Governance MCQs for UPSC Prelims
Q1. The 'right of publicity', as recognised by Indian courts within the wider bundle of personality rights, is best understood as which one of the following?
- A. The right of a person to control commercial exploitation of attributes such as name, image, voice and persona, built by courts in the absence of a dedicated statute
- B. The right of a person to restrain publication of any material concerning them, including truthful reporting on matters of public interest, once objection is raised
- C. A right expressly conferred on every individual by the Copyright Act, 1957 over photographs and recordings in which their likeness or voice appears
- D. The right of a performer to receive royalties whenever a recording of their performance is broadcast or communicated to the public
Q2. The principal body through which the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways develops and maintains national highways was constituted under which one of the following?
- A. The National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988
- B. The National Highways Act, 1956
- C. The Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002
- D. The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
Q3. Following the replacement of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the offence of defamation is now contained in which provision?
- A. Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
- B. Section 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
- C. Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023
- D. Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000
Q4. Where defamation is prosecuted as a criminal offence in India today, what is the maximum term of simple imprisonment that may be imposed?
- A. One year
- B. Two years
- C. Three years
- D. Seven years
Q5. Apart from judicial remedies, the executive framework that requires platforms hosting deepfake content to observe due diligence and to label synthetic content is notified and administered by which one of the following?
- A. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
- B. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
- C. Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs
- D. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Department of Telecommunications
Q6. In the suit filed before the Bombay High Court, several defendants are described as 'unknown persons'. Such impleadment, commonly called a John Doe (or Ashok Kumar) action, means which one of the following?
- A. Relief is sought against unidentified wrongdoers, so that orders can operate against persons whose identity is ascertained later
- B. Relief is sought against every intermediary operating in India, since anonymous accounts can never be traced to any identifiable person
- C. Proceedings are conducted entirely in camera, and the identity of the plaintiff is permanently withheld from all defendants
- D. The court appoints an officer to represent the entire class of internet users, whose consent binds all of them absolutely
Q7. The obligation on platforms to label synthetically generated information, and the consequent risk to their statutory immunity, has been created by amending which one of the following instruments?
- A. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, framed under the Information Technology Act, 2000
- B. The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules framed under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, on notice and consent
- C. The Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, framed under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995
- D. The directions of 2022 on cyber security incident reporting issued under Section 70B of the Information Technology Act, 2000
Q8. Under the amendments to the IT Rules, 2021 dealing with synthetically generated information, certain categories of computer-assisted content are treated as not attracting the synthetic-content disclosure requirement. Consider the following:
1. Routine editing of a photograph using standard colour-correction filters
2. Machine transcription of a recorded speech into text
3. Charts and diagrams generated by an AI tool from an underlying dataset
4. A face-swap video that places a public figure's face and voice into a fabricated statement
Which of the above is/are NOT covered by the exemption from the disclosure requirement?
- Routine editing of a photograph using standard colour-correction filters
- Machine transcription of a recorded speech into text
- Charts and diagrams generated by an AI tool from an underlying dataset
- A face-swap video that places a public figure's face and voice into a fabricated statement
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 4
- D. 4 only
Q9. Which one of the following correctly describes a 'significant social media intermediary' for the purposes of the IT Rules, 2021?
- A. A social media intermediary whose number of registered users in India exceeds the threshold of fifty lakh notified by the central government
- B. A social media intermediary whose annual turnover from Indian operations exceeds the threshold of five hundred crore rupees notified by the central government
- C. A social media intermediary whose registered users worldwide exceed the threshold of fifty crore notified by the central government
- D. A social media intermediary that carries paid political advertising and is registered with the Election Commission of India
Q10. Consider the following statements comparing the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 as originally notified with their subsequent amendment:
1. As originally notified, the Rules required an intermediary's Grievance Officer to acknowledge a complaint within twenty-four hours and dispose of it within fifteen days of receipt.
