Background
The UT Administration records that the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli was merged with the neighbouring union territory of Daman and Diu to form the new union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on January 26, 2020. The territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli then became one of the three districts of the new union territory, as the Dadra and Nagar Haveli District; Daman and Diu are the other two. The merger was carried out by an Act of Parliament. The Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs, amended the First Schedule to the Constitution, which specifies the territories that come under various states and union territories, and amended Article 240(1), under which the President may make regulations for certain union territories, to replace the two old territories with the merged one. The First Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, 1950 had provided one Lok Sabha seat to each of the two union territories; the Bill allocated two Lok Sabha seats to the merged union territory. It also provided that the jurisdiction of the High Court of Bombay would continue to extend to the merged union territory. All three parts were former Portuguese possessions, as Goa was. Dadra and Nagar Haveli, spread over 491.00 sq.kms and landlocked between Gujarat and Maharashtra, was liberated from Portuguese rule on 2nd August 1954 and united with India by the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Act 1961 (No.35 of 1961). Daman was obtained by the Portuguese in 1559 and remained under them till its liberation in 1961. Diu was conquered by the Portuguese in 1546, was liberated on 19th December 1961, and became part of the UT of Goa, Daman and Diu; after the statehood of Goa on 30th May 1987, Daman and Diu became a separate union territory.
Date the merged union territory came into being:
January 26, 2020
Districts in the merged union territory:
one of the three districts of the new union territory
Lok Sabha seats for the merged union territory:
two Lok Sabha seats to the merged UT
High Court jurisdiction:
the jurisdiction of the High Court of Bombay will continue to extend to the merged UT
Area of Dadra and Nagar Haveli:
491.00 sq.kms
Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli from Portuguese rule:
2nd August 1954
Liberation of Diu:
19th December 1961
Statehood of Goa, after which Daman and Diu became a separate UT:
30th May 1987
Why it matters for exams: The merger changed the number of union territories in India and the Lok Sabha seat arithmetic, so examiners use it to test whether a candidate's list of union territories is current.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
First Schedule First Schedule to the Constitution — The schedule that lists India's states and union territories and the territories each comprises.
Article 240 Article 240 of the Constitution — It empowers the President to make regulations for certain union territories named in it.
Background
The erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir was reorganised under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019, which came into force with effect from 31st October, 2019. The Ministry of Home Affairs records that the State was reorganised into the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with Legislature and the Union territory of Ladakh without Legislature. Ladakh therefore has no Legislative Assembly of its own, while Jammu and Kashmir has one — the single contrast most often set in examinations on the reorganisation. The Administration of the Union Territory of Ladakh states that Ladakh became a Union Territory on 31st of October 2019. At its creation Ladakh had two districts, Leh and Kargil; the Lieutenant Governor later approved the issuance of a notification creating five new districts — Sham, Nubra, Changthang, Zanskar and Drass — so that Ladakh will now have total seven districts from the existing two. Local elected representation runs through the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Councils in the two original districts. In Kargil the Hill Council was constituted during the year 2003, and the Council has 30 members/councilors out of which 26 members are elected and 4 are nominated.
Date the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 came into force:
31st October, 2019
What the erstwhile State was reorganised into:
Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with Legislature and Union territory of Ladakh without Legislature
Districts in Ladakh after the five new districts were notified:
total seven districts from the existing two
Composition of the Hill Council in Kargil:
30 members/councilors out of which 26 members are elected and 4 are nominated
Why it matters for exams: The paired fact that Jammu and Kashmir was given a Legislature while Ladakh was not is among the most frequently set questions on the reorganisation, and the hill councils explain how a union territory with no Assembly still carries elected local government.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
LAHDC Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council — An elected district-level council that runs development administration in Leh and in Kargil.
Union territory without Legislature Union territory without a Legislative Assembly — A union territory administered on behalf of the President through an administrator, with no legislature of its own.
Background
The court's own record states that the full-fledged High Court of Judicature for the Jammu and Kashmir State was established in the year 1928. Before that the Ruler of the State was the final authority in the administration of justice, and from 1889 the judicial member of a Council exercised the appellate powers on both the civil and the criminal side.
By virtue of Order No. 1 dated 26.3.1928 the High Court of Judicature was established, and for the first time the High Court was to consist of The Chief Justice and two Judges. The usual places of sitting of the High Court used to be Jammu and Srinagar. On 10.9.1943, Letters Patent was conferred on the High Court.
