Test: Polity - 2 - UPSC MCQ

The Attorney General (AG) is appointed by the president. He must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. In other words, he must be a citizen of India and he must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in the opinion of the president.

• Statement 1 is Correct: The term of office of the AG is not fixed by the Constitution. He holds office during the pleasure of the president

• Statement 2 is Correct: The Constitution does not contain the procedure and grounds for his removal. He holds office during the pleasure of the president.This means that he may be removed by the president at any time. He may also quit his office by submitting his resignation to the president. Conventionally, he resigns when the government (council of ministers) resigns or is replaced, as he is appointed on its advice.

• Statement 3 is Correct: The remuneration of the AG is not fixed by the Constitution. He receives such remuneration as the president may determine.

The Constitution of India (Article 148) provides for an independent office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). He is the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department

Statement 1 is Correct: He is the guardian of the public purse and controls the entire financial system of the country at both levels—the Centre and the state. His duty is to uphold the Constitution of India and laws of Parliament in the field of financial administration. He is one of the bulwarks of the democratic system of government in India; the others being the Supreme Court, the Election Commission and the Union Public Service Commission.

Statement 2 is Correct: The CAG is appointed by the president of India by a warrant under his hand and seal.

The CAG, before taking over his office, makes and subscribed before the president an oath or affirmation he can be removed by the president on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect by both the Houses of Parliament with special majority, either on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity

Statement 1 is incorrect. Originally, the Constitution of India did not make any provision with respect to the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities Later, the States Reorganisation Commission (1953-55) made a recommendation in this regard.

The Seventh Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956 inserted a new Article 350-B in Part XVII of the Constitution.

This article contains the following provisions:

1) There should be a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities. He is to be appointed by the President of India.

2) It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under theConstitution. He would report to the President upon those matters at such intervals as the President may direct. The President should place all such reports before each House of Parliament and send them to the governments of the states concerned.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Constitution does not specify the qualifications, tenure, salaries and allowances, service conditions and procedure for removal of the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities.

The correct answer is 1 and 2 only.

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is a constitutional body that works for the welfare of the Scheduled Castes in India. Here are the details of the given statements:

1. **Annual report to the president**: The NCSC submits an annual report to the President of India, which includes the measures taken by the Central and State Governments for the development and welfare of the Scheduled Castes. The President then forwards the report to both Houses of Parliament, along with a memorandum explaining the action taken, or proposed to be taken, on the recommendations contained in the report. This statement is correct.

2. **Constitutional body**: The NCSC is a constitutional body established under Article 338 of the Constitution of India. It was initially set up as a Special Officer for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in 1950, and later converted into a full-fledged commission in 1978. In 2003, the Commission was bifurcated into the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes. This statement is correct.

3. **Appointment of members**: The members of the NCSC are appointed by the President of India, not by the Prime Minister. The Commission consists of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, and three other Members. They are appointed for a term of three years, or until they attain the age of 65, whichever is earlier. This statement is incorrect.Option (c) is the correct answer.

Option (c) is the correct answer.

The Finance Commission is a constitutional body, that determines the method and formula for distributing the tax proceeds between the Centre and states, and among the states as per the constitutional arrangement and present requirements. Under Article 280 of the Constitution, the President of India is required to constitute a Finance Commission at an interval of five years or earlier.

Parliament may by law determine the qualifications which shall be requisite for appointment as members of the Commission and the manner in which they shall be selected.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The Finance Commission consists of a chairman and four other members to be appointed by the President. Parliament may by law determine the qualifications of the members of the Commission and the manner in which they shall be selected. Therefore there is no express provision of members being either from judiciary or from the government.

• Statement 2 is incorrect: It is a constitutional body directly established under Article 338 of the constitution.

• Statement 3 is correct: Finance Commissions (FCs) play a crucial role in shaping the fiscal federalism and development trajectory of India. They make recommendations on how to distribute the financial resources between the Union and the states, as well as among the states, for a period of five years.

The Portfolio System was introduced by Lord Canning in 1859. Under this system, a member of the Viceroy’s Council was made in-charge of one or more departments of the Government and was authorised to issue final orders on behalf of the department(s). The ‘portfolio system’ was given recognition by Indian Councils Act 1861.

