Indian Polity, Constitution, Governance and Public Administration
What is tested
Constitutional provisions, federal and state institutions, and how Karnataka's governance actually operates: legislature, panchayats, Lokayukta, and state-specific Articles.
Rules to hold firm
- Article 371J (2013) gives special provisions for the six districts of the Hyderabad-Karnataka (Kalyana Karnataka) region - Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Ballari - including reservation in education and public employment and a development board.
- Karnataka has a bicameral legislature: Legislative Assembly with 224 elected seats and a Legislative Council of 75 members, the Council being partly elected by local bodies, teachers and graduates and partly nominated.
- The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1992) were operationalised in Karnataka through the Karnataka Panchayat Raj Act, 1993, creating gram panchayat, taluk panchayat and zilla panchayat tiers.
- The Karnataka Lokayukta, constituted under the Karnataka Lokayukta Act, 1984, is among India's earliest state anti-corruption ombudsman institutions.
Worked example
Question: A Bill proposes an employment quota for the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. Which constitutional hook applies? Reasoning: Article 371J expressly permits special provisions for these six districts, so the answer is 371J - not Article 371 (Maharashtra and Gujarat) and not 371D (Andhra Pradesh).
Traps that cost marks
- Applying Article 371J to all of North Karnataka; it covers only the six named districts.
- Confusing the Legislative Council's composition with the Rajya Sabha's.
- Assuming the Lokayukta can prosecute; it recommends and the competent authority acts.