WBP Constable key terms

Six groups of basic freedoms guaranteed to citizens by Part III of the Indian Constitution, enforceable in court through writs. They cover equality, speech, life, religion, culture and constitutional remedies.

Guidelines in Part IV of the Constitution directing governments to pursue social and economic welfare goals such as employment, education and public health. They are not directly enforceable in courts.

The opening statement of the Indian Constitution declaring the source of authority as the people and listing the ideals of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity that guide the document.

A formal application asking a High Court or the Supreme Court to issue a constitutional order such as habeas corpus, mandamus or certiorari against unlawful action by an authority.

The power of courts to examine laws and executive actions and declare them invalid when they violate the Constitution, including where they breach fundamental rights.

The principle that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution in a way that destroys its essential features, such as separation of powers, secularism or judicial review.

The formal procedure under Article 368 by which Parliament, and for federal provisions a majority of state legislatures, changes the text of the Constitution.

The Tenth Schedule provision that disqualifies a legislator who voluntarily leaves the party on whose ticket they were elected or votes against a party whip.

A bill dealing only with taxation, borrowing or the Consolidated Fund, introduced with the President's recommendation and requiring only the Lok Sabha's approval for passage.

A temporary law promulgated by the President or a Governor when the legislature is not in session, which must be approved by that legislature within six weeks of reassembly.

The President, Vice-President, Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister, who together exercise the executive power of the Union under the Constitution.

The constitutional head of a state, appointed by the President, who exercises executive power on the advice of the state Council of Ministers and holds discretionary powers in specified matters.

The presiding officer elected by members of a state assembly who conducts proceedings, decides points of order and adjudicates disqualification petitions under the anti-defection law.

The three-tier system of elected local self-government at village, block and district levels, given constitutional status by the 73rd Amendment Act of 1992.

The elected urban local body that governs a large city and handles civic functions such as water supply, sanitation, roads and public health within its area.

A form of deductive reasoning with two premises and a conclusion, where the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises if they are taken as true.

A diagram of overlapping circles used to show set relationships, often drawn in reasoning questions to test whether a given conclusion follows from the stated statements.

A reasoning task where letters, words or numbers are converted into another form by a fixed rule, and the candidate must apply the same rule to a new item.

A reasoning question presenting a pair of related items and asking the candidate to find a second pair that shares the same relationship, such as part to whole or cause to effect.

A reasoning task in which four or five items are given and the candidate must identify the one that does not belong to the common category of the others.

A reasoning question presenting a sequence of numbers, letters or figures following a pattern, where the candidate must supply the missing or next term.

Reasoning problems that describe family links in words or symbols and ask how two named persons are related, often requiring a small family tree.

Reasoning problems tracking a person's movement through turns and distances in the four cardinal and four intermediate directions to find final position or facing direction.

A comparison of two quantities by division and an equation stating that two ratios are equal, used to divide amounts or scale values in arithmetic problems.

A fraction expressed as a part of one hundred, used to compare quantities and to compute increases, decreases, discounts and marks in arithmetic questions.

Interest calculated only on the original principal for the whole period, using the product of principal, annual rate and time in years divided by one hundred.

Interest computed on the principal plus previously earned interest, so the amount grows each period and exceeds the simple interest for the same rate and time.

The relationship that distance equals speed multiplied by time, used to solve problems on trains, boats, relative motion and average speed.

The sum of a set of values divided by the number of values, frequently used to find a missing figure when the average changes after adding or removing an item.

A technique that first finds the value of one unit and then multiplies it to obtain the value of the required number of units in proportion problems.

A word that carries a meaning close to that of another word, tested in English papers by asking the candidate to pick the nearest equivalent from the options.

A word whose meaning is opposite to that of another word, such as 'scarce' for 'abundant', tested by asking for the most nearly opposite choice.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as 'to bury the hatchet' meaning to end a quarrel.

The rule-governed joining of two adjacent Bengali sounds or words, where the final vowel or consonant of the first changes form when combined with the second.

The Bengali method of forming a single compound word by combining two or more words, classified by type such as dvandva, tatpurusha, bahuvrihi and dvigu.

The grammatical case relationship between a noun and the verb in a Bengali sentence, showing the role of doer, object, instrument, recipient or source.

The minimum height and weight limits fixed for each category of candidate in the physical measurement test, with relaxations for specified categories as notified.

A qualifying round of running, jumping or other endurance events that candidates must clear within the prescribed time to proceed to later stages of recruitment.

A physical measurement recorded in centimetres, usually as an unexpanded figure and an expanded figure after inhalation, with a required minimum difference between the two.