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Question 36 of 42 · Constitutional Amendments
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The 97th Amendment Act, 2011, which inserted Part IX-B and Article 43B in the Constitution, gave constitutional status and protection to:

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Answer: Option D — Cooperative societies

Detailed Solution

The 97th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2011, gave constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies.

Three changes made by the 97th Amendment:

  • It added the words "or co-operative societies" in Article 19(1)(c), making the right to form cooperative societies a Fundamental Right (along with the right to form associations and unions).
  • It added a new Directive Principle (Article 43B): the State shall endeavour to promote the voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of cooperative societies.
  • It added a new Part IX-B ("The Co-operative Societies"), consisting of Articles 243ZH to 243ZT.

Main provisions of Part IX-B:

  • The maximum number of directors of a cooperative society shall not exceed 21.
  • The term of the elected members of the board and its office-bearers shall be five years.
  • Reservation of one seat for the SCs or STs and two seats for women on the board of every cooperative society with members from these categories.
  • Elections shall be conducted by an independent authority.
  • Regular audit of accounts and annual general meetings.
  • The supersession or suspension of a board cannot be for more than six months.

The Supreme Court judgment (2021):

In the Union of India v. Rajendra N. Shah case (July 2021), the Supreme Court struck down Part IX-B in so far as it applied to state cooperative societies, because cooperatives are a state subject and the amendment had not been ratified by half of the state legislatures.

The Part continues to apply to multi-state cooperative societies and those in Union Territories.

Ministry of Cooperation:

A separate Ministry of Cooperation was created by the Central Government in July 2021.

The cooperative movement in India:

  • It began with the Cooperative Credit Societies Act, 1904.
  • Famous examples include Amul (Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation), IFFCO and many cooperative banks.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗Panchayats and municipalities were given constitutional status by other amendments; self-help groups have no separate Part in the Constitution.

Quick tip

Remember: 97th Amendment (2011) = cooperative societies (Article 19(1)(c), Article 43B, Part IX-B); partly struck down in 2021 for state cooperatives.

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Constitutional Amendments — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Constitutional Amendments, 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 procedure for amending the Constitution under Article 368 and the most important amendments, such as the 1st, 7th, 42nd, 44th, 52nd, 61st, 73rd, 74th, 86th, 101st and 103rd Amendments, along with the basic structure doctrine. Exams ask what a particular amendment did: the 61st lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, the 73rd and 74th gave constitutional status to panchayats and municipalities, the 86th made education a Fundamental Right, and the 101st introduced GST. The 42nd Amendment (1976) is often called the 'mini-Constitution' because of how much it changed. Practise the constitutional amendments 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.

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