In 1954, by the Constitution Application Order of 1954, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was extended to the State of Jammu and Kashmir, and the High Court was for the first time given the power to issue writs for enforcement of the fundamental rights so far as they were applicable there.
A Board of Judicial Advisers, akin to the Privy Council in British India, advised the Ruler on appeals against High Court decisions. When the Board was abolished it had 17 appeals pending. A Special Bench of the Supreme Court of India was constituted to dispose of them and heard the appeals in Srinagar, upholding the judgement of the High Court in all 17. The court records this as the sole instance till date of a Bench of the Supreme Court holding a sitting outside its seat at Delhi.
The court is now the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, with a sanctioned strength of 25 Judges, and its rules and district judiciary cover the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh. From May to end October the Chief Justice and the Administrative Wing shift to Srinagar, and from November to end April the headquarters is at Jammu; the court sections of both the Jammu and Srinagar wings function throughout the year.
Year the full-fledged High Court was established:
1928
Composition of the High Court when first established:
The Chief Justice and two Judges
Usual places of sitting of the High Court:
Jammu and Srinagar
Date Letters Patent was conferred:
10.9.1943
Appeals heard by the Special Bench that sat at Srinagar:
17 appeals
Sanctioned strength of judges:
25 Judges
Months the Administrative Wing works from Srinagar:
From May to end October
Why it matters for exams: A single High Court serving two union territories is an unusual arrangement, and the Srinagar sitting of a Supreme Court Bench is a one-of-a-kind fact that examiners like to test.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Letters Patent Letters Patent — A formal written instrument that confers a power or a status on a court or an office.
Writ Writ — A written order of a court directing someone to do or stop doing something.
Background
The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 reorganised the former State of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories. The Ministry of Home Affairs records the outcome as "Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with legislature, and Union Territory of Ladakh without Legislature", and states that the Act formally came into force on 31st October, 2019.
At its creation the new Union Territory of Ladakh consisted of the two districts of Kargil and Leh, as the Ministry's release on the maps of the two union territories records. The rest of the former State of Jammu and Kashmir is in the new Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
In 1947 the former State had 14 districts; by 2019 the areas of these 14 districts had been reorganised into 28 districts. Kargil district was carved out from the area of Leh and Ladakh district. The maps of the two new union territories were prepared by Survey General of India.
The Union Territory of Ladakh is administered by a Lieutenant Governor; its first Lieutenant Governor was administered the oath of office by the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on 31 October 2019.
For the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir the Delimitation Commission's final order provides 90 Assembly Constituencies, of which 43 will be part of Jammu region and 47 for Kashmir region. 9 ACs have been reserved for STs and 07 for SCs, the first time seats were reserved for Scheduled Tribes there.
There are five Parliamentary Constituencies in the Union Territory, and after the delimitation each Parliamentary Constituency has an equal number of 18 Assembly Constituencies.
How the Ministry of Home Affairs records the reorganisation:
Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with legislature, and Union Territory of Ladakh without Legislature
Date the two union territories were created:
31 October 2019
Districts in the Union Territory of Ladakh as created:
two districts of Kargil and Leh
Districts of the former State in 1947:
14 districts
Districts the same areas had been reorganised into by 2019:
28 districts
Assembly Constituencies in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir:
90
Assembly Constituencies in Jammu region and in Kashmir region:
43 will be part of Jammu region and 47 for Kashmir region
Assembly Constituencies reserved for Scheduled Tribes:
nine ACs
Assembly Constituencies in each Parliamentary Constituency:
18
Why it matters for exams: The two-union-territory structure, which of them has a legislature, the Ladakh districts and the 90-seat Assembly arithmetic are the standard factual hooks for any question on India's union territories.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Delimitation Delimitation of constituencies — The redrawing of the boundaries of Assembly and Parliamentary constituencies.
AC Assembly Constituency — A single seat in a legislative assembly and the area that elects it.
