Which one among the following pairs of Article and Provision with reference to the Constitution of India is not correctly matched?
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)NOT correctly matched → Article 243D : Election to the Panchayats
- Home
- PYQ Explorer
- Polity
- Panchayati Raj
Polity · Local government
Panchayati Raj: 55 previous year questions
UPSC has asked 55 questions on Panchayati Raj between 1979 and 2026: CSE 22 · CDS 18 · CAPF 8 · NDA 4 · CISF (LDCE) 2 · EPFO (AO/EO) 1. 31 of them came after 2015, so this is a live topic examiners keep returning to. 22 were set in Civil Services Prelims; the rest come from UPSC's other papers, which draw on the same question bank.
Tap an option to check yourself. Answers follow the official UPSC key; where the key was dropped or disputed the question is not shown.
In which one of the following cities of India was the PESA (Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Mahotsav 2025 held?
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)PESA Mahotsav 2025 held at → Visakhapatnam
Match List-I with List-II and select the answer using the code given below the Lists: List-I (Name of the Committee) List-II (Key Recommendation) A. Balwantrai Mehta Committee 1. Constitutional status for Panchayati Raj B. Ashok Mehta Committee 2. Creation of post of District Development Commissioner C. G. V. K. Rao Committee 3. Creation of Zilla Parishad and Mandal Panchayat D. L. M. Singhvi Committee 4. Creation of Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti and Gram Panchayat Code A-4, B-3, C-2, D-1 A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1 A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2 A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)Balwantrai Mehta → Zilla Parishad, Panchayat Samiti, Gram Panchayat | Ashok Mehta → Zilla Parishad and Mandal Panchayat | G.V.K. Rao → District Development Commissioner | L.M. Singhvi → constitutional status for Panchayati Raj
The Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act provides for
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)73rd Amendment → an elaborate system of panchayats as units of self-government
Which one of the following committees is NOT associated with decentralization of Panchayati Raj institutions in India?
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)NOT associated with PRI decentralisation → Abhijit Sen Committee
Consider the following statements: I. Panchayats at the intermediate level exist in all States. II. To be eligible to be a Member of a Panchayat at the intermediate level, a person should attain the age of thirty years. III. The Chief Minister of a State constitutes a commissioner to review the financial position of Panchayats at the intermediate levels and to make recommendations regarding the distribution of net proceeds of taxes and duties, levied by the State, between the State and Panchayats at the intermediate level. Which of the statements given above are not correct?
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)NOT correct → intermediate Panchayats exist in all States | members of intermediate Panchayats must be 30 | the Chief Minister constitutes the finance commission for Panchayats
Which of the following statements about the Panchayats in India, as per the Constitution of India is/are correct ? 1. There is a provision for reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. 2. Panchayats are not authorised to collect taxes. Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)Panchayats → SC/ST seat reservation provided | NOT: Panchayats cannot collect taxes
Which one of the following statements about Panchayati Raj Institutions in India is not correct ?
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)NOT correct → the State Election Commissioner is appointed by the President on the Governor's advice
Panchayati Raj Institutions are primarily the institutions of
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Panchayati Raj Institutions → institutions of self-government
Which one of the following is not a power of Panchayats under Article 243G?
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)NOT a Panchayat power under Art 243G → regulation of land revenue
Which of the following statements about the Panchayati Raj System are correct ? 1. All seats in a Panchayat are filled by persons chosen by direct election, 2. The ‗Gram Sabha‘ consists of persons registered in the village electoral rolls. 3. The Chairperson of a Panchayat is elected in accordance with a law passed by each state. 4. All states in India have a three-tier system of Panchayats. Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Panchayati Raj → all seats filled by direct election | Gram Sabha = persons on the village electoral rolls | Chairperson elected per each State's law | NOT: all States have a three-tier system
Under which Article of the Constitution of India has provision been made for reservation of seats for women in Panchayats ?
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)Reservation of seats for women in Panchayats → Article 243D
Gram Sabha means a body consisting of persons registered
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)Gram Sabha → persons registered in the electoral rolls of a village within the Panchayat area
Which of the following is/are correct in relation to the Panchayats? 1. Only the Parliament may endow Panchayats with powers and authority 2. A state may devolve powers to Panchayats in preparation of plans for economic development and social justice 3. A state may devolve powers to Panchayats in implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)A State may devolve powers to Panchayats to prepare plans | and to implement schemes for economic development and social justice | NOT: only Parliament may endow Panchayats with powers
Which one of the following statements with regard to the functioning of the Panchayats is not correct?
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Panchayats → NOT: eligibility age for membership is 25
The 11th Schedule of the Constitution of India distributes powers between
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Eleventh Schedule distributes powers between → State Legislatures and Panchayats
The provisions of the Constitution of India pertaining to the institution of Panchayat do not apply to which one of the following States?
