Question

The constitutional authority, vested with the power of declaring castes and tribes as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, is the
1. President of India
2. Prime Minister of India
3. Minister of Social Welfare
4. Chairman, SC / ST Commission

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : President of India

The correct answer is the President of India.

• The constitutional authority, vested with the power of declaring castes and tribes as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, is the President of India.
• Article 341 deals with the above provision in the Indian Constitution,
  • Article-341 empowers the President to include the names of various castes and tribes in a special list.​
  • There are two main provisions in this article:
    • The first clause states that the President can include a caste in a Scheduled Caste and a Scheduled Tribe through public notification of a State or Union Territory.
    • The second clause states that the Indian Parliament can, by public notification of the President, remove any caste or community included in the Scheduled Castes or Tribes from this list.

• The President of India is the Head of the State of the Republic of India.
• He is the nominal or titular head of the executive, legislature, and judiciary.
• He is the commander-in-chief of all the three defence forces in India.
• Article 52 of the constitution states that - 'There shall be a President of India'.
• Article 53 deals with the executive power of the President.
• The President appoints the Prime Minister and on his advice appoints other ministers and distributes the ministries among them.
• According to Article 79, the President is an integral part of the Indian Parliament. Therefore, he has legislative powers in this form.
• The President takes oath in the presence of the Chief Justice of India - Article 60.
• He can be impeached for the "Violation of the constitution" under Article 61.
• He is elected by the Indirect elections by the use of a Single transferrable vote and secret ballot - Article 54
  • Electrol College includes:
    • Elected members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
    • Elected members of the Vidhan Sabha.