The Current Affairs & GK section is roughly a quarter of CLAT, and a huge slice of it is national news — Parliament passing a bill, the Supreme Court delivering a judgment, the Election Commission running a poll. None of it makes sense unless you know the static framework behind it. This chapter on national affairs and Indian polity for CLAT gives you that framework, then shows you how to read any news passage through it.
Why national affairs is really polity
A passage might describe a vote in the Rajya Sabha or a writ before the Supreme Court. The words change every year; the institutions do not. You cannot revise events that have not happened yet — but you can master a finite, evergreen set of facts that recur in every CLAT paper, so that every news passage slots into one of them. Five anchors carry most of the load.
- ✓Parliament — the two Houses, how a bill becomes law, money matters.
- ✓The Executive — President, Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.
- ✓The Judiciary — the Supreme Court, High Courts and judicial review.
- ✓Constitutional bodies — Election Commission, CAG, UPSC, Finance Commission.
- ✓Federalism — how power is shared between the Centre and the States.
Parliament: the two Houses
The Indian Parliament has two Houses. The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is directly elected and is the more powerful chamber. The Rajya Sabha (Council of States) represents the States and is a permanent body that is never fully dissolved. Together with the President, they make up Parliament. Most passages here test the difference between the two Houses, how a bill becomes law, or what makes a money bill special.
| Feature | Lok Sabha (House of the People) | Rajya Sabha (Council of States) |
|---|---|---|
| Who it represents | The people directly | The States and Union Territories |
| How members are chosen | Directly elected by voters | Elected by State legislatures (plus some nominated members) |
| Normal term | Five years, unless dissolved earlier | Permanent — one-third of members retire every two years |
| Can be dissolved? | Yes | No — it is never fully dissolved |
| Who presides | The Speaker | The Vice-President (as ex-officio Chairman) |
| Power over money bills | Greater — a money bill starts here | Limited — can only recommend changes; can't reject |
How a bill becomes law
When the news says 'Parliament passed the such-and-such Bill', it is describing a fixed journey. A bill is a draft law; once it completes the journey and receives assent, it becomes an Act. CLAT loves to test the sequence.
- 1
Introduction (First Reading)A minister or member introduces the bill in either House (money bills must start in the Lok Sabha). Its aims are stated; there is no detailed debate yet.
- 2
Second ReadingThe heart of the process — the House debates the bill's principles and then scrutinises it clause by clause. It may be sent to a committee for closer study.
- 3
Third ReadingThe House votes on the bill as a whole. If a majority approves, it is passed by that House.
- 4
The other HouseThe bill goes to the second House, which may pass it, amend it, or delay it. For an ordinary bill, both Houses must agree (a deadlock can be resolved in a joint sitting).
- 5
President's assentOnce both Houses pass it, the bill goes to the President. On assent it becomes an Act and part of the law of the land.
Money bills are special
A money bill deals only with taxation, government borrowing or spending from public funds. It can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, and the Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend it — it can merely suggest changes, which the Lok Sabha is free to ignore. This is the single biggest power difference between the two Houses, and a recurring CLAT theme.
A money bill passed by the Lok Sabha is sent to the Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha votes to reject the bill outright. What is the legal effect?
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The Executive: President, PM and the Council of Ministers
India is a parliamentary democracy, so real executive power and ceremonial power sit in different hands. Reading a news passage correctly often turns on knowing who actually decides.
The key constitutional fact: the President is the nominal executive who acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, the real executive. The Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha — if it loses the House's confidence, the government falls.
The Supreme Court and the judiciary
When the news reports a landmark verdict, a constitutional bench, or a writ petition, it is talking about the judiciary — the third organ of the State that interprets the law and settles disputes. The Supreme Court sits at the top, followed by the High Courts in the States and a tier of lower courts.
- Judicial review — courts can examine whether a law or executive act obeys the Constitution, and strike it down if it does not.
- Original jurisdiction — the Supreme Court hears certain disputes directly, such as those between the Centre and States.
- Appellate jurisdiction — it hears appeals from lower courts and High Courts.
- Guardian of rights — under Article 32 it can issue writs to protect Fundamental Rights.
Two ideas recur in CLAT news passages. First, judicial review makes the courts the watchdog of the Constitution. Second, the basic structure doctrine (from Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, 1973) holds that Parliament may amend the Constitution but cannot destroy its basic features — judicial review, free elections, federalism and secularism among them.
Parliament passes a law declaring that a particular statute 'shall not be questioned in any court on any ground whatsoever', shutting out all judicial scrutiny of it. Applying the principle, is this valid?
