Question

Who among the following heads the National Integration Council in India?
A.President
B.Vice President
C.Prime Minister
D.A retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Answer 1

Hint: The National Integration Council was established as an extra-constitutional body to deal with matters that cause a threat to national integration and cooperation across all communities. It discusses issues such as regionalism, communalism, casteism, linguism, etc and formulates recommendations to combat them. The Council comprises the Cabinet ministers, Chief Ministers of states, leaders of the opposition, Chairman of the University Grants Commission, Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, representatives of industry, business and trade unions.

Complete step by step solution:
Option A: President is incorrect. Although the President is the head of the state, he does not preside over the National Integration Council.
Option B: Vice President is also incorrect. The Vice President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Option C: Prime Minister is correct. The Prime Minister is the Chairman of the National Integration Council of India. The first conference of the council was presided over by the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru in 1961. The last time the Council met was in 2013 with then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh chairing its proceedings.
Option D: A retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is incorrect. Although retired judges of the Supreme Court can be appointed as the chairman of different commissions which are constituted by the government, in this case, the National Integration Council is not one of them.

Note: The National Integration Council has met a total of sixteen times till now with its last meeting being held in 2013. In 2010, a standing committee of the National Integration Council was established with the Home Minister P. Chidambaram acting as its Chairman.