Preamble

• Statement 1 is incorrect: The Preamble has been amended only once so far, in 1976, by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, which has added three new words—Socialist, Secular and Integrity— to the Preamble. This amendment was held to be valid.

• Statement 2 is incorrect: In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) and the LIC of India case (1995), the Supreme Court again held that the Preamble is an integral part of the Constitution.

  The Twenty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution of India, officially known as The Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 1971, curtailed the right to property, and permitted the acquisition of private property by the government for public use.

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Article 27 lays that no person shall be compelled to pay any taxes for promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination. But it does not prohibit levying a fee as the purpose of a fee is for the secular administration of a religious denomination.

• Statement 2 is correct: Article 26 states that every religious denomination has the right to own and acquire movable and immovable property.

• Statement 3 is incorrect: Article 25 gives all persons the freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion. All persons include foreigners as well.

Statement 1 is correct. The writ of habeas corpus can be issued against both public authorities as well as private individuals. The writ, on the other hand, is not issued where the (a) detention is lawful, (b) the proceeding is for contempt of a legislature or a court, (c) detention is by a competent court, and (d) detention is outside the jurisdiction of the court.

Statement 2 is correct. The writ of certiorari could be issued against judicial and quasi-judicial authorities, and against administrative authorities. It is not available against legislative bodies and private individuals or bodies.

Statement 3 is correct. The writ of prohibition can be issued only against judicial and quasi-judicial authorities. It is not available against administrative authorities, legislative bodies, and private individuals or bodies.

Some other writs:

1) Mandamus literally means ‘we command’. It is a command issued by the court to a public official asking him to perform his official duties that he has failed or refused to perform. It can also be issued against any public body, a corporation, an inferior court, a tribunal or government for the same purpose.

2) Quo-Warranto means ‘by what authority or warrant’. It is issued by the court to enquire into the legality of claim of a person to a public office. Hence, it prevents illegal usurpation of public office by a person.

Statement 1 is correct: The right to move the Supreme Court can be suspended by the President during a national emergency (Article 359).

Statement 2 is correct: The remedy under Article 32 is a fundamental right in itself hence, the supreme court cannot refuse to exercise its writ jurisdiction. On the other hand, a remedy under Article 226 is discretionary and hence, a high court may refuse to exercise its writ jurisdiction. However, Court Martial i.e. the tribunals established under the military law have been exempted from the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the high courts via article 33.

Article 32 provides the Right to Constitutional Remedies which means that a person has the right to move to the Supreme Court (and high courts also) for protecting his fundamental rights. While Supreme Court has power to issue writs under article 32, High Courts have been given the same powers under article 226.

Further, the power to issue writs can also be extended to any other court (including local courts) by the Parliament. In addition, the constitution also provides for the parliament to confer on the Supreme Court power to issue writs for the purpose other than the one mentioned above. Similarly, High courts in India are also empowered to issue writs for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by Part III and for any other purpose.

There are five types of writs that the Courts (both Supreme Court and the High Court) can use –Habeas corpus, Quo Warranto, Mandamus, Certiorari and Prohibition.

Statement 1 is not correct: The Vice-President of India is the second highest constitutional office in the country.

• He serves for a five-year term, but can continue to be in office, irrespective of the expiry of the term, until the successor assumes office.

• The Vice-President is elected by an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament, in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting in such election is by secret ballot(Article 66 (1)).

Statements 2 and 3 are correct: The Election Commission of India conducts the election to the office of the Vice-President.

• The Election Commission is mandated to ensure that the election to the office of the VicePresident of India must be a free and fair election and the Commission is taking all necessary steps for discharging its constitutional responsibility

• All doubts and disputes arising in connection with the election of the Vice-President are enquired into and decided by the Supreme Court of India whose decision is final.

• A petition challenging the election of the Vice-President is heard by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Fundamental Rights are meant to promote political democracy in the country. They prevent the establishment of an authoritarian and despotic rule in the country. Also, they protect the liberties and freedoms of the people against the invasion by the state.

