Consider the following statements about the provisions pertaining to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes in India : 1. Provisions regarding the administration of the Tribal Areas in the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are given in the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of India. 2. Some tribes of India are entitled to exemption from paying Income Tax on certain incomes. 3. The Constitution of India provides for reservation of seats in Panchayats for women belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Which one of the following conclusions based on the above statements is correct ?
- (a) There are two correct statements, that include statement 2. ✓ UPSC's answer
- (b) There are two correct statements, that are statements 1 and 3.
- (c) There is only one correct statement.
- (d) All three statements are correct.
Why the answer is (a)
• Statement 1 is wrong: the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are administered under the Sixth Schedule (autonomous district councils); the Fifth Schedule covers Scheduled Areas in other States.
• Statement 2 is correct: under Section 10(26) of the Income-tax Act, members of Scheduled Tribes residing in the Sixth Schedule areas, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Ladakh are exempt from tax on income arising there.
• Statement 3 is correct: Article 243D(3) requires that not less than one-third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs in every Panchayat be reserved for women belonging to those communities.
• So exactly two statements are correct, and one of them is statement 2.
• Hence option (a).
Why the other options are wrong
- (b) There are two correct statements, that are statements 1 and 3.
- Statement 1 is wrong (Sixth Schedule, not Fifth); the correct pair is 2 and 3.
- (c) There is only one correct statement.
- Two statements (2 and 3) are correct, not one.
- (d) All three statements are correct.
- Statement 1 is wrong, so all three cannot be correct.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2026, held on 24 May 2026. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.