Indian Polity, Governance & UN/World Organisations

Part A: The Indian Constitution

Making of the Constitution

• Drafted by the Constituent Assembly, first met 9 December 1946; Dr. Rajendra Prasad elected permanent President.
• Drafting Committee chaired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar — "Father/Architect of the Indian Constitution."
• Constitution adopted: 26 November 1949 (celebrated as Constitution Day/Samvidhan Divas).
• Constitution came into force: 26 January 1950 (Republic Day) — date chosen to honour the 1930 Purna Swaraj declaration.
• Original Constitution: 395 Articles, 22 Parts, 8 Schedules (now expanded — currently 12 Schedules after amendments).
• Longest written constitution in the world.
• Borrowed features: Parliamentary system (UK), Fundamental Rights (USA), Directive Principles (Ireland), Federal system (Canada), Concurrent List (Australia), Fundamental Duties (USSR/Russia).

Preamble

• Declares India a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic — "Socialist" and "Secular" added by the 42nd Amendment (1976), also called the "Mini-Constitution."
• Objectives: Justice, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.

Fundamental Rights (Part III, Articles 12-35)

Six categories (originally seven; Right to Property removed as a Fundamental Right by 44th Amendment, 1978, now a legal right under Article 300A):

1. Right to Equality (Art 14-18)
2. Right to Freedom (Art 19-22)
3. Right against Exploitation (Art 23-24) — prohibits human trafficking, child labour
4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Art 25-28)
5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Art 29-30)
6. Right to Constitutional Remedies (Art 32) — called the "heart and soul" of the Constitution by Ambedkar; allows approaching Supreme Court directly for enforcement of rights.

Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) — Part IV, Art 36-51

• Non-justiciable (not enforceable by courts) but fundamental in governance.
• Borrowed from Irish Constitution.
• Includes: Uniform Civil Code (Art 44), Village Panchayats (Art 40), separation of judiciary from executive (Art 50).

Fundamental Duties — Part IVA, Article 51A

• Added by 42nd Amendment (1976) on recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee.
• Originally 10 duties, an 11th added by the 86th Amendment (2002) — duty of parents/guardians to provide education to children aged 6-14.

Union Executive

• President: Head of State, elected by an Electoral College (elected MPs + elected MLAs), 5-year term. First President: Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Current qualifications: Article 58.
• Vice-President: ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. First VP: Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.
• Prime Minister: real executive head, appointed by President, leader of majority party in Lok Sabha. First PM: Jawaharlal Nehru.
• Council of Ministers: collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha (Article 75).
• Attorney General of India: highest law officer.

Parliament

• Bicameral: Lok Sabha (House of the People — Lower House, directly elected, max strength 552, current sanctioned strength typically 543 elected members + nominated) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States — Upper House, permanent body, members elected by State Legislative Assemblies, max strength 250, 1/3 retire every 2 years).
• Money Bills can only originate in Lok Sabha (Article 110); Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend, only delay by 14 days.
• Speaker of Lok Sabha: presiding officer, elected by Lok Sabha members.
• Sessions: Budget Session (Feb-May, longest), Monsoon Session (Jul-Sep), Winter Session (Nov-Dec).

Judiciary

• Supreme Court of India: apex court, established 1950; Chief Justice of India + other judges (sanctioned strength currently 34 including CJI).
• First CJI: H.J. Kania.
• High Courts: 25 High Courts in India; Calcutta High Court is the oldest (1862).
• Judicial review power: courts can strike down laws violating the Constitution.
• Basic Structure Doctrine: established in Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) — Parliament cannot amend the "basic structure" of the Constitution.

Constitutional Amendments (key ones)

• 1st Amendment (1951): added Ninth Schedule, restricted freedom of speech grounds.
• 42nd Amendment (1976): "Mini-Constitution" — added Socialist, Secular, Integrity to Preamble; Fundamental Duties.
• 44th Amendment (1978): removed Right to Property from Fundamental Rights.
• 73rd & 74th Amendments (1992): constitutional status to Panchayati Raj (rural) and Municipalities (urban) local self-government.
• 86th Amendment (2002): Right to Education as a Fundamental Right (Article 21A), free education 6-14 years.
• 101st Amendment (2016): introduced Goods and Services Tax (GST).
• 103rd Amendment (2019): 10% EWS (Economically Weaker Section) reservation.