Statement 2 is incorrect: There have been certain changes in Part III of the Constitution,however the total number of Fundamental Rights have remained the same. Article 31 i.e ‘Right to Property’ was removed and Article 21A i.e’ Right to Education’ was added to the fundamental rights. Hence, there overall number did not change.

KB) According to the Indian Constitution, there are six basic Fundamental Rights of Indian Citizens, which are right to equality, right to freedom of religion, cultural and educational rights, right to freedom, right to constitutional remedies and right against exploitation. Article 12 to 35 of the Indian Constitution covers the Fundamental Rights of the citizen of the country. Fundamental Rights enumerated in Part III of the Indian Constitution are categorized under 7 sections apart from the general segment.

Statement 1 is correct. Constituent assembly did ratify India’s membership to the Commonwealth.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Constituent Assembly was a partly elected and partly nominated body. Moreover, the members were to be indirectly elected by the members of the provincial assemblies, who themselves were elected on a limited franchise.

Article 12 has defined the term for the purposes of Part III. According to it, the State includes the following:

(a) Government and Parliament of India i.e. executive and legislative organs of the Union government.

(b) Government and legislature of states i.e. executive and legislative organs of state government.

(c) All local authorities i.e. municipalities, panchayats, district boards, improvement trusts, etc.

(d) All other authorities i.e. statutory or non-statutory authorities like LIC, ONGC, SAIL, etc.

Thus, State has been defined in a wider sense so as to include all its agencies. It is the actions of these agencies that can be challenged in the courts as violating the Fundamental Rights.

According to the Supreme Court, even a private body or an agency working as an instrument of the State falls within the meaning of the ‘State’ under Article 12. High Court does not comes under article 12 of Indian constitution.

Parliament is not bound by the recommendations of committees. Hence statement 2 is correct.

Types of parliamentary committees:

1. Broadly, parliamentary committees are of two kinds:

• Standing Committees: They are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis. Hence statement 3 is incorrect.

• Ad Hoc Committees: They are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them. For instance, to deliberate on a particular bill.

2. Referring bill to the committee:

• Currently, it is not mandatory to refer a Bill to a Committee.

• In some Parliamentary systems like the UK, all Bills other than Money Bills are automatically referred to Committees.

• However, in India, it depends on the decision of the Speaker or Chairman, in consultation with the Minister putting forth the Bill, whether a Bill should be referred to a Committee.

Hence statement 1 is incorrect.

• Statement 1 is correct: DPSPs are fundamental in governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws. They are fundamental because they provide a roadmap and vision for the country.They also help courts in determining the constitutional validity of a law despite them being non-Justiciable.

• Statement 2 is correct: While fundamental rights aim to establish political democracy, Directive principles aim at establishing social and economic democracy. Thus, together they establish Socio-political democracy in the country.

Statement 1 is incorrect. SHREYAS – Scheme for Higher Education Youth for Apprenticeship and Skills was launched by Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Ministry of Labour and Employment.

Statement 2 is correct. It aims to:

(a) To improve the employability of students by introducing employment relevance into the learning process of the higher education system

(b) To forge a close functional link between education and industry/service sectors on a sustainable basis

(c)To provide skills which are in demand, to the students in a dynamic manner

(d) To establish an ‘earn while you learn’ system into higher education

(e) To help business/industry in securing good quality manpower and

(f) To link student community with employment facilitating efforts of the Government.

SHREYAS portal will enable educational institutions and industry to log in and provide their respective demand and supply of apprenticeship.

The State Governments are expected to play a major role in securing apprenticeship opportunities, apart from the Sector Skill Councils, so that general degree students passing out can gain the option of industry & service sector apprenticeship.

Sector Skill Councils are set up as autonomous industry-led bodies by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), which are responsible for defining the skilling needs, concept, processes, certification, and accreditation of their respective industry sectors in accordance with National Skill Qualification Framework.

Central government has proposed to constitute a new backward classes commission after the term of National Commission for Other Backward Classes (NCBC) ended.

Statement 1 is correct. Parliament has passed the Constitution (123rd Amendment) Bill which grants the National Commission on Backward Classes (NCBC) constitutional status by inserting a new article 338 B in the Constitution.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Bill states that the President may specify the socially and educationally backward classes in the various states and union territories. He may do this in consultation with the Governor of the concerned state, however a law of Parliament will be required if the list of backward classes is to be amended.

