Q. Consider the following pairs regarding Grants-in-Aid:
1.Statutory grants given to States in need of assistance on the recommendation of the Finance Commission; charged on the Consolidated Fund of India.
2.Discretionary Grants empower both the Union and the States to make grants for any public purpose, even if it is not within their respective legislative competence.
3.Other grants are temporary grants provided to specific states like West Bengal and Assam in lieu of export duty on jute products (now obsolete).
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
Answer: C
Notes:
Explanation:
Pair 1: Correct. Statutory Grants (Art 275) these are mandatory grants based on fiscal need, not just a share of taxes.
Pair 2: Correct. Discretionary Grants Article 282 gives massive spending power to the Centre to fund centrally sponsored schemes in states.
Pair 3: Correct. Under the original Constitution, these were temporary measures for 10 years to support jute-growing states after partition.
