INTERVIEW PREPARATION SERIES: Polity and Governance Questionnaire

Categories: Interview, Published: 4th Aug, 2021

Topic	Questions
No Question Hour, Curtailed Zero Hour in Parliament’s Monsoon Session	Do you think the present government is autocratic because they curtailed the most vital mechanism of checks and balances i.e. Zero Hour?
President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament	Can you suggest some alternate mechanism to resolve a deadlock between two houses of Parliament other than joint sitting?
Suspension of MP from Lok Sabha	What is the reason for scarcity of well-behaved legislators being elected in the two houses? What are the different tools available to the presiding officer to deal with unruly MPs?
MLA disqualified under Anti-defection law	Don’t you think the discretionary power of the Speaker under Anti-defection law should cease to exist?
Call to bring Arunachal Pradesh under Sixth Schedule	Do you think the classification of areas as Scheduled and Tribal has done justice with the tribal population of India?
Cabinet approves Amendments to JJ Act, 2015	Name the legislation under which children are adopted? How does it enshrine the principles of Hauge convention?
Constitution Day	What distinct name can you give to our constitution?
Vijayanagara became Karnataka’s 31st district	What are the societal advantages of smaller political areas?
Border row between Maharashtra and Karnataka	Is it prudent to declare all the disputed areas between states as Union Territories?
Assam celebrates the first anniversary of BTR agreement	Why shouldn’t the Bodos be given a separate state? Can you assure that the recent Bodo agreement will put full stop to the violence in Assam?
Assam Cabinet nod to make Bodo, the associate official language of the State	What other confidence building measures are required to mainstream Bodos and quell separatist tendencies?
New Rules notified for OCI card holder by Ministry of Home	What is the difference between NRI and OCI? What is their role in India’s soft power?
ILP system	On one hand we have schemes to mainstream tribals but the ILP regime seeks to seclude them? Which model is justified ?
Failure of Constitutional Machinery in a State	Under what circumstances would Article 356 have been a dead letter ? What is the role of the multi-party system in imposing president’s rule and federalism on a large scale?
One year on, no withdrawal of Pathalgadhi cases	Do you think the Pathalgadhi movement is inspired by Gandhian stateless society?
Khelo India State Centres of Excellence	What is the reason that Physical Education and a career in sports are still not popular in India? What are the challenges in our democratic system regarding sports? Where do sports stand in the planning of the government for growth and development?
New domicile order and rules in J&K	What changes have new domicile rules brought in J&K? How are the new domicile rules different from previous rules ?
Mizoram Bru refugees demand immediate implementation of settlement pact	Why is the north east always a hotbed of power struggle? How will the instability in the northeast affect India’s Act East policy?
War over three language formula	What is your opinion on the imposition of Hindi on Dravidian states? Why India should/should not have a national language?
National Education Policy 2020	Do you think the NEP 2020 obviates the need to introduce any new policy for the next 34 years?
PradhanMantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana	Why are generic drugs not so popular in India? How far does digital illiteracy contribute to high OOP?
SC questions over delay in clearing collegium recommendations	Do you think the NJAC would have solved the issue of vacancies at HC?
EWS quota problem referred to Constitution Bench	Do you favor reservation? If yes, based on what grounds and for how long?
Contempt of Court	Do you think the provisions regarding contempt of court don't serve any purpose in justice delivery? Suggest some amendments in Contempt of Courts Act 1971.
Plea in SC challenging imposing of ‘Hindi’ as official court language	How different would our judicial system be if every order, proceedings, petitions are published or filed in vernacular languages?
Can the Supreme Court stay the implementation of a law?	Suggest the scope of Art.142 of the constitution. Do you think it is inconsistent with the basic structure of separation of power in some cases?
Lok Adalat	Enumerate some hits and misses of Lok Adalat.
The Kesavananda Bharti Case	In your opinion which basic structure is the most overlooked while day to day functioning of any govt? What more features can we add into the basic structure of the constitution in the next one decade?
National Legal Services Authority (NALSA)	What vulnerable sections are allowed to receive aid from NALSA?
Article 32 and its ever changing interpretation	How is Article 32 different from Article 226? Can article 32 ever be suspended?
Supreme Court wants stricter OTT Rules	What threat do OTT services pose to our democracy? Why is the government so much into regulation of OTT media rather than self regulation like print media?
Hate speech repudiates right to equality: SC	What are the mechanisms to deal with hate speech? Why is there a surge in hate speech in our society?