The commission will have a chairperson, vice-chairperson and three other members and hear the grievances of socially and educationally backward classes, a function discharged so far by the National Commission of Scheduled Castes (NCSC).

The bill also provides NCBC with the authority to examine complaints and welfare measures regarding socially and educationally backward classes.

NCBC will also have the powers of a civil court while investigating or inquiring into any complaints.

It is the Prime Minister who allocates portfolios to the other Ministers. The Prime Minister may call for the resignation of any Minister at any time. In case of refusal he may advise the President to dismiss the Minister.

Statement 1 is correct. Under the principle of collective responsibility, the resignation of PM results in resignation of the whole council.

Statement 2 is incorrect. As per Article 75, all the ministers are appointed by the President and they tender their resignation to him only.

All the members of the Council of Ministers do not belong to the same rank. The Constitution does not classify ministers into different ranks but in practice 4 ranks have come to be recognized.

I. Cabinet Ministers—He has a right to be present and participate in every meeting of the Cabinet. For proclamation of an emergency under Art. 352 the advice must come from the Prime Minister and other Ministers of cabinet rank.

II. Minister of State with independent charge—He is a Minister of State who does not work under a Cabinet Minister. When any matter concerning his Department is on the agenda of the Cabinet, he is invited to attend the meeting.

III. Minister of State—He is a Minister who does not have independent charge of any Department and works under a Cabinet Minister. The work to such Minister is allotted by his Cabinet Minister.

IV. Deputy Minister—He is a Minister who works under a Cabinet Minister or a Minister of State with independent charge. The work to him is allotted by the Minister under whom he is working. The Prime Minister allocates portfolios to the Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State with independent charge. The other Ministers are allocated work by their respective Cabinet Ministers. Ministers may be chosen from the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. A Minister who is a member of one House has the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of the other House. A Minister is allowed to vote only in the House of which he is a member. A person who is not a member of either House may also be appointed as a Minister. He can continue as a Minister only for six months.

Because that is the limit fixed by Art. 75(5). If he desires to continue as Minister he has to become a member of any one of the Houses of Parliament before the expiration of the period of 6 months. A person who is not qualified to become a member of a legislature cannot be appointed a minister under Art. 75(5). In this case minister would not include Prime Minister because non-election of Prime Minister would dissolve the Council

of Ministers after expiration of the period of 6 months.

In England, the Cabinet system is based on conventions. The framers of our Constitution considered it fit to incorporate the system in the Constitution. The principle of collective responsibility finds place in Art. 75(3) where it is stated that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. In other words, this provision means that a Ministry which loses confidence of the Lok Sabha is obliged to resign.

The loss of confidence is expressed by rejecting a Money Bill or Finance Bill or any other important policy measure or by passing a motion of no-confidence or rejecting a motion expressing confidence in the Ministry.

When a Minister loses confidence of the Lok Sabha the whole of the Ministry has to resign including those Ministers who are from the Rajya Sabha. The Ministers fall and stand together. In certain cases, the Ministry may advise the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha and call for fresh elections.

Statement 1 is correct: Article 72 grants President the power to pardon persons who have been tried and convicted of any offence in all cases where:

• Punishment or sentence is for offence against Union Law

• Punishment or sentence is by court martial

• Death Sentence. He can pardon death sentence given under state laws as well.

Statement 2 is correct: Pardoning power of President is independent of Judiciary, it is an executive power.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Cabinet Committees usually include only Cabinet Ministers. However, the non-cabinet Ministers are not debarred from their membership.

Statement 2 is incorrect: They are mostly headed by the Prime Minister. Sometimes other Cabinet Ministers, particularly the Home Minister or the Finance Minister, also acts as their Chairman. But, in case the Prime Minister is a member of a committee, he invariably presides over it.

The Cabinet Committees are organizations which are instrumental in reducing the workload of the Cabinet.

These committees are extra-constitutional in nature and are nowhere mentioned in the Constitution.