2. The amendment reduced, from fifteen days to seventy-two hours, the time for acting on complaints seeking removal of specified categories of prohibited content.
3. The amendment set up Grievance Appellate Committees to hear appeals filed by publishers of online curated content against orders of the self-regulatory bodies of publishers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- As originally notified, the Rules required an intermediary's Grievance Officer to acknowledge a complaint within twenty-four hours and dispose of it within fifteen days of receipt.
- The amendment reduced, from fifteen days to seventy-two hours, the time for acting on complaints seeking removal of specified categories of prohibited content.
- The amendment set up Grievance Appellate Committees to hear appeals filed by publishers of online curated content against orders of the self-regulatory bodies of publishers.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q11. What is the approximate present cadre strength of the Indian Foreign Service, and roughly how many Indian Missions and Posts abroad does it man?
- A. About 450 officers, manning around 160 Indian Missions and Posts abroad
- B. About 600 officers, manning around 120 Indian Missions and Posts abroad
- C. About 850 officers, manning around 193 Indian Missions and Posts abroad
- D. About 1,200 officers, manning around 210 Indian Missions and Posts abroad
Q12. The names of individuals declared terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 — as in the July 2026 listing of Pakistan-based operatives — are entered in which one of the following?
- A. The First Schedule to the Act, which carries the list of declared terrorist organisations
- B. The Fourth Schedule to the Act, a listing power introduced by the 2019 amendment
- C. The Second Schedule to the Act, which carries the procedure for review by a tribunal
- D. The Third Schedule to the Act, which carries the forms for attachment of terror proceeds
Q13. Under which one of the following provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 may the Central Government notify the name of an individual believed to be involved in terrorism?
- A. Section 3, under which any association may be declared unlawful permanently and for all purposes
- B. Section 15, which defines a terrorist act and thereby lists every person accused of it
- C. Section 25, which permits attachment of all proceeds of terrorism without any judicial oversight
- D. Section 35, which empowers the Centre to add such a name to a Schedule of the Act
Q14. The Supreme Court Bench that on 27 July 2026 heard pleas seeking uniform nationwide guidelines permitting peaceful protests was headed by which one of the following?
- A. Justice Joymalya Bagchi, sitting with two companion judges of the Court
- B. Chief Justice Surya Kant, sitting with two companion judges of the Court
- C. Justice V. Mohana, sitting with two companion judges of the Court
- D. Justice B. R. Gavai, sitting with two companion judges of the Court
Q15. Which of the following are correctly identified in respect of the 2026 Jantar Mantar student agitation in Delhi?
1. It began on 6 June 2026 against repeated question-paper leaks in entrance and recruitment examinations.
2. Student organisations including SFI, AISA and NSUI were associated with the agitation.
3. Activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the agitation with an indefinite hunger strike on 28 June 2026.
4. It was called off on 25 July 2026 after the Centre accepted all three of the key demands raised by its organisers.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- It began on 6 June 2026 against repeated question-paper leaks in entrance and recruitment examinations.
- Student organisations including SFI, AISA and NSUI were associated with the agitation.
- Activist Sonam Wangchuk joined the agitation with an indefinite hunger strike on 28 June 2026.
- It was called off on 25 July 2026 after the Centre accepted all three of the key demands raised by its organisers.
- A. 1, 2 and 3
- B. 2, 3 and 4
- C. 1 and 4 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q16. The Media Centre of the Ministry of External Affairs, through which the Official Spokesperson conducts press briefings, functions under which one of the following divisions of the Ministry?
- A. The Policy Planning and Research Division, headed by a Joint Secretary
- B. The External Publicity and Public Diplomacy Division, headed by a Joint Secretary
- C. The Consular, Passport and Visa Division, headed by a Joint Secretary
- D. The Development Partnership Administration Division, headed by a Joint Secretary
Q17. Agreements for setting up Centres of Excellence in the Amaravati Quantum Valley are entered into on behalf of the State by which one of the following departments of the Government of Andhra Pradesh?
