Railway
The first Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) of India was set up in:
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Answer: Option D — 1966
Detailed Solution
The first Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) was set up on 5 January 1966 to examine the public administration of the country and to make recommendations for its reform.
Chairmen of the first ARC:
It was initially chaired by Morarji Desai.
When Morarji Desai became Deputy Prime Minister in 1967, K. Hanumanthaiya took over as chairman.
Areas studied:
- The machinery of the Government of India and its procedures of work.
- The machinery for planning at all levels.
- Centre-State relationships.
- Financial administration.
- Personnel administration.
- Economic administration.
- Administration at the state level.
- District administration.
- Agricultural administration.
- Problems of redress of citizens' grievances.
Reports:
The first ARC submitted 20 reports with 537 major recommendations.
Important recommendations:
- Setting up a two-tier system of ombudsmen: a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, to deal with complaints against ministers and officials.
- Setting up an Inter-State Council under Article 263.
- Appointing persons with long experience in public life as Governors.
- Creating a Department of Personnel, which was later set up.
- Introducing performance budgeting in government departments.
Second Administrative Reforms Commission:
The second ARC was set up in 2005 under the chairmanship of Veerappa Moily, and later M. Veerappa Moily was succeeded by V. Ramachandran.
It submitted 15 reports on subjects such as the right to information, ethics in governance, public order, local governance, e-governance and personnel administration.
Importance:
Many recommendations of the two ARCs shaped administrative reforms in India, such as Lokayuktas in states, citizens' charters and e-governance.
Other reform bodies:
- The Sarkaria Commission and the Punchhi Commission studied Centre-State relations.
- The Hota Committee studied civil services reforms.
Why not the other options?
- ✗1950 and 1977 do not match.
- ✗2005 is when the second ARC was set up.
Quick tip
Remember: First ARC = 1966 (Morarji Desai, then K. Hanumanthaiya); second ARC = 2005 (Veerappa Moily).
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Committees & Commissions — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Committees & Commissions, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the important committees and commissions set up in India, both before and after independence, on subjects such as administration, elections, Centre-state relations, local government, education, banking and the economy, along with their chairpersons and key recommendations. Questions usually name a committee and ask what it dealt with, or name a subject and ask which committee examined it. Examples include the Dhar and JVP committees on the linguistic reorganisation of states, the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-state relations, and the Narasimham Committee on banking reforms. A table of committee, chairperson and subject is the best way to revise. Practise the committees and commissions questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.