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UPSC 2022 GS-II · 15 marks · 250 words

Critically examine the procedures through which the Presidents of India and France are elected.

What “Critically examine” demands

examine both sides AND arrive at a reasoned judgement; the criticism must be substantive, not a token final paragraph.

The characteristic failure: balanced description that never commits to a view.

What a top answer must contain

These are the checkable specifics from the marking standard for this question — the actual case, committee, datum or thinker, not an instruction to “give examples”.

  • India: indirect electoral college (elected MPs + MLAs), proportional representation by single transferable vote, weighted votes (Arts 54-55) — neutrality for a parliamentary head of state
  • France: direct two-round runoff for a semi-presidential executive
  • Critiques: India's 1971 population freeze in vote values, whip-less yet party-line reality; France's personalisation and cohabitation
  • Conclusion tied to design logic: method follows the office's real power

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