Background
Municipal government for most of Delhi rests on the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, an Act passed by Parliament. “The Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into: (i) North Delhi Municipal Corporation, (ii) South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and (iii) East Delhi Municipal Corporation.” The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 — a Home Affairs Bill — was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 25, 2022, passed by Lok Sabha on Mar 30, 2022 and by Rajya Sabha on Apr 05, 2022. It “replaces the three municipal corporations under the Act with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of Delhi”. Under the Act the number of seats in the three corporations taken together was not to exceed 272, and the Fourteenth Schedule listed 272 wards; the amendment provides that the total number of seats in the new Corporation should not be more than 250. Matters that the 2011 amendment had left to the Delhi government — the number of councillor seats and seats reserved for Scheduled Castes, the division of corporation areas into zones and wards, delimitation of wards, and the Commissioner's salary and leave — are instead given to the central government. The amendment also omits the post of Director of Local Bodies, allows the central government to appoint a Special Officer to exercise the Corporation's powers until its first meeting, and makes an e-governance system for citizen services “on anytime-anywhere basis” an obligatory function of the new Corporation. The unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi formally came into existence on May 22, 2022.
Parent Act for municipal government in Delhi:
Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957
Maximum seats in the three corporations taken together, under the Act:
272
Maximum seats in the unified Corporation:
250
Date the unifying Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha:
March 25, 2022
Date the Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha:
Apr 05, 2022
The three corporations that were merged:
(i) North Delhi Municipal Corporation, (ii) South Delhi Municipal Corporation, and (iii) East Delhi Municipal Corporation
Why it matters for exams: Urban local government questions turn on which authority controls what; Delhi is the standard example of a municipal Act passed by Parliament, trifurcated by a State-level amendment and then unified again, with the seat ceiling moving from 272 to 250.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
delimitation fixing of ward boundaries — Redrawing the boundaries of wards so that each councillor represents roughly comparable numbers of people.
Special Officer officer appointed to run a corporation in the interim — An official who exercises a corporation's powers until its elected body meets for the first time.
Background
Article 239AA of the Constitution is headed “Special provisions with respect to Delhi”. From the commencement of the Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991 the Union territory of Delhi is called the National Capital Territory of Delhi, and the administrator appointed under Article 239 is designated as the Lieutenant Governor. The Article itself provides for a Legislative Assembly whose members are chosen by direct election from territorial constituencies; the total number of seats, the seats reserved for Scheduled Castes and the division into constituencies are regulated by law made by Parliament. The Assembly may make laws on matters in the State List and the Concurrent List as applicable to Union territories, “except matters with respect to Entries 1, 2 and 18 of the State List and Entries 64, 65 and 66 of that List in so far as they relate to the said Entries 1, 2, and 18” — that is, entries 1 (public order), 2 (police) and 18 (land). A State legislature faces no such exclusion. There is a Council of Ministers of not more than ten per cent of the total members of the Assembly, with the Chief Minister at the head, to aid and advise the Lieutenant Governor on matters within the Assembly's legislative competence. Where the Lieutenant Governor and his Ministers differ, the Lieutenant Governor refers the matter to the President and acts according to the decision given. If a law of the Assembly is repugnant to a law of Parliament on the same matter, the law made by Parliament prevails and the Assembly's law is void to the extent of the repugnancy. Delhi falls in the category of a Union territory whose legislature is created by the Constitution itself.
Heading of the constitutional provision on Delhi:
Special provisions with respect to Delhi
Amendment Act that renamed the Union territory of Delhi:
the Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 1991
State List entries outside the Delhi Assembly's legislative power:
Entries 1, 2 and 18 of the State List
The three excluded entries, named:
entries 1 (public order), 2 (police) and 18 (land)
Ceiling on the size of Delhi's Council of Ministers:
not more than ten per cent
Why it matters for exams: Delhi's status under Article 239AA — the Assembly created by the Constitution itself, and the three State List entries kept outside its legislative power — is the most frequently asked polity question about the capital in UPSC and State service papers.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
NCT National Capital Territory — The constitutional name of Delhi as a Union territory with its own Legislative Assembly.
State List List II of the Seventh Schedule — The list of subjects on which a State legislature normally has exclusive power to make laws.
