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The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000) was chaired by:
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Answer: Option B — M.N. Venkatachaliah
Detailed Solution
Venkatachaliah. The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) was set up by the Government of India, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in February 2000. It was chaired by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, a former Chief Justice of India. It had eleven members, including former judges, constitutional experts and politicians.
The Commission was asked to examine how well the Constitution had worked over 50 years and to suggest changes within the framework of parliamentary democracy, without altering the basic structure of the Constitution. It submitted its report in March 2002, with about 249 recommendations.
Some of its important recommendations were:
- The right to education for children aged 6 to 14 years should be made a Fundamental Right.
- A new fundamental duty should be added for parents to provide educational opportunities to their children.
- Fundamental Duties should be made widely known and enforceable through laws.
- Anti-defection laws should be strengthened, and defectors should be barred from holding public office for the rest of the term.
- The size of the Council of Ministers should be limited.
Some of these recommendations were implemented. The 86th Amendment (2002) made elementary education a Fundamental Right (Article 21A) and added the 11th Fundamental Duty. The 91st Amendment (2003) limited the size of the Council of Ministers to 15% of the strength of the Lok Sabha or the state Assembly and tightened the anti-defection law.
Why not the other options?
R.S. Sarkaria headed the Sarkaria Commission (1983-88) on Centre-state relations.
M.M. Punchhi headed the second commission on Centre-state relations (2007-10).
Sardar Swaran Singh headed the committee (1976) that recommended adding Fundamental Duties.
Quick tip
Remember: NCRWC (2000) = Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah; led to the 86th Amendment (education as a Fundamental Right) and the 91st Amendment (ministry size capped at 15%).
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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.