Karnataka PDO key terms

The lowest tier of the three-level Panchayat Raj structure in Karnataka, elected at the village level for a five-year term and responsible for local civic functions listed in the Eleventh Schedule.

The assembly of all registered voters residing in a Gram Panchayat area, which meets to approve plans, budgets and social audits and exercises powers given by state law.

The system of rural self-government in which elected bodies at village, intermediate and district levels exercise devolved powers, given constitutional status by the 73rd Amendment.

The intermediate-level elected body in Karnataka's Panchayat Raj structure, functioning at taluk level between the Gram Panchayat and the Zilla Panchayat.

The district-level elected body of Karnataka's Panchayat Raj system, coordinating rural development planning and supervising the lower tiers within the district.

The list of twenty-nine subjects, such as agriculture, drinking water and rural housing, that the Constitution expects state legislatures to devolve to Panchayats.

The 1992 amendment that added Part IX and the Eleventh Schedule to the Constitution, mandating elected Panchayats, five-year terms and reservation of seats.

A constitutional authority under Article 243K responsible for conducting and supervising elections to Panchayats and Municipalities in a state, independent of the Election Commission of India.

A body constituted every five years under Article 243I to review the financial position of Panchayats and recommend how state taxes and grants should be shared with them.

A committee constituted under Article 243ZD to consolidate plans prepared by Panchayats and Municipalities in a district into a single draft district development plan.

A participatory review in which villagers examine the records, expenditure and outcomes of local works and schemes, typically through the Gram Sabha, to enforce transparency and accountability.

A national law guaranteeing at least one hundred days of unskilled manual wage employment per rural household per year, with wages paid within fifteen days and work demanded on written application.

A document issued to a rural household under MGNREGA recording its registered adult members and the employment allotted to them, forming the basis for wage payment.

A centrally sponsored scheme providing financial assistance to houseless and kutcha-house rural families to construct a pucca house with basic amenities, implemented through Gram Panchayats.

A national cleanliness programme covering rural and urban areas, aimed at eliminating open defecation, managing solid and liquid waste, and sustaining open-defecation-free village status.

A poverty-reduction programme that organises rural poor women into self-help groups and federations, building their skills and access to credit and livelihoods.

A small voluntary group of poor households, usually women, that pools regular savings, lends internally to members and later accesses bank credit as a group.

A participatory annual plan prepared by a Gram Panchayat using Gram Sabha inputs, listing local needs, works and resources, and forming the basis for budget and implementation.

The state law, enacted in 1993, that establishes Gram Panchayats, Taluk Panchayats and Zilla Panchayats in Karnataka and defines their powers, functions and finances.

A national housing programme with rural and urban components that subsidises construction or purchase of houses for eligible low-income families.

A Directive Principle of State Policy directing the State to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers as may be necessary to function as units of self-government.

Guidelines in Part IV of the Constitution, not enforceable in courts, that direct the State towards social and economic welfare goals while framing policy and law.

Eleven obligations listed in Article 51A requiring citizens to respect the Constitution, protect national unity, the environment and public property, and pursue education for children.

The Tenth Schedule provision disqualifying an elected member who voluntarily gives up party membership or votes against the party whip in the legislature.

A long-standing inter-state dispute among Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry over sharing Kaveri waters, adjudicated through tribunals and Supreme Court directions.

A dam across the Kaveri near Mysuru, built in the early twentieth century under engineer M. Visvesvaraya, serving irrigation and drinking water needs.

The movement and eventual process, completed in 1956, by which Kannada-speaking areas from several provinces were merged into a single state with Mysuru as capital.

The state festival celebrated on 1 November, marking the day in 1956 when Kannada-speaking regions were unified into the state of Karnataka.

Writing in the Kannada language, one of the classical languages of India, with a history from early inscriptions through medieval poets to modern novelists and Jnanpith laureates.

The mix in the Indian Constitution of a strong central government with division of powers, bicameralism and state autonomy, often described as quasi-federal.

The constitutional auditor of Union and state accounts who reports on the legality and propriety of public expenditure to Parliament and legislatures.

A quantitative relationship comparing two quantities by division, used to solve problems on mixtures, partnerships, scale and distribution of money or work.

The sum of a set of values divided by their count, used to find missing values, combined group means and speed or wage problems in aptitude tests.

A reasoning problem presenting two or more premises from which a valid conclusion must follow, tested through set relationships and Venn diagrams.

A quantitative topic where the rate of work of persons or machines is combined to find the time needed to finish a task together or separately.

Methods of calculating interest on a principal: simple interest is a fixed percentage of the original sum each period, while compound interest is charged on accumulated interest too.