SSC Ā· Railway
What is the minimum age required to become a member of the Lok Sabha?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ā¾Hide ā“
Answer: Option C ā 25 years
Detailed Solution
Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament. To be chosen as a member of Parliament, a person:
Must be a citizen of India.
Must make and subscribe before a person authorised by the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out in the Third Schedule.
Must be not less than 25 years of age for a seat in the Lok Sabha, and not less than 30 years of age for a seat in the Rajya Sabha.
Must possess such other qualifications as Parliament may prescribe by law.
Under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Parliament has added that a person must be registered as an elector in some parliamentary constituency in India. For Lok Sabha seats reserved for Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, the candidate must belong to an SC or ST, though they can also contest general seats.
The same age limits apply to the state legislatures under Article 173: 25 years for the Legislative Assembly and 30 years for the Legislative Council.
Disqualifications (Article 102) include holding an office of profit under the government, being of unsound mind (as declared by a court), being an undischarged insolvent, not being a citizen of India, and being disqualified under any law of Parliament. The Tenth Schedule adds disqualification on the ground of defection. Under the Representation of the People Act, a person convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for two years or more is disqualified; in the Lily Thomas case (2013), the Supreme Court held that sitting legislators are disqualified immediately on such conviction.
The Lok Sabha is the House of the People. Its maximum strength under Article 81 is 550 elected members (up to 530 from states and up to 20 from Union Territories). At present, it has 543 elected members. The provision for two nominated Anglo-Indian members was ended by the 104th Amendment (2019). The Lok Sabha's normal term is five years.
Why not the other options?
- ā21 years is the minimum age for Panchayat members.
- ā30 years is the minimum age for the Rajya Sabha.
- ā35 years is the minimum age for the President and Vice-President.
Quick tip
Remember: Lok Sabha = 25 years (Article 84), Rajya Sabha = 30 years, President = 35 years; Lok Sabha maximum 550 elected members (now 543); Anglo-Indian nomination ended by the 104th Amendment.
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Parliament ā Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Parliament, 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 Parliament of India: the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, their composition, powers and officers, sessions, the law-making process, money bills, joint sittings, parliamentary committees, and devices such as question hour, zero hour and the various motions. Typical questions ask about the maximum strength of each house, the minimum age for members, who certifies a money bill (the Speaker), who presides over a joint sitting, and which committee is chaired by a member of the opposition (the Public Accounts Committee, by convention). Note the special powers of the Rajya Sabha under Articles 249 and 312. Practise the Parliament 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.