Composition: The composition of a Cabinet Committee varies from 3 to 8 people. Even Ministers who are not part of the Cabinet can be added to a Cabinet Committee. Usually, each cabinet committee has at least one Cabinet Minister. The members of the Cabinet Committee can be from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Types and Composition of Cabinet Committees:

• Standing Cabinet Committee: These are permanent in nature with a specific job. The Cabinet Ministers are its ‘members’ while the people without the rank of Cabinet Committee are called ‘special invitees’.

• Ad-hoc Cabinet Committee: These are temporary in nature and are formed from time to time to deal with specific tasks.

Of all the Cabinet Committees, the most powerful is the Political Affairs Committee, often described as a “Super- Cabinet”.

Different Cabinet Committees:

1) Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)

2) Cabinet Committee on Accommodation (CCA)

3) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)

4) Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA)

5) Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA

6) Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) Two new committees are recently formed are;

7) Cabinet committee on investment & growth

8) Cabinet Committee on Employment and skill development

Statement 1 is incorrect: Kitchen Cabinet is an informal body consists of the Prime Minister and two to four influential colleagues in whom he has faith and with whom he can discuss every problem. It’s functions are not determined by the cabinet.

Statement 2 is correct: It helps the Prime Minister in maintaining secrecy in making decisions on important political issues.

KB) The cabinet, a small body consisting of the prime minister as its head and some 15 to 20 most important ministers, is the highest decision-making body in the formal sense. However, a still smaller body called the inner Cabinet or Kitchen Cabinet has become a real centre of power. It advises the prime minister on important political and administrative issues and assists him in making critical decisions. This informal body consists of the prime minister and two to four influential colleagues in whom he has faith and with whom he can discuss every problem. It is composed of not only cabinet ministers but also outsiders like friends and family members of the prime minister.

Statement 1 is incorrect. The Target Olympic Podium Scheme is a flagship program of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. It has been formulated under the ambit of National Sports Development Fund (NSDF). The NSDF aims to mobilize resources from Government as well as non-government organizations and individuals to provide required support for promotion of specific sports disciplines.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The scheme was established in 2014 in order to realize India’s Olympic medal dreams, at 2016 (Rio) and 2020 (Tokyo) Olympics.KB)

The scheme seeks support preparation of athletes so that they can win Olympic medals in 2020 and 2024 Olympics. Under the Scheme, the Department of Sports identifies athletes who are potential medal winners in 2020 / 2024 Olympics. The scheme prioritises Archery, Badminton, Boxing, Hockey, Shooting and Wrestling.

Mission Olympic Cell has also been created to assist the athletes who are selected under the TOP Scheme.

Statement 1 is correct. The Governor appoints the State Election Commissioner and determines his conditions of service and tenure of office. However, the State Election Commissioner can be removed only in like manner and on the grounds as a judge of the High Court.

Statement 2 is correct. He appoints the chairman and members of the State Public Service Commission.

However, they can be removed only by the President and not by a Governor.

Statement 3 is incorrect. He acts as the chancellor (not vice-chancellors) of universities in the state. He also appoints the vice-chancellors of universities in the state.

Statement 4 is correct. He appoints the chief minister and other ministers. They also hold office during his pleasure.

KB) Executive Powers

The executive powers and functions of the Governor are:

• All executive actions of the government of a state are formally taken in his name.

• He can make rules specifying the manner in which the Orders and other instruments made and executed in his name shall be authenticated.

• He can make rules for more convenient transactions of the business of a state government and for the allocation among the ministers of the said business.

• He appoints the chief minister and other ministers. They also hold office during his pleasure. There should be a Tribal Welfare minister in the states of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha appointed by him. The state of Bihar was excluded from this provision by the 94th Amendment Act of 2006.

• He appoints the advocate general of a state and determines his remuneration. The advocate general holds office during the pleasure of the governor.

• He appoints the state election commissioner and determines his conditions of service and tenure of office. However, the state election commissioner can be removed only in like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of a high court.

• He appoints the chairman and members of the state public service commission. However, they can be removed only by the president and not by a governor.

• He can seek any information relating to the administration of the affairs of the state and proposals for legislation from the chief minister.

• He can require the chief minister to submit for the consideration of the council of ministers any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been considered by the council.