Background
The High Court for the Andhra State was established in 1954 with its principal seat at Guntur, with 7 Judges, and Justice Koka Subba Rao as its first Chief Justice. In 1956 the Hyderabad State and the Andhra State were merged to form the State of Andhra Pradesh, and the High Court of Andhra Pradesh was established with its principal seat at Hyderabad with 11 Judges. The State of Andhra Pradesh was bifurcated in 2014 into the States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, and the High Court at Hyderabad was designated as the Common High Court for both States with effect from 02.06.2014, continuing to function from Hyderabad. The High Court of Andhra Pradesh came into existence by an order dated 26.12.2018 and started functioning with its principal seat at Amaravati from 01.01.2019 with 14 Judges. It initially functioned from a temporary accommodation in Vijayawada, and has functioned from the Interim Judicial Complex at Amaravati from 18.03.2019. The court's address is given at Nelapadu, Amaravati, in Guntur District.
Principal seat of the High Court for the Andhra State:
Guntur
Judges when the High Court of Andhra Pradesh was established at Hyderabad:
11
Date from which the High Court at Hyderabad was the Common High Court:
02.06.2014
Date the High Court of Andhra Pradesh started functioning at Amaravati:
01.01.2019
Judges at its inception at Amaravati:
14
Why it matters for exams: The chain of seats — Guntur, then Hyderabad, then Amaravati — and the idea of one High Court serving two States for a period are standard questions on the judiciary after a State is reorganised.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Common High Court Common High Court — One High Court exercising jurisdiction over more than one State at the same time.
Principal seat Principal seat — The main location from which a High Court sits, as distinct from any bench elsewhere.
Background
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India, lying in the Indian Ocean in the southern reaches of the Bay of Bengal and nearer to Indonesia and Thailand than to the Indian mainland. The administration's UT profile records 836 Islands/Islets/Rocky Outcrops in the territory and a Total Area of 8,249 Sq. Km. The territory is made up of two island groups, the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands, which separate the Andaman Sea to the east from the Indian Ocean. The two groups are divided by the 10 degree N parallel, the Andamans lying to the north of this latitude and the Nicobars to the south, and the administration writes that the Andamans and Nicobars are separated by a channel (the Ten Degree Channel) some 150 km wide. The smaller Nicobars comprise some 22 main islands, of which 10 are inhabited. The land area of the Andaman Islands is 6,408 km square and that of the Nicobar Islands 1,841 km square. On how many islands are lived on, the same page carries two figures: its profile table lists Inhabited Islands 31, while its general note says only some 38 are permanently inhabited. The capital is Sri Vijaya Puram, the territory has 03 districts and 09 tehsils, and Hindi and English are the official languages. The administration lists the Andaman Wood Pigeon as the state bird, the Dugong as the state animal and the Andaman Padauk as the state tree.
Total Islands/Islets/Rocky Outcrops:
836
Total Area:
8,249 Sq. Km.
Width of the channel separating the Andamans and Nicobars:
some 150 km wide
Area of the Andaman Islands:
6,408 km
Area of the Nicobar Islands:
1,841 km
Districts:
03
Tehsil:
09
Why it matters for exams: The Ten Degree Channel, the 10 degree N divide and the island and area counts of this union territory are standing map questions in Kerala PSC and UPSC prelims, and the examiner most often tests whether a candidate can place the Andamans to the north and the Nicobars to the south of the channel.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Tehsil Tehsil (taluk) — A revenue sub-division of a district, called a taluk in Kerala.
Ten Degree Channel Ten Degree Channel — The sea passage along the 10 degree N parallel that separates the Andaman group from the Nicobar group.
Background
At the India-UK Summit held in virtual mode on 4 May 2021, the two Prime Ministers agreed to a new and transformational India-UK 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' and an ambitious India-UK Roadmap 2030 to steer cooperation for the next ten years.
The groundwork was laid in May 2021 through the Enhanced Trade Partnership and the adoption of the Roadmap 2030, which set the goal of elevating ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and doubling trade to USD 100 billion by 2030.
Negotiations for an India-UK Free Trade Agreement began in January 2022. After fourteen rounds, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was concluded on 6 May 2025 and signed in London on 24 July 2025 by India's Commerce and Industry Minister and the UK's Secretary of State for Business and Trade.
The companion Double Contribution Convention (DCC), the agreement on social security contributions, was signed on 10 February 2026. CETA and the DCC entered into force together on 15th July 2026.
CETA provides unprecedented duty-free access to 99 per cent of India's exports to the UK, and 91 % of UK's exports, covering nearly 100% of the trade value, with labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, marine products, gems and jewellery and toys among the gainers.
Under the DCC the exemption period for Indian workers from UK social security contributions was increased from 3 years to 5 years.