- A. The Department of Health, Medical and Family Welfare, which handles biomedical technology tie-ups
- B. The Department of Industries and Commerce, which administers industrial park allotments
- C. The Information Technology, Electronics and Communications Department, headed by its own Cabinet Minister
- D. The Department of Higher Education, which coordinates university-linked research facilities
Q18. Consider the following statements about the National Cancer Grid (NCG):
1. It is funded by the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
2. Its membership is confined entirely to cancer centres and institutions located within India.
3. Its member organizations together treat about 60 per cent of all new cancer patients in India every year.
4. It is coordinated by the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, New Delhi, which serves as its apex coordinating centre.
Which of the statements given above is/are NOT correct?
- It is funded by the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
- Its membership is confined entirely to cancer centres and institutions located within India.
- Its member organizations together treat about 60 per cent of all new cancer patients in India every year.
- It is coordinated by the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, New Delhi, which serves as its apex coordinating centre.
- A. 1 and 3
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 4 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q19. The National Cancer Grid, a network created to develop uniform standards of cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, is an initiative of the Government of India operationalised through which one of the following?
- A. The Department of Atomic Energy, through its grant-in-aid institution the Tata Memorial Centre
- B. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, through the National Health Authority
- C. The Department of Health Research, through the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research
- D. The Department of Biotechnology, through the Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad
Q20. With reference to the integrated genomic solutions centre for precision oncology announced in July 2026, which one of the following statements is correct?
- A. It is being implemented by the Centre for Development of Telematics under a Centre of Excellence agreement with the State's ITE&C Department.
- B. It is being set up entirely by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, as a central sector project with no State participation whatsoever.
- C. It is being executed exclusively by Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone Ltd., the sole implementing agency for every genomics project in the State.
- D. It is being set up under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh with AstraZeneca India.
Q21. Which one of the following bodies, whose report was submitted in 2007 and laid on the Table of both Houses of Parliament in December 2009, recommended that Scheduled Caste status be delinked from religion and extended to Dalit converts to Christianity and Islam?
- A. The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities
- B. The Prime Minister's High Level Committee on the Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India
- C. The National Commission for Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes
- D. The Commission constituted to examine the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes
Q22. Under the scheme of the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, an extension of the term of a sitting Commission of Inquiry is ordinarily effected by which one of the following?
- A. Only a fresh resolution adopted by both Houses of Parliament directing that the inquiry be continued
- B. A notification issued in the Official Gazette by the Government that appointed the Commission
- C. An order of the Supreme Court, which alone may enlarge the term of a Commission headed by a retired judge
- D. An automatic extension operating on a written request of the Chairperson, requiring no notification at all
Q23. Consider the following statements regarding the term and reporting timeline of the Commission of Inquiry on Scheduled Caste status for converts:
1. Its initial deadline for submission of the report fell in October 2024.
2. Its term was subsequently extended, first to October 2025 and thereafter to 10 June 2026.
3. Its report was formally submitted to the Union Government immediately upon the expiry of its extended term on 10 June 2026.
4. Every extension of its term has been granted exclusively through an amendment to the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 passed by Parliament.
Which of the above statements is/are NOT correct?
- Its initial deadline for submission of the report fell in October 2024.
- Its term was subsequently extended, first to October 2025 and thereafter to 10 June 2026.
- Its report was formally submitted to the Union Government immediately upon the expiry of its extended term on 10 June 2026.
- Every extension of its term has been granted exclusively through an amendment to the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 passed by Parliament.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 3
- C. 3 and 4
- D. 1 and 4
Q24. The Commission of Inquiry examining the extension of Scheduled Caste status to converts was constituted under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952 by which one of the following Ministries?
