2023 GS Paper I, all questions

UPSC Prelims 2023 · GS Paper I

Question 37: Polity and Governance

With reference to Finance Bill and Money Bill in the Indian Parliament, consider the following statements :

  1. 1.When the Lok Sabha transmits Finance Bill to the Rajya Sabha, it can amend or reject the Bill.
  2. 2.When the Lok Sabha transmits Money Bill to the Rajya Sabha, it cannot amend or reject the Bill, it can only make recommendations.
  3. 3.In the case of disagreement between the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, there is no joint sitting for Money Bill, but a joint sitting becomes necessary for Finance Bill.

How many of the above statements are correct?

aOnly one
bOnly two
cAll three
dNone

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).

Statement 2 is correct: the Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill; it can only return it with recommendations within 14 days, and the Lok Sabha may accept or ignore them. Statement 1 is correct for a Finance Bill that is an ordinary financial bill, where the Rajya Sabha has full power to amend or reject. Statement 3 fails as framed: a Money Bill has no joint sitting, but for a financial bill a joint sitting is only a possible route after disagreement, not something that 'becomes necessary'.

  • 1. The Rajya Sabha can amend or reject a financial (non-money) Finance Bill.
  • 2. The Rajya Sabha can only make recommendations on a Money Bill.
  • 3. A joint sitting is a possible, not a necessary, route for financial bills.

How you could have got this

No shortcut here: in a “how many” question, ruling out options doesn’t help. Every statement has to be judged.

The red flag in statement 2 is “only”. In UPSC’s papers, statements with “only” were true 27% of the time (82 statements). A hint, not a rule.

Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.

Why each option is right or wrong
  • (a) Only one undercounts; statements 1 and 2 are both true.
  • (b) Correct as per UPSC: two statements hold.
  • (c) Statement 3 is treated as wrong, so not all three.
  • (d) Statement 2 at least is true, so not none.

Worth knowing: The question uses 'Finance Bill' loosely and the key leaves exactly one of statements 1 and 3 wrong; treating statement 3 as the wrong one is inferred.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2023, General Studies Paper I, Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.