UPSC Prelims 2026 Polity Quiz (Week 163): MCQs on Forest Rights Act, Consolidated Fund of India and more

<p>UPSC Essentials brings to you its initiative of daily subject-wise quizzes. These quizzes are designed to help you revise some of the most important topics from the static part of the syllabus. Attempt today’s subject quiz on Polity and Governance to check your progress.</p><p>Gear up for UPSC Prelims 2026—Practice smarter, revise faster, and succeed with our Special Quiz Magazine. (Click Here)</p><p>With reference to the Forest Rights Act, consider the following statements:</p><p>1. It seeks to recognise and vest forest rights in forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers.</p><p>2. The act allows for the collection of minor forest produce.</p><p>3. The law provides only for living and does not allow them to cultivate forest land.</p><p>How many of the statements given above are correct?</p><p>(a) Only one</p><p>(b) Only two</p><p>(c) All three</p><p>(d) None</p><p>Relevance: The question is important for UPSC Prelims because the Forest Rights Act is frequently linked with tribal rights, forest governance, biodiversity conservation, and environmental justice. UPSC can ask statement-based questions from environmental legislation and the interface between conservation and livelihood issues.</p><p>Explanation</p><p>Story continues below this ad</p><p>— On May 8, the Calcutta High Court’s Port Blair circuit bench agreed to hear a public interest litigation by former union government secretary Meena Gupta alleging violations of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, while seeking tribal consent for the Great Nicobar infrastructure project.</p><p>— Enacted in 2006, the FRA seeks to recognise and vest forest rights in forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers who have lived on such lands for generations but whose rights were never formally recorded. Hence, statement 1 is correct.</p><p>— The law provides for both individual rights — to live in and cultivate forest land for livelihood — and community rights, including grazing, collection of minor forest produce, and protection and regeneration of forest resources. Hence, statement 2 is correct and statement 3 is not correct.</p><p>Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.</p><p>QUESTION 2</p><p>Which of the following expenditures shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund of India?</p><p>Story continues below this ad</p><p>1. The emoluments and allowances of the President and other expenditure relating to his office</p><p>2. The salaries and allowances of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council of States</p><p>3. The salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of Judges of the Supreme Court</p><p>4. The salaries and allowances of the members of the Finance Commission.</p><p>Select the correct answer using the codes given below:</p><p>(a) 1 and 2 only</p><p>(b) 1, 2 and 3 only</p><p>(c) 1 and 3 only</p><p>(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4</p><p>Story continues below this ad</p><p>Relevance: The question is important for UPSC Prelims because constitutional provisions related to the Consolidated Fund of India, charged expenditure, and parliamentary financial control are tested. UPSC can frame conceptual and elimination-based questions from the Budget, Parliament, and constitutional financial procedures.</p><p>Explanation</p><p>— The following expenditure shall be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India—</p><p>(a) the emoluments and allowances of the President and other expenditure relating to his office;</p><p>(b) the salaries and allowances of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of the People;</p><p>Story continues below this ad</p><p>(c) debt charges for which the Government of India is liable including interest, sinking fund charges and redemption charges, and other expenditure relating to the raising of loans and the service and redemption of debt;</p><p>(d) (i) the salaries, allowances and pensions payable to or in respect of Judges of the Supreme Court;</p><p>(ii) the pensions payable to or in respect of Judges of the Federal Court;</p><p>(iii) the pensions payable to or in respect of Judges of any High Court which exercises jurisdiction in relation to any area included in the territory of India;</p><p>Story continues below this ad</p><p>(e) the salary, allowances and pension payable to or in respect of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India;</p><p>(f) any sums required to satisfy any judgment, decree or award of any court or arbitral tribunal;</p><p>(g) any other expenditure declared by this Constitution or by Parliament by law to be so charged.</p><p>— The salaries and allowances of members of the Finance Commission are not charged expenditure.</p><p>Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.