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)Part IX Panchayat provisions do not apply to → Meghalaya (of: Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam, Goa)
Which one of the following statements in relation to Panchayats is not correct?
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)Panchayats → NOT: SC/ST seat reservation is unrelated to their population proportion
Which one of the following is not correct about the Panchayats as laid down in Part IX of the Constitution of India?
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)Part IX → NOT: a Panchayat Chairperson must be directly elected to vote in its meetings
Which one of the following Constitutional Amendments has enormously strengthened the powers of the Speaker/Chairman of the Houses of the Parliament/State Legislatures?
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Enormously strengthened the Speaker's/Chairman's powers → anti-defection provisions of the 52nd Amendment
Ashok Mehta Committee was constituted to make recommendations on which one of the following issues?
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Ashok Mehta Committee → Panchayati Raj system
Which one of the following statements with regard to Panchayats is not correct?
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)NOT correct → the Central Government may by law authorise a Panchayat to levy taxes
Which of the following statements with regard to Panchayats in India are correct? 1. Seats in a Panchayat are filled by direct election from the territorial constituencies in the Panchayat area. 2. The Gram Sabha is the body of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village within the Panchayat area. 3. The Panchayats work on the principle of constitutional autonomy. 4. The State Legislature may by law endow the Panchayats with the power and authority to enable them to function. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)Panchayats → seats filled by direct election from territorial constituencies | Gram Sabha = persons on the village's electoral rolls | State Legislature endows powers by law | NOT: work on the principle of constitutional autonomy
In which two Indian States of the four mentioned below, it is necessary to hold certain minimum educational qualifications to be eligible to contest Panchayat Elections? 1. Punjab 2. Haryana 3. Karnataka 4. Rajasthan Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Minimum educational qualification needed to contest Panchayat polls → Haryana, Rajasthan | NOT: Punjab | NOT: Karnataka
Which of the following statements about the 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment Act is/are correct? 1. It makes it mandatory for all States to establish a three-tier system of Government. 2. Representatives should be directly elected for five years. 3. There should be mandatory reservation of one-third of all seats in all Panchayats at all levels for women. Select the correct answer using the code given below,
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)73rd/74th Amendments → representatives directly elected for five years | one-third seats reserved for women at all levels | NOT: mandatory three-tier system for all States
Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 permits self-governance of natural resources by
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)PESA 1996 permits self-governance of natural resources by → the Gram Sabha
Who among the following may be the Chairman of the Zila Parishad ?
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)Zila Parishad Chairman → elected from its own members
Consider the following statements: 1. The minimum age prescribed for any person to be a member of Panchayat is 25 years. 2. A Panchayat reconstituted after premature dissolution continues only for the remainder period. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Panchayat reconstituted after premature dissolution continues only for the remainder | NOT: minimum age for membership is 25
With reference to the ‗Gram Nyayalaya Act‘, which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. As per the Act, Gram Nyayalayas can hear only civil cases and not criminal cases 2. The Act allows local social activists as mediators/reconciliators. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Gram Nyayalaya Act → allows local social activists as mediators/conciliators | NOT: only civil cases
Which of the following reasons were cited by the Ashok Mehta Committee for the decline of the Panchayati Raj Institutions in India ? 1. Role of Bureaucracy 2. Lack of Political Will 3. Lack of conceptual clarity 4. Lack of gender parity Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)Ashok Mehta Committee: PRI decline → role of bureaucracy, lack of political will, lack of conceptual clarity | NOT: lack of gender parity
The fundamental object of the Panchayati Raj system is to ensure which among the following? 1. People‘s participation in development 2. Political accountability 3. Democratic decentralization 4. Financial mobilization Select the correct answer using the code given below
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)Fundamental object of Panchayati Raj → people's participation in development | democratic decentralisation | NOT: political accountability | NOT: financial mobilisation
The Parliament of India passed the Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Areas Law popularly known as PESA law. Which one among the following statements regarding PESA law is not correct?
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)PESA → NOT: disempowers Gram Sabhas
How does participatory budgeting seek to make the functioning of local governance institutions more transparent and accountable? 1. By allowing citizens to deliberate and negotiate over the distribution of public resources. 2. By allowing citizens to play a direct role in deciding how and where resources should be spent. 3. By allowing historically excluded citizens with access to important decision-making venues. Select the correct answer using the codes given below
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)Participatory budgeting → citizens deliberate on distribution of public resources | citizens directly decide how and where resources are spent | historically excluded citizens gain access to decision-making
The Government enacted the Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas (PESA) Act in 1996. Which one of the following is not identified as its objective?
