Politics

About 7 min · General Awareness and Current Affairs · English

Time worked out from the lesson's 477 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.

Politics for Railway Group D covers Indian polity fundamentals, recent legislation, and major political events from the last 12 months. You must know the basic structure of Indian government (Parliament, President, Supreme Court), landmark constitutional provisions, and current political developments like new bills passed, state elections, and major policy decisions.

Key ideas

Union Government: Executive power vests in the President (nominal head), exercised by Prime Minister and Council of Ministers. Parliament (Lok Sabha + Rajya Sabha) makes laws. Supreme Court is the highest judiciary.
State Government: Governor is constitutional head, Chief Minister leads the executive. State Legislature (Vidhan Sabha and in some states Vidhan Parishad) passes state laws. High Court is the top state judiciary.
Parliamentary vs Presidential: India follows the Westminster parliamentary system where the executive is responsible to the legislature, not a fixed-term Presidential system like the USA.
Fundamental Rights and Duties: Articles 12–35 guarantee six fundamental rights (Right to Equality, Freedom, Against Exploitation, Freedom of Religion, Cultural and Educational Rights, Constitutional Remedies). Article 51A lists 11 Fundamental Duties.
Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP): Articles 36–51 are non-justiciable guidelines for state policy (e.g., uniform civil code, free legal aid, village panchayats).

Watch out for

Confusing Governor and President powers: Governor is appointed by President for states; President is elected. President acts on advice of PM; Governor acts on advice of CM. Students mix their discretionary powers. Fix: Remember President = Union level, Governor = State level.
Mixing Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha terms: Lok Sabha = 5 years (can be dissolved early). Rajya Sabha = permanent body, members serve 6 years, 1/3 retire every 2 years. Fix: Lok Sabha is "temporary," Rajya Sabha is "permanent."
Forgetting Money Bill restrictions: Students think Rajya Sabha can reject a Money Bill. It cannot — Rajya Sabha can only recommend changes within 14 days. Fix: Money Bill = Lok Sabha dominant. Rajya Sabha's role is advisory only.

Quick reference

President's term: 5 years, re-electable, minimum age 35.
PM appointment: President appoints leader of Lok Sabha majority; no term limit.
Parliament sessions: Budget (Feb–May), Monsoon (Jul–Aug), Winter (Nov–Dec).
Supreme Court: 34 judges (including CJI), retire at 65, appointed by President.
Money Bill: Only in Lok Sabha; Rajya Sabha 14-day window, advisory role.

Check yourself: 3 questions

1. Which article of the Indian Constitution deals with the President's power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment?
2. The Parliament of India consists of how many parts?
3. What is the maximum number of members that can be nominated by the President to the Rajya Sabha from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service?

This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 21 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.

Read the full note Flashcards for this topic

Saved for offline

Saves this lesson and its 3 questions in this browser on this phone. No sign-in; nothing about you is saved or sent. A saved copy is not updated until you save it again. Parts that load from the server when you use them (the AI tutor, adaptive practice, sign-in) still need a connection.