• He can recommend the imposition of constitutional emergency in a state to the president. During the period of President’s rule in a state, the governor enjoys extensive executive powers as an agent of the President.

• He acts as the chancellor of universities in the state. He also appoints the vice-chancellors of universities in the state.

Statement 1 is correct. The principle of collective responsibility means that the cabinet decisions bind all cabinet ministers (and other ministers) even if they deferred in the cabinet meeting. It is the duty of every minister to stand by the cabinet decisions and support them both within and outside the state legislature. If any minister disagrees with a cabinet decision and is not prepared to defend it, he must resign. Several ministers have resigned in the past owing to their differences with the cabinet.

Statement 2 is incorrect. Article 164 also contains the principle of individual responsibility. It states that the ministers hold office during the pleasure of the governor (so state minister responsible to the governor not chief minister).

• National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) is a constitutional body (123rd constitutional amendment Bill 2017 and 102nd amendment 2018 in constitution to make it constitutional body) (Article 338B of the Indian Constitution)

• According to Article 338B, It shall be the duty of the Commission—

  • to investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the socially and educationally backward classes under this Constitution or under any other law for the

  • time being in force or under any order of the Government and to evaluate the working of such safeguards;

  • to inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of the socially and educationally backward classes;

  • to participate and advise on the socio-economic development of the socially and educationally backward classes and to evaluate the progress of their development under the Union and any State;

  • to present to the President, annually and at such other times as the Commission may deem fit, reports upon the working of those safeguards;

  • to make in such reports the recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State for the effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of the socially and educationally backward classes; and to discharge such other functions in relation to the protection, welfare and development and advancement of the socially and educationally backward classes as the President may, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specify.

Statement 1 is incorrect. POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched on 8th March 2018 by the Prime Minister in Jhunjhunu.

Statement 2 is correct. POSHAN Abhiyaan to address Malnutrition through Convergence, Use of Technology and a Targeted approach.

Statement 3 is correct. The Abhiyaan targets to reduce stunting, under-nutrition, anemia (among young children, women and adolescent girls) and reduce low birth weight by 2%, 2%, 3% and 2% per annum respectively.

The target of the mission is to bring down stunting among children in the age group 0-6 years from 38.4% to 25% by 2022.

Statement 1 is correct. Ayushman Bharat –Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in Ranchi, Jharkahnd on September 23, 2018.This is the “world’s largest government funded healthcare program” targeting more than 50 crore beneficiaries. It is launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Statement 2 is correct. PMJAY will provide cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service.

PMJAY will also help reduce catastrophic expenditure for hospitalizations, which impoverishes people and will help mitigate the financial risk arising out of catastrophic health episodes.

Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY) will provide a cover of up to Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year, for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.

Over 10.74 crore vulnerable entitled families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) will be eligible for these benefits.

PMJAY will provide cashless and paperless access to services for the beneficiary at the point of service.

PMJAY will help reduce catastrophic expenditure for hospitalizations, which impoverishes people and will help mitigate the financial risk arising out of catastrophic health episodes.

Entitled families will be able to use the quality health services they need without facing financial hardships.

When fully implemented, PMJAY will become the world’s largest fully government-financed health protection scheme. It is a visionary step towards advancing the agenda of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

FEATURES OF THE SCHEME:

Ayushman Bharat is a progression towards promotive, preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative aspects of Universal Healthcare through access of Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs) at the primary level and provision of financial protection for accessing curative care at the secondary and tertiary levels through engagement with both public and private sector.

It adopts a continuum of care approach, comprising of two inter-related components: Creation of 1,50,000 Health and Wellness Centres which will bring health care closer to the homes of the people.

These centres will provide Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC), covering both maternal and child health services and non-communicable diseases, including free essential drugs and diagnostic services. The first Health and Wellness Centre was launched by the Prime Minister at Jangla, Bijapur, Chhatisgarh on 14th April 2018.

The second component is the Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY) which provides health protection cover to poor and vulnerable families for secondary and tertiary care.

The Health and Wellness Centres will play a critical role in creating awareness about PMJAY, screening for non- communicable diseases, follow-up of hospitalization cases among others.