The UK has a large Indian diaspora of 1.864 million as per 2021 Census, about 2.6% of the UK's total population, and 3,69,000 persons there hold an Indian passport. A Young Professionals Scheme offers 3000 visas every year to graduates aged 18-30 for a two-year stay.
India and the United Kingdom are both members of the Commonwealth, whose Secretariat is headquartered in London, and the United Kingdom is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Roadmap adopted at the virtual India-UK Summit:
India-UK Roadmap 2030
Trade goal set by the Roadmap:
doubling trade to USD 100 billion by 2030
Date CETA was signed in London:
24 July 2025
Date CETA and the DCC entered into force:
15th July 2026
Duty-free access for India's exports under CETA:
99 per cent of India’s exports to the UK
Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom:
1.864 million as per 2021 Census
Why it matters for exams: India's trade agreements and strategic partnerships are among the most heavily asked current-affairs topics, and the UK agreement is the one an examiner will pair with the Commonwealth, the diaspora and the UK's permanent Security Council seat.
Kerala PSCUPSCBank
In plain words
CETA Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement — The India-UK trade agreement signed in London and later brought into force.
DCC Double Contribution Convention — The India-UK agreement on social security contributions for workers on temporary assignment.
Roadmap 2030 India-UK Roadmap 2030 — The ten-year plan adopted at the virtual India-UK Summit to guide bilateral cooperation.
Background
Parliament is separate from the government. It is made up of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and its role is to look at what the government is doing, to debate issues and pass new laws, and to set taxes.
Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister from the members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and are responsible for the actions, successes and failures of their departments.
An Act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an existing law. It is a Bill that has been approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and been given Royal Assent by the Monarch; taken together, Acts of Parliament make up what is known as Statute Law in the UK.
Where an Act does not fix its own start date, commencement can be left to the Secretary of State and the Act is then brought into force by a Statutory Instrument called a Commencement Order or Commencement Regulation.
Certain instruments made under the royal prerogative are called Orders in Council when made by the King on the advice of the Privy Council, and Orders of Council when made by the Lords of the Privy Council without the King's approval.
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom was established by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and opened its doors in October 2009, replacing the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, whose judges were known as Law Lords.
It hears appeals on arguable points of law of the greatest public importance, for the whole of the United Kingdom in civil cases and for England, Wales and Northern Ireland in criminal cases, and in most cases it sits above all three legal systems as the final court of appeal; it sits in the former Middlesex Guildhall, on the western side of Parliament Square. The United Kingdom has no single unified legal system: there is one for England and Wales, another for Scotland and a third for Northern Ireland.
No UK court, including the Supreme Court, has the power to "strike down" legislation if it is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights; it can instead issue a "declaration of incompatibility" inviting legislators to change the law.
The two Houses of the UK Parliament:
the House of Commons and the House of Lords
What turns a Bill into an Act:
been given Royal Assent by the Monarch
Statute that created the Supreme Court:
the Constitutional Reform Act 2005
When the Supreme Court opened:
October 2009
Body the Supreme Court replaced:
the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords
Remedy where legislation is incompatible with the ECHR:
declaration of incompatibility
Why it matters for exams: Examiners use the United Kingdom to test the contrast with India: two Houses and a Monarch's assent instead of a President's, and a Supreme Court that cannot strike down an Act of Parliament.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Royal Assent Royal Assent — The Monarch's approval that turns a Bill passed by both Houses into an Act of Parliament.
Statute Law Statute Law — The body of law made up of Acts of Parliament taken together.
Order in Council Order in Council — An instrument made by the King on the advice of the Privy Council.
Declaration of incompatibility Declaration of incompatibility — A court's statement that a law conflicts with the European Convention on Human Rights, which does not cancel the law.
Background
The UK Government's own guidance says devolution "fundamentally changed the constitutional arrangements of the UK" and gave powers and responsibilities to devolved legislatures and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Referendums in September 1997 saw a majority of voters in Scotland and Wales choose to establish a Scottish Parliament and a National Assembly for Wales; in Northern Ireland devolution was a key part of the Good Friday Agreement, supported by voters in a referendum in May 1998.
The UK Parliament then passed three devolution Acts: the Scotland Act 1998, the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 1998.
These established three devolved legislatures — the Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru or the Welsh Parliament, and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Members of those legislatures form the three devolved governments — the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. Their civil servants do not report to the Prime Minister or to UK Cabinet Secretaries of State.