</p><p>(Source: Constitution of India)</p><p>Story continues below this ad</p><p>QUESTION 3</p><p>A person shall be qualified for appointment as a Judge of a High Court if he:</p><p>1. has, for at least five years, held a judicial office in the territory of India</p><p>2. has for at least ten years been an advocate of the High Court</p><p>Select the correct answer using the codes given below:</p><p>(a) 1 only</p><p>(b) 2 only</p><p>(c) Both 1 and 2</p><p>(d) Neither 1 nor 2</p><p>Relevance: The question is important for UPSC Prelims because eligibility, appointment, tenure, and removal of judges are recurring themes in the Polity section. UPSC can test precise constitutional qualifications and compare provisions for different constitutional posts.</p><p>Explanation</p><p>Story continues below this ad</p><p>— A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judge of a High Court unless he is a citizen of India and—</p><p>(a) has for at least ten years held a judicial office in the territory of India; or Hence, statement 1 is not correct.</p><p>(b) has for at least ten years been an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession. Hence, statement 2 is correct.</p><p>Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.</p><p>(Source: Constitution of India)</p><p>QUESTION 4</p><p>Which of the following Indian states has been torn by conflict between the Meitei, Kuki-Zomi-Hmar communities?</p><p>(a) Manipur</p><p>(b) Mizoram</p><p>(c) Arunachal Pradesh</p><p>(d) Tripura</p><p>Relevance: The question is important for UPSC Prelims because the Northeast is frequently in news due to ethnic conflicts, border issues, insurgency, and internal security concerns. Aspirants should revise the geography, tribes, demographic composition, and constitutional provisions related to northeastern states.</p><p>Explanation</p><p>— With Manipur’s Kuki-Zo community now caught in a conflict with both the Naga and Meitei communities of the state, the Kuki-Zo Council has, in a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister, said these fractured relationships have made the demand for a separate Union Territory “an unavoidable necessity”.</p><p>— Since May 2023, Manipur has been torn by conflict between the Meitei and Kuki-Zomi-Hmar communities, which has resulted in mass displacement and a deep social and physical divide. The conflict has largely restricted the movement of either community to areas where the other is in the majority. The flaring up of tensions between the Naga and Kuki-Zo communities earlier this year, which has now escalated, has opened up a new set of divides.</p><p>FYI: The Meiteis, the largest community in Manipur, largely reside in the state’s central valley. This valley is surrounded in all directions by hills, which are home to the tribes of Manipur, broadly categorised under the umbrellas of Naga and Kuki-Zo.</p><p>Therefore, option (a) is the correct answer.</p><p>QUESTION 5</p><p>Who makes rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India?</p><p>(a) Chairman of the Rajya Sabha</p><p>(b) President of India</p><p>(c) Speaker of the Lok Sabha</p><p>(d) Leader of the Lok Sabha</p><p>Relevance: Aspirants should carefully revise Articles related to the Union Executive, especially provisions dealing with conduct of government business, rules of procedure, and allocation of ministries. UPSC can frame questions checking conceptual questions distinguishing the constitutional roles of the President, Prime Minister, Parliament, and presiding officers.</p><p>Explanation</p><p>— All executive action of the Government of India shall be expressed to be taken in the name of the President. Orders and other instruments made and executed in the name of the President shall be authenticated in such manner as may be specified in rules to be made by the President, and the validity of an order or instrument which is so authenticated shall not be called in question on the ground that it is not an order or instrument made or executed by the President.</p><p>— The President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India, and for the allocation among Ministers of the said business.</p><p>Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.</p><p>(Source: Constitution of India)</p><p>🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for May 2026. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at [email protected]🚨</p><p>Previous Daily Subject-Wise-Quiz</p><p>Daily Subject-wise quiz — History, Culture, and Social Issues (Week 156)</p><p>Daily subject-wise quiz — Polity and Governance (Week 162)</p><p>Daily subject-wise quiz — Science and Technology (Week 162)</p><p>Daily subject-wise quiz — Economy (Week 162)</p><p>Daily subject-wise quiz — Environment and Geography (Week 162)</p><p>Daily subject-wise quiz – International Relations (Week 162)</p><p>Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.</p><p>Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.</p>