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)NOT a PESA objective → creating autonomous regions in tribal areas
The Eleventh Schedule inserted by the 73rd Amendment distributes powers between the State Legislatures and the Panchayats, and lists 29 items. Which among the following are listed in the Eleventh Schedule? 1. Minor irrigation 2. Animal husbandry 3. Women and child development 4. Fire service 5. Cattle pounds, prevention of cruelty to animals Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)Eleventh Schedule → minor irrigation, animal husbandry, women and child development | NOT: fire service | NOT: cattle pounds
Consider the following provisions under the Directive Principles of State Policy as enshrined in the Constitution of India: [2012 - I] 1 Securing for citizens of India a uniform civil code 2 Organizing village Panchayats 3 Promoting cottage industries in rural areas 4 Securing for all the workers reasonable leisure and cultural opportunities Which of the above are the Gandhian Principles that are reflected in the Directive Principles of State Policy?
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Gandhian principles in DPSP → organising village Panchayats | promoting cottage industries in rural areas | NOT: uniform civil code | NOT: workers' leisure and cultural opportunities
In the areas covered under the Panchayat (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, what is the role/power of Gram Sabha? 1. Gram Sabha has the power to prevent alienation of land in the Scheduled Areas. 2. Gram Sabha has the ownership of minor forest produce. 3. Recommendation of Gram Sabha is required for granting prospecting licence or mining lease for any mineral in the Scheduled Areas. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Gram Sabha under PESA → can prevent land alienation | owns minor forest produce | NOT: its recommendation required for mining leases
The Constitution (Seventy-Third Amendment) Act, 1992, which aims at promoting the Panchayati Raj Institutions in the country, provides for which of the following? 1 Constitution of District Planning Committees. 2 State Election Commissions to conduct all panchayat elections. 3 Establishment of State Finance Commission. Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)73rd Amendment → State Election Commissions conduct Panchayat polls | State Finance Commissions | NOT: District Planning Committees
The tenure of every Panchayat shall be for five years from the date of [2011-1]
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)Panchayat tenure of five years runs from → the date of its first meeting
Which of the following is not a recommendation of the Ashok Mehta Committee on Panchayati Raj ? [2009-I]
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)NOT an Ashok Mehta recommendation → creation of a three-tier system
The 73rd Amendment of the Constitution provided constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj Institutions. Which of the following are the main features of this provision? [2009-II] 1. A three-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all states. 2. Panchayat election in every 5 years. 3. Not less than 33% of seats are reserved for women. 4. Constitution of district planning committees to prepare development plans. Select the correct answer using the codes given below
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)73rd Amendment → three-tier system in every State (intermediate tier optional up to 20 lakh population) | elections every five years | at least 33% seats for women | NOT: District Planning Committees
If a Panchayat is dissolved, elections are to be held within: [2009]
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)Dissolved Panchayat → elections within 6 months
Consider the following statements: [2005] 1. Part IX of the Constitution of India provisions for Panchyats and was inserted by the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992. 2. Part IX A of the Constitution of India contains provisions for Municipalities and the Article 243 Q envisages two types of Municipalities a Municipal Council and a Municipal Corporation for every State. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)Part IX (Panchayats) inserted by the 73rd Amendment | NOT: Art 243Q envisages only two types of Municipalities
The 73rd Constitution Amendment Act, 1992 refers to the: [2000]
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)73rd Amendment Act 1992 → foundation for strong and vibrant Panchayati Raj institutions
In the new Panchayati Raj Bill enacted in 1993, there are several fresh provisions deviating from the past. Which one of the following is not one such provisions? [1999]
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)NOT a provision of the 1993 Panchayati Raj law → regular remuneration to panchayat members
Panchayat Raj was first introduced in India in October, 1959 in: [1998]
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)Panchayati Raj first introduced (October 1959) → Rajasthan
Which one of the following was not proposed by the 73rd Constitutional Amendment in the area of Panchayati Raj? [1997]
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)NOT proposed by the 73rd Amendment → disqualifying functionaries with more than two children
What is the system of governance in the Panchayati Raj set up? [1996]
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)Panchayati Raj structure → three tiers at village, block and district levels
Assertion (A): Panchayati Raj institutions were set upto decentralise planning to village level. Reason (R): Village panchayats are in a better position to have a proper appreciation of their developmental needs.
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)PRIs set up to decentralise planning to village level | village panchayats better appreciate their developmental needs (correct explanation)
Panchayati Raj system was adopted to
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Panchayati Raj adopted to → decentralise the power of democracy
Panchayati Raj is mainly aimed at
Show answer
Answer C (official UPSC key)Panchayati Raj mainly aimed at → political awareness among village people
Panchayati Raj System was introduced in the year
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Panchayati Raj introduced in → 1959
Panchayati Raj administration is primarily aimed
Show answer
Answer B (official UPSC key)Panchayati Raj administration primarily aims → to ensure rural development
Panchayati Raj as introduced in 1959 operates at
Show answer
Answer D (official UPSC key)Panchayati Raj as introduced in 1959 → operates at village, block and district levels
Which of the following States has no Panchayati Raj setup?
Show answer
Answer A (official UPSC key)State with no Panchayati Raj set-up → Nagaland (of: Nagaland, Assam, Kerala, West Bengal)
Related topics