Railway
The Eleventh Schedule, listing 29 subjects within the purview of the Panchayats, was added to the Constitution by the:
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Answer: Option C — 73rd Amendment Act, 1992
Detailed Solution
The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992, added the Eleventh Schedule and a new Part IX ("The Panchayats") to the Constitution, giving constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions.
Coming into force:
The Act came into force on 24 April 1993; this day is celebrated as National Panchayati Raj Day.
Main features of the 73rd Amendment:
- A three-tier system of Panchayati Raj in every state: at the village, intermediate (block) and district levels; states with a population of less than 20 lakh need not have the intermediate level.
- The Gram Sabha, consisting of all registered voters of a village, as the foundation of the system.
- Direct elections to all seats in the panchayats at all levels.
- Reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in proportion to their population, and not less than one-third of the seats for women (including the posts of chairpersons).
- A fixed term of five years; elections must be held before the expiry of the term, or within six months of dissolution.
- A State Election Commission to conduct panchayat elections.
- A State Finance Commission, to be set up every five years, to review the financial position of the panchayats.
The Eleventh Schedule:
It lists 29 subjects, such as agriculture, minor irrigation, animal husbandry, fisheries, rural housing, drinking water, roads, poverty alleviation, primary education, health and sanitation, and women and child development.
Background:
- The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957) recommended a three-tier system of democratic decentralisation; Panchayati Raj was first introduced in Nagaur district, Rajasthan, on 2 October 1959.
- The Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) recommended a two-tier system.
The L. M. Singhvi Committee recommended constitutional status for panchayats.
Rajiv Gandhi's government introduced the 64th Amendment Bill (1989) for this purpose, but it was not passed by the Rajya Sabha.
The 73rd Amendment was passed during the government of P. V. Narasimha Rao.
Why not the other options?
- ✗The 42nd, 44th and 65th Amendments dealt with other matters, not with panchayats.
Quick tip
Remember: 73rd Amendment (1992; in force 24 April 1993) = Panchayati Raj, Part IX, Eleventh Schedule (29 subjects); 24 April = National Panchayati Raj Day.
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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.