- A. The Ministry of Minority Affairs, which administers welfare programmes for notified minority communities
- B. The Ministry of Home Affairs, which handles matters of internal security and Centre-State relations
- C. The Ministry of Law and Justice, through its Department of Justice, which services judicial commissions
- D. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which is the nodal Ministry for Scheduled Caste welfare
Q25. Who chairs the three-member Commission of Inquiry set up in October 2022 to examine whether Scheduled Caste status can be extended to Dalits who converted to Christianity or Islam?
- A. Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, a former Chief Justice of India
- B. Dr Ravinder Kumar Jain, a retired officer of the Indian Administrative Service
- C. Prof. Sushma Yadav, a member of the University Grants Commission
- D. Justice Ranganath Misra, a former Chief Justice of India
Q26. The Commission of Inquiry notified in October 2022 to examine the question of Scheduled Caste status for persons who converted to religions other than those named in the Presidential Orders was originally required to submit its report within what period from the date the Chairperson took charge?
- A. One year
- B. Two years
- C. Three years
- D. Five years
Q27. The election of representatives of a State to the Rajya Sabha, by the elected members of that State's Legislative Assembly, is conducted under the superintendence, direction and control of which one of the following?
- A. The Election Commission of India, which oversees the electoral process for both Houses of Parliament
- B. The Rajya Sabha Secretariat, acting solely under the direction of the Chairman of the Council of States
- C. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, which exclusively coordinates all parliamentary elections for the Union
- D. The State Election Commission concerned, which alone conducts every election held within the territory of that State
Q28. Consider the following statements comparing the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023:
1. Unlike the 2019 Bill, the 2023 Act does not create a distinct category of sensitive personal data attracting stricter obligations.
2. The right to data portability and the right to be forgotten, which figured in the 2019 Bill, were not retained in the 2023 Act.
3. Unlike the 2019 Bill, the 2023 Act extends its coverage to non-personal and anonymised data as well.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Unlike the 2019 Bill, the 2023 Act does not create a distinct category of sensitive personal data attracting stricter obligations.
- The right to data portability and the right to be forgotten, which figured in the 2019 Bill, were not retained in the 2023 Act.
- Unlike the 2019 Bill, the 2023 Act extends its coverage to non-personal and anonymised data as well.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q29. Consider the following statements comparing Article 19 with Article 21 of the Constitution of India:
1. The freedoms under Article 19(1) are guaranteed to citizens, whereas the protection of life and personal liberty under Article 21 is available to all persons.
2. Article 19(2) enumerates specified grounds — such as public order, decency or morality, contempt of court and incitement to an offence — on which the freedom of speech and expression may be restricted.
3. Article 21 likewise enumerates the specified grounds on which personal liberty may be curtailed by the State.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The freedoms under Article 19(1) are guaranteed to citizens, whereas the protection of life and personal liberty under Article 21 is available to all persons.
- Article 19(2) enumerates specified grounds — such as public order, decency or morality, contempt of court and incitement to an offence — on which the freedom of speech and expression may be restricted.
- Article 21 likewise enumerates the specified grounds on which personal liberty may be curtailed by the State.
- A. 1 only
- B. 1 and 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q30. Consider the following statements regarding the digital initiatives of the National Crime Records Bureau:
1. The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) networks police stations with higher police offices, and by early 2020 had networked over 15,000 police stations.
2. The Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) was launched for sharing information on heinous crime and inter-State coordination, while the National Cybercrime Training Centre was launched to provide large-scale eLearning on cybercrime investigation to police officers, judges and prosecutors.
3. Cri-MAC and the National Cybercrime Training Centre were both launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology rather than by the National Crime Records Bureau.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) networks police stations with higher police offices, and by early 2020 had networked over 15,000 police stations.
- The Crime Multi Agency Centre (Cri-MAC) was launched for sharing information on heinous crime and inter-State coordination, while the National Cybercrime Training Centre was launched to provide large-scale eLearning on cybercrime investigation to police officers, judges and prosecutors.
- Cri-MAC and the National Cybercrime Training Centre were both launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology rather than by the National Crime Records Bureau.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1 and 3 only