The UK Parliament retains authority to legislate on any issue, whether devolved or not, but the UK Government has made clear it will not normally legislate with regard to devolved matters except with the agreement of the relevant devolved legislature.
Within the UK Government, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are each represented in the Cabinet by a Secretary of State.
The split of devolved and reserved competence is complex and is not the same in each nation. The UK Supreme Court hears cases on devolution matters under the Scotland Act 1998, the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 2006.
The three devolution Acts:
the Scotland Act 1998; the Northern Ireland Act 1998; and the Government of Wales Act 1998
Devolved legislature for Wales:
Senedd Cymru or the Welsh Parliament
Devolved executive in Northern Ireland:
the Northern Ireland Executive
Legislative authority of the UK Parliament:
The UK Parliament retains authority to legislate on any issue, whether devolved or not
How each nation is represented in the UK Cabinet:
a Secretary of State
Why it matters for exams: Devolution is the standard comparative-polity question on the United Kingdom: examiners ask which Act created which legislature, what the devolved governments are called, and how parliamentary sovereignty survives alongside them.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Devolution Devolution of powers — The transfer of powers and responsibilities from the UK Parliament to legislatures and governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Senedd Cymru Senedd Cymru / the Welsh Parliament — The devolved legislature for Wales.
Reserved matter Reserved competence — A subject kept with the UK Parliament rather than transferred to a devolved legislature.
Background
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of mainland Great Britain — England, Wales and Scotland — and the northern part of the island of Ireland, which is Northern Ireland.
Its capital city is London, which also hosts the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The Commonwealth country profile puts the population at 67.2 million (2022) and the area at 242,500 square kilometres.
The pound sterling is the official currency in the United Kingdom. The Bank of England issues the UK's banknotes, while coins are manufactured and issued by the Royal Mint.
Scottish and Northern Ireland banknotes also circulate: they are issued by three banks in Scotland and three banks in Northern Ireland, and the Bank of England regulates that issuance.
The United Kingdom joined the Commonwealth in 1926, on the founding of the British Commonwealth of Nations; 56 independent countries make up the Commonwealth today.
The United Kingdom is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, with China, France, the Russian Federation and the United States. The Council has 15 members in all, the other ten elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
Capital city:
London
Official currency:
The pound sterling is the official currency in the United Kingdom
Population, Commonwealth country profile:
67.2 million (2022)
Area:
242,500 square kilometres
Joined the Commonwealth:
1926, on founding the British Commonwealth of Nations
Membership of the UN Security Council:
The Council is composed of 15 Members: Five permanent members
Why it matters for exams: Capital, currency, the make-up of the four nations and membership of the Commonwealth and the UN Security Council are the fixed country-profile facts that PSC and UPSC prelims questions on the United Kingdom are built from.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Pound sterling GBP — The official currency of the United Kingdom.
Royal Mint The Royal Mint — The body that manufactures and issues coins in the United Kingdom.
Background
The European Union's country profile describes Germany as a federal parliamentary republic with a chancellor who is the head of government, and a president who is the head of state and whose main responsibilities are representative. The country consists of 16 states (Länder) which each have their own constitution and are largely autonomous regarding their internal organisation. 3 of these are city-states: Bremen, Berlin and Hamburg. Berlin is therefore at once the national capital and a state in its own right. Because the president's role is mainly representative, executive leadership of the government rests with the chancellor. In the European Union's own institutions Germany has 96 representatives in the European Parliament, and 24 representatives each on the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions.
Form of government:
federal parliamentary republic
Number of states:
16 states
City-states:
Bremen, Berlin and Hamburg
Head of government:
chancellor
Head of state:
president
Seats in the European Parliament:
96 representatives
Why it matters for exams: Examiners test the chancellor–president split together with the count of states, because candidates who correctly call Germany federal still often name the president as head of government.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Länder Land (singular), Länder (plural) — Germany's constituent states — Each of Germany's 16 states is a Land, and each writes its own constitution.
City-state A city that is also a constituent state — A single city holding the full status of a state rather than lying inside one.
