in such a meeting.

2.    Money Bill: Lok Sabha exercises 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.

3.    No Confidence Motion: 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 as 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.


Q6:  Distinguish between political executive and permanent executive.

Answer:

	POLITICAL EXECUTIVE	PERMANENT EXECUTIVE
1.	They are elected by the people for a specific period.	They are appointed by the government for a long period.
2.	They make laws and policies.	They are in-charge of execution of the policies of the government.
3.	They can be changed in the next elections.	They are permanent and remain in office even when the ruling party changes.

Q7:   The political executive is more powerful than the non-political executive'. Why?


Answer:
  1.  In a democracy the will of the people is supreme. The political leaders are elected by the people and thus empowered to exercise the will of the people on their behalf.

  2.  All the non-political executives are the experts in their field but the decision on all policies are taken by the political executive.

  3.  The ministers can take the advice of the experts on all technical matters,but the final decision is taken by them.



Q8: Explain the powers and functions of the Prime Minister.


Answer: The Prime Minister is the head of the Central Govt. He is the chief advisor of the President and exercises all the powers rested in the name of the President of India. His power and functions are as follows :-


1. He selects the members of the cabinet, allocate portfolios and can dismiss any minister.
2. He is the head of the cabinet ministers and presides over the meetings with them.
3. He co-ordinates the work of different departments.
4. In case of disagreement between the departments, his decisions are final.
5. He exercises general supervisions of different ministries.
6. He distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.
7. He has the power to dismiss ministers. When he quits, the entire ministry quits.


Q9:  'The Prime Minister of coalition government cannot take decisions as he likes.' Give reasons.

Answer: The Prime Minster of a coalition government cannot take decisions as he likes because:

1. He has to accommodate different groups and factions in his party as well as among alliance partners.

2. He also has to pay heed to the views of the coalition partners and other parties, on whose support the survival of the government depends.