Schedules of the Constitution (12 Schedules)

1st: States & UTs | 2nd: Salaries of dignitaries | 7th: Union/State/Concurrent Lists | 8th: 22 official languages | 9th: Land reform/other laws immune from judicial review | 10th: Anti-defection law | 11th: Panchayati Raj (73rd Amdt) | 12th: Municipalities (74th Amdt).

Emergency Provisions

• National Emergency (Art 352): on grounds of war, external aggression, armed rebellion. Imposed only once for internal disturbance (1975-77, by Indira Gandhi).
• President's Rule / State Emergency (Art 356): failure of constitutional machinery in a state.
• Financial Emergency (Art 360): never invoked so far in India.

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Part B: Governance & Political System

Three-tier structure

1. Union (Central) Government — Executive (President, PM, Council of Ministers), Legislature (Parliament), Judiciary (Supreme Court).
2. State Government — Governor (nominal head, appointed by President), Chief Minister (real executive), State Legislature (unicameral or bicameral — some states have Legislative Council/Vidhan Parishad).
3. Local Self-Government — Panchayati Raj (Gram Panchayat, Panchayat Samiti/Block, Zila Parishad/District — three-tier system since 73rd Amendment) and Urban Local Bodies (Municipal Corporation, Municipal Council, Nagar Panchayat).

Political Party System

• India follows a multi-party system.
• Recognised as "National Party" if it meets Election Commission criteria across multiple states (e.g., vote share thresholds in Lok Sabha/Assembly elections).
• Anti-Defection Law: 10th Schedule, added by 52nd Amendment (1985), disqualifies members who defect from their party.

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Part C: United Nations and Other World Organisations

United Nations (UN)

• Founded: 24 October 1945 (UN Day), HQ in New York. Replaced the League of Nations.
• 6 Principal Organs: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council (inactive since 1994), International Court of Justice (HQ The Hague, Netherlands), Secretariat.
• UN Security Council (UNSC): 15 members — 5 Permanent (P5: USA, UK, France, Russia, China — with veto power) + 10 Non-Permanent (elected for 2-year terms). India has been a non-permanent member multiple times and seeks permanent membership reform.
• Secretary-General: chief administrative officer; current holder should be verified for latest exam cycles.

Key UN Agencies

Agency	Full Form	HQ
WHO	World Health Organization	Geneva, Switzerland
UNESCO	UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization	Paris, France
UNICEF	UN Children's Fund	New York, USA
ILO	International Labour Organization	Geneva
IMF	International Monetary Fund	Washington D.C.
World Bank	—	Washington D.C.
UNHCR	UN High Commissioner for Refugees	Geneva
FAO	Food and Agriculture Organization	Rome, Italy
UNEP	UN Environment Programme	Nairobi, Kenya
IAEA	International Atomic Energy Agency	Vienna, Austria
UNCTAD	UN Conference on Trade and Development	Geneva
UNDP	UN Development Programme	New York

Other Important International/Regional Organisations

Organisation	Full Form	HQ	Notes
WTO	World Trade Organization	Geneva	Successor to GATT, est. 1995
SAARC	South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation	Kathmandu, Nepal	8 members
ASEAN	Association of Southeast Asian Nations	Jakarta, Indonesia	10 members
NATO	North Atlantic Treaty Organization	Brussels, Belgium	Military alliance
OPEC	Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries	Vienna, Austria	Oil producing nations
BRICS	Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (+ new members)	rotating chair	Emerging economies bloc
G7	Group of Seven	rotating	USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan
G20	Group of Twenty	rotating	Major economies; India hosted G20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi
SCO	Shanghai Cooperation Organisation	Beijing	Eurasian political/security/economic alliance
Commonwealth of Nations	—	London (Secretariat)	Association of former British colonies
Red Cross (ICRC)	International Committee of the Red Cross	Geneva	Humanitarian organisation, founded by Henry Dunant
Amnesty International	—	London	Human rights NGO
International Solar Alliance	—	Gurugram, India	Founded by India & France, 2015

Tip: HQ locations and founding years of organisations are the single most repeated question type in this section — build a flashcard deck.