No rhyme or reason for 100% reservation: SC	Should the non skilled jobs have 100% reservation for the socially, educationally and economically backward? How reservation has weakened the social fabric and strengthened the downtrodden?
Jharkhand government passes resolution to recognize Sarna religion	How is the Sarana religion different from Hinduism ?
Maharashtra modified Forest Rights Act, 2006	Do you think FRA 2006 can curb Let Wing Extremism?
NEET does not violate right of minorities: SC	Why has NEET been in so much controversy since its inception?
Kuruba community demanding ST status	Why is there a surge in demand for SC/ST status? What are the criteria for inclusion in a community in ST? How Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups are different from ST communities?
Educating Tribals of India	What are the challenges faced by tribals in our education system?
System of Whistleblowing in India	Have you ever been a whistleblower? What was your thought process that time?
The People vs the Indian State	What does the recent protest against the government signify? What is the importance of protest in democracy? Why can't people choose a perfect government in India?
Religion and morality	Clarify the interplay between the freedom of religion under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution and other provisions in Part III, particularly Article 14. What is the sweep of expression ‘public order, morality and health’ occurring in Article 25(1) of the Constitution? The expression ‘morality’ or ‘constitutional morality’ has not been defined in the Constitution. Is it over arching morality in reference to preamble, or limited to religious beliefs or faith? There is a need to delineate the contours of that expression, lest it becomes subjective. What is the extent to which the court can enquire into the issue of whether a particular practice is an integral part of the religion or religious practice of a particular religious denomination, or should that be left exclusively to be determined by the head of the section of the religious group? What is the meaning of the expression ‘sections of Hindus’ appearing in Article 25(2)(b) of the Constitution? Are the “essential religious practices” of a religious denomination or even a section thereof, afforded constitutional protection under Article 26? What would be the permissible extent of judicial recognition to PILs in matters calling into question religious practices of a denomination or a section thereof at the instance of persons who do not belong to such religious denomination?
Retired at Eighteen: Political Economy of Child Labour in India	What are the efforts taken by Indian govt to prevent child labour?
Goa becomes 6th state to successfully undertake ULB reforms	Why are state govts wary of empowering ULBs ? What are the repercussions of cash-strapped ULBs?
Pandemic & Panchayat	What was the role of Panchayats during pandemic relief measures?
Federalism and Interstate River Water Governance in India	What are the intended benefits to shift water to concurrent list?
Union Public Service Commission gets a new Chairman	● What reforms do you suggest in UPSC?
30 years since Mandal Commission recommendations	Has the Mandal Commission achieved its intent ? When was the first backward class commission constituted ? What were the other recommendations of the Mandal Commission apart from reservation?
Extension of the OBC Commission	Who is socially and educationally backward in your opinion? How will the OBCs react to the subcategorization? Do we need similar subcategorization in SCs and STs?
Rationalization of autonomous bodies	What was the need to create autonomous bodies? How are these bodies different in their functioning as compared to other govt departments?
IOA forms annual grant and affiliation committee	What is the process to represent India in the Olympics? What should India do to improve its performance in the Olympics?
Secrecy of ballot is the cornerstone of free and fair elections: SC	Do you have faith in the functioning of EVM and claims of ECI? What will happen if the secrecy of the ballot is violated in an election?
Plea on ‘Office of Profit’ dismissed by President	What is an office of profit according to you? Why is the government not in favour of defining the term office of profit?
ECI Not in favour of State Funding of Elections	How state funding of elections can make our elections immune from use of money and muscle power? How will you implement state funding of elections?
Can Non Resident Indians (NRIs) cast their vote in India?	If transactions worth millions can be done online why not elections can be conducted in the same fashion? How will inclusion of NRI in the electorate strengthen India in international fora?
Rajya Sabha Elections	Why is the Rajya Sabha a permanent house? How is it different from Lok Sabha? Do you see any difference in functioning of RS wrt LS where the ruling govt does not enjoy majority?
Associated members nominated for Delimitation Commission	How many members are there in a delimitation commission? How many times has it been formed? Do you think the seats should be increased or decreased in Lok Sabha? How will it affect the federal structure of India?
New Rules for Postal Ballot	What is the procedure for postal ballots? What security features can you suggest if we have to expand this facility to all eligible voters?
Mission Karmayogi for civil services capacity building	Do you think the online medium of training/skilling would be effective for such a complex and dynamic service? What is the institutional structure of Mission Karmayogi? Suggest some measures to strengthen accountability of civil servants?