Background
The European Union's own country profile for Germany gives the capital as Berlin and the official EU language as German. Germany has been an EU Member State since 1 January 1958. Its currency is the euro (€), and it has been a member of the euro area since 1 January 1999. It has been a member of the Schengen area since 26 March 1995, so its Schengen membership is older than its euro-area membership. Eurostat figures carried on the same page give Germany's geographical size as 357 569 km2 and its population as 83 577 140. Germany ranks seventh in the European Union in terms of GDP per capita with €44 200, against an EU average of €38 100, and it accounts for 24.4% of the EU's total GDP.
Capital:
Berlin
Currency:
euro (€)
EU Member State since:
since 1 January 1958
Euro area member since:
1999
Schengen member since:
26 March 1995
Geographical size (sq km):
357 569
Population (Eurostat):
83 577 140
Share of the EU's total GDP:
24.4%
Why it matters for exams: Capital, currency and the three membership dates are the first facts a Country Focus question set draws on, and the order in which Germany entered the EU, Schengen and the euro area is a standard one-mark trap.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSCBank
In plain words
Euro area The group of EU member states that use the euro — It is the set of European Union countries whose currency is the euro; EU membership does not by itself put a country in it.
Schengen area The European area without internal border checks — Within it travellers cross participating countries' internal borders without passport checks.
Background
France's capital is Paris and its official EU language is French. The European Union's country page describes France as a semi-presidential republic with a prime minister, who is the head of government, appointed by the president who is the directly elected head of state. France's territory consists of 18 administrative regions: 13 metropolitan, that is Continental France, and 5 overseas regions. All 5 of the overseas regions, as well as Saint-Martin, a French territory in the Caribbean, are considered part of the EU, with the status of outermost region. Eurostat figures on the same page give France a geographical size of 638 475 square kilometres and a population of 68 635 943. Strasbourg is one of the three official seats of the European institutions; the others are Brussels and Luxembourg City. There are 81 representatives from France in the European Parliament, and France has 24 representatives on the European Economic and Social Committee and 24 representatives on the European Committee of the Regions.
Capital:
Paris
Geographical size (sq km):
638 475
Population:
68 635 943
Administrative regions:
18 administrative regions
Seats in the European Parliament:
81 representatives
Members on the European Economic and Social Committee:
24 representatives
Why it matters for exams: Country Focus sets on France open with the capital, the form of government and the count of regions, and the outermost-region status of the five overseas regions is the standard bridge between polity and geography.
Kerala PSCUPSCSSC
In plain words
Semi-presidential republic Semi-presidential republic — A republic in which a directly elected president is head of state and a separate prime minister, appointed by that president, is head of government.
Outermost region Outermost region of the European Union — The status given to a far-flung territory of a Member State that is nevertheless counted as part of the European Union.
Background
The Thrissur District Administration records that Cochin was the first princely state to join the Indian Union willingly.
After independence, E. Ikkanda Warrier became the first Prime Minister of Cochin.
The first step towards the goal of Aikyakerala was taken with the integration of the Travancore and Cochin states in July 1949.
In 1949 the Travancore-Cochin state came into being by the merger of Cochin and Travancore, with Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai as its first chief minister.
Travancore-Cochin was in turn merged with the Malabar district of the Madras State.
The Government of India's 1 November 1956 States Reorganisation Act inaugurated a new state, Kerala, incorporating Travancore-Cochin, the Malabar District and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara.
Earlier, in 1946, the first popular Cabinet of Cochin took office, consisting of Panampilly Govinda Menon, C.R. Iyyunni, K. Ayyappan and T.K. Nair.
The Cochin State Praja Mandal, a political organisation that pressed for responsible government, took shape on 26 January 1941 under the leadership of V. R. Krishnan Ezhuthachan.
Kerala inaugurated:
1 November 1956, by the States Reorganisation Act
Territories merged:
Travancore-Cochin, Malabar District, and the taluk of Kasargod, South Kanara
First Prime Minister of Cochin:
E. Ikkanda Warrier
First chief minister of Travancore-Cochin:
Parur T. K. Narayana Pillai
Why it matters for exams: The territories merged to form Kerala and the first heads of government of Cochin and Travancore-Cochin are standard Kerala history questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Aikyakerala Aikyakerala — The movement for a single State uniting the Malayalam-speaking regions.
Praja Mandal Praja Mandal — A people's political organisation in a princely state demanding responsible government.
South Kanara South Kanara — A district of the former Madras Presidency from which the Kasargod taluk came to Kerala.