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Constitutional bodies and their roles
Several independent bodies created by the Constitution keep the system honest. CLAT regularly tests which body does what — often by describing a news event and asking which institution it concerns. Learn this table cold.
| Body | Core role | You'll see it in news about... |
|---|---|---|
| Election Commission | Conducts and supervises elections to Parliament, State legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President | Election schedules, model code of conduct, voter rolls |
| Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) | Audits the accounts of the Union and the States and reports on how public money was spent | Audit reports, government spending, financial irregularities |
| Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) | Conducts recruitment examinations for the central civil services and advises on appointments | Civil services exams, recruitment to central services |
| Finance Commission | Recommends how tax revenue is shared between the Centre and the States | Devolution of taxes, grants to States, Centre-State finances |
A national body has examined a ministry's spending, found that funds meant for a welfare scheme were diverted, and placed its findings before Parliament. Which body is most likely being described?
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Federalism and Centre-State relations
India is described as a federal country with a strong central tilt. Power is divided between the Centre and the States, but the Centre is generally the stronger partner. The Constitution distributes law-making power across three lists.
- ✓Union List — subjects on which only Parliament can legislate (defence, foreign affairs, currency).
- ✓State List — subjects on which only State legislatures can legislate (police, public health, agriculture).
- ✓Concurrent List — subjects on which both can legislate (education, criminal law); if they clash, the central law usually prevails.
Because the central law usually wins on the Concurrent List, India's federalism is often called quasi-federal — federal in form, with a unitary bias in emergencies and on shared subjects. News about a State and the Centre disagreeing over who can make a law is almost always a federalism passage.
Parliament and a State each pass a law on a Concurrent List subject, and the two directly contradict each other on a key provision. Which law governs on that point?
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Amendments and national schemes
The Constitution can be changed by a constitutional amendment. Some changes need only a special majority of Parliament; others, which affect the federal balance, also need the approval of half the State legislatures. But no amendment can destroy the basic structure. You do not need amendment numbers for CLAT — you need the concept: Parliament's power to amend is real but limited, and courts can review an amendment that crosses the basic-structure line.
Parliament can change the Constitution — but it cannot change the things that make it the Constitution.
CLAT passages also describe government schemes — welfare, the environment, education. You are not expected to know the launch date or the budget figure. You are expected to connect the scheme to its constitutional anchor.
- Welfare schemes link to the Directive Principles of State Policy — the goals of social and economic justice the State should pursue.
- Environmental policy links to Article 21 (the right to life has been read to include a clean environment) and to State duties.
- Education policy links to the right to education and to the Concurrent List (both Centre and States legislate).
- Reservation and affirmative-action schemes link to Article 14 equality read with provisions allowing the State to help disadvantaged groups.
How to link a news passage to static knowledge
Here is the method that turns national-affairs passages into easy marks. Practise it until it is automatic — then bring it to the drills.
- 1
Spot the institutionRead the passage and name the body or organ at its centre — Parliament, the President, the Supreme Court, the Election Commission, a State government.
- 2
Recall its static rulePull up what you know about that institution: its powers, its limits, its role. This is the anchor the question hangs on.
- 3
Match the question to the ruleRe-read the question. It will be testing one of the institution's known features — who has the power, what the limit is, which body fits.
- 4
Eliminate the trap optionCross out options that over-state a power (the President 'decides'), treat a bill as a law, or call a non-justiciable goal enforceable.
- 5
Answer from the rule, not the newsPick the option that fits the static rule. Ignore extra detail in the passage that the question does not need.
A news article reports that the Cabinet decided on a major policy and the President formally gave effect to it. A reader asks who actually took the decision. Based on the principle, the answer is:
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- National-news passages are polity questions in disguise — learn the static anchors and they answer themselves.
- Parliament has two Houses: the directly-elected Lok Sabha (stronger, controls money bills) and the permanent Rajya Sabha.
- A bill becomes an Act only after both Houses pass it and the President assents; money bills start only in the Lok Sabha.
- The President is the nominal head; the PM and Council of Ministers are the real executive, responsible to the Lok Sabha.
- Courts have judicial review; Parliament can amend the Constitution but cannot destroy its basic structure.
- Know the constitutional bodies: Election Commission (polls), CAG (audit), UPSC (recruitment), Finance Commission (tax-sharing).
- India is quasi-federal: on the Concurrent List, the central law generally prevails over a conflicting State law.
Common traps in national-affairs questions
- ✓Treating a bill as if it were already a law — it becomes an Act only after passage and assent.
- ✓Saying the President personally decides policy — the President acts on the Council of Ministers' advice.
- ✓Letting the Rajya Sabha reject a money bill — it can only recommend changes.
- ✓Claiming States are sovereign or always override central law — on the Concurrent List the central law usually prevails.
- ✓Assuming Parliament can amend anything — it cannot touch the basic structure.
- ✓Importing real-world dates or figures the passage never gave you — answer only from the principle and the static rule.