TULIP Project	Where do people in the government and the active citizenry stand in your own framework of governance? Do you think the TULIP scheme will strengthen patriotism, shun regionalism and promise fraternity?
National Teleconsultation Centre (CoNTeC)	How technology has helped doctors during COVID pandemic? List some changes in your profession/field of interest that have become the new normal in the post COVID scenario.
Swachh Survekshan 2020	What is so special about Indore that it has been ranked first consecutively in the last five years? Do you think cleanliness has increased in your city, what was its rank in previous and current SwachhSurvekshan, does it correlate, if not why?
National Digital Health Mission	How can the personal health record be exploited in positive and negative ways? Do you think apps like Practo will replace traditional clinics in the near future? How will Digital Health Mission help towards Universal Healthcare ?
National Recruitment Agency	What was the recent protest against SSC? How can you make the recruitment process more transparent in exams conducted by various commissions?
Ayushman Bharat PradhanMantri Jan ArogyaYojana (AB-PMJAY) SEHAT scheme	What is the full form of the acronym SEHAT? Suggest some measures for emotional integration of people in Kashmir valley with India
Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020	List some major ports in/near your state What was the problem with the governance of ports via Port Trust? What is the importance of ports in development?
MCI dissolved, National Medical Commission comes into existence	Do you think that higher education should be regulated by the professionals of that field like the Bar Council regulating LLB/LLM? Give reason in support of your answer? What is the difference between regulation by UGC vs Bar Council/ICAI of professional courses?
The Battle over Forestland	What is the process to declare a piece of land as forest?
Daughter’s equal right to ancestral property: SC	Do you think that dowry was justified because daughters did not have the right to inherit ancestral property?
15th anniversary of the RTI Act	Have you ever filed an RTI? What was your experience? Why did you file it? Do you think each RTI query and its response should be published online? What are its advantages/disadvantages? Do you think the recent amendment in 2019 will be declared as null and void by the judiciary which makes the service condition of CIC/IC at mercy of the Executive? What types of information can be obtained using RTI? What do you understand about the larger public interest in section 8(1) of RTI Act? Which provisions of OSA, 1923 have thwarted the RTI Act to achieve its full potential? If political parties are brought under RTI, what question will you ask them?
Section 188 of IPC	How Section 188 of IPC is used to enforce orders under Disaster Management Act?
Govt invokes Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, what is it?	What are the provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act? How many times has it been implemented in the past? Suggest some reforms in the World Health Organization
Historic amendment to the Essential Commodities Act	Do you think the government should have waited for COVID to make amendments to the Act? What are the essential commodities under the act? Even after the deregulation of commodities, the inflation was very high. What was the reason for that? Should the government roll back these amendments?
Corruption Perception Index 2020	What was your most recent experience with corruption in the system? What are the legal measures to prevent corruption? How far do you agree with the recent amendments in the Prevention of Corruption Act? How will you distinguish between need-based corruption and greed-based corruption? And what will be your strategy to tackle both ?
S.P. Balasubramaniam, Shinzo Abe awarded Padma Vibhushan	Who can be the recipient of Padma Awards? What is the meaning of the word “Padma”? If you ever get awarded with such an award what could be its reason?
India Report on Digital Education, 2020	Do you think this shift to digital mode of education violates Art 14 and 21A of the underprivileged? What should be your course of action in your district?
Rule of Law Index	List 3 issues that concern you which go against rule of law.
World Press Freedom Index 2020	Do you believe that Indian Media/Press the 4^th pillar is co-opted by the executive? What are your views on the movie “1232 KMS” by the journalist VinodKapri?
World Consumer Rights Day	What are some new consumer rights available under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019? What is the role of the government in the interaction between business-consumers?
UAPA and the growing crisis of judicial credibility in India	Do you justify the provision of preventive detention in our constitution? What are your views on the recent V-Dem report which marks India as electoral autocracy?
Indian Telegraph Act, 1885	How will you balance between privacy of an individual and the security of the state? Why are there rising instances of phone tapping in India? What is the legal procedure to tape somebody’s phone?
First-past-the-post Electoral System	Do you think India should move from FPTP system to a hybrid model of FPTP and proportional representation?
Stan Swamy death	Who was Stan Swamy? Why was he in news?
section 12A of IPC	Does a healthy democracy in modern times requires a sedition/treason law?
Pegasus debate	Isn’t a nation located in tough neighbourhood and surrounded by enemies, requires to be extra careful and need surveillance?