Background
The Kerala Legislature maintains an official list of the Chief Ministers of Kerala with their tenures.
The list opens with Shri E.M.S. Namboodiripad, whose tenure ran from April 5, 1957 to July 31, 1959.
Shri Pattom A. Thanu Pillai follows, from February 22, 1960 to September 26, 1962, and then Shri R. Sankar, from September 26, 1962 to September 10, 1964.
Shri E.M.S. Namboodiripad returned for a second tenure from March 6, 1967 to November 1, 1969.
Shri C. Achutha Menon appears twice on the list, with tenures from November 1, 1969 to August 1, 1970 and from October 4, 1970 to March 25, 1977.
The list records four separate tenures for Shri K. Karunakaran and three each for Shri A.K. Antony and Shri E.K. Nayanar.
Shri P.K. Vasudevan Nair and Shri C.H. Mohammed Koya each held office once, in tenures recorded in the late 1970s.
The Legislature keeps separate lists for Governors, Speakers, Deputy Speakers and periods of President's Rule.
First Chief Minister:
Shri E.M.S. Namboodiripad
First tenure:
April 5, 1957 - July 31, 1959
Tenures recorded for K. Karunakaran:
four
Tenures recorded for E.K. Nayanar:
three
Why it matters for exams: The first Chief Minister of Kerala and the number of terms held by later Chief Ministers are among the most frequently asked Kerala polity facts.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
President's Rule President's Rule — Direct central administration of a State under Article 356 of the Constitution.
Tenure Tenure — The continuous period for which an office-holder serves.
Background
The Securities and Exchange Board of India records on its own site that it was constituted as a non-statutory body on April 12, 1988 through a resolution of the Government of India.
It was established as a statutory body in the year 1992.
The provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992) came into force on January 30, 1992.
The Preamble of the Securities and Exchange Board of India describes its basic functions as being to protect the interests of investors in securities, to promote the development of the securities market, and to regulate the securities market.
Appeals against the Board's orders lie to the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
Constituted as a non-statutory body:
April 12, 1988
Established as a statutory body:
1992
SEBI Act provisions came into force:
January 30, 1992
Act number:
15 of 1992
Why it matters for exams: The two-stage story of a regulator that existed before its Act, and the three objectives in SEBI's Preamble, are standard economy questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
SEBI Securities and Exchange Board of India — The statutory regulator of India's securities market.
SAT Securities Appellate Tribunal — The tribunal that hears appeals against orders of the Board.
Background
The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols are international treaties containing the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. There are four Geneva Conventions of 1949. They are supplemented by Protocol I and Protocol II, both of 1977, and Protocol III of 2005. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting — civilians, medics and aid workers — and those who can no longer fight, including the wounded, the sick, the shipwrecked and prisoners of war. The Conventions and their Protocols are at the core of international humanitarian law, the body of international law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects. They contain stringent rules on what are known as grave breaches: those who commit grave breaches must be pursued and tried or extradited, whatever their nationality. The United Nations records that the Additional Protocols were concluded under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Geneva Conventions of 1949:
4
Additional Protocols:
3 (1977, 1977, 2005)
Body of law:
International humanitarian law
Why it matters for exams: How many Geneva Conventions there are, and when each Additional Protocol was concluded, are frequently asked in general studies papers.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
IHL International humanitarian law — The law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects.
Background
The Trusteeship Council is one of the six main bodies of the United Nations, established in 1945 by the UN Charter under Chapter XIII. It was created to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories placed under the administration of seven Member States, and to prepare them for self-government or independence. The Council suspended its operations on 1 November 1994, a month after the independence of Palau, the last remaining United Nations trust territory. By a resolution adopted on 25 May 1994 it amended its rules of procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually, agreeing instead to meet as occasion requires. It can now be convened by its own decision, by the decision of its President, or at the request of a majority of its members, the General Assembly or the Security Council. Its membership is the five permanent members of the Security Council: China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Operations suspended:
1 November 1994
Trust Territories supervised:
11
Administering Member States:
7
Charter chapter:
Chapter XIII
Why it matters for exams: The suspension of the Trusteeship Council and its unusual membership are frequently asked when the UN's six principal organs are tested.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Trust Territory Territory under the International Trusteeship System — A territory placed under UN supervision to be prepared for self-government or independence.