Appointments

Do not chase names — chase POSTS. For each constitutional or statutory office learn the four durable facts: who appoints, what the tenure or age limit is, how the holder can be removed, and whether the office is constitutional or merely statutory. Then the answer survives every reshuffle. The removal procedure is the sharpest divider: a Supreme Court judge, the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Chief Election Commissioner all need a parliamentary process, while a governor holds office at the pleasure of the President.

• A short list of offices worth tracking cold.

  President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, RBI Governor, CAG, Chief Election Commissioner, Gujarat's Governor and Chief Minister, and the Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly. Nine offices, revisited monthly, cover most appointment questions asked at this level.

• Tenure and eligibility outlast the name.

  The name in an office changes; the rule governing the office does not. Knowing the term length, the retirement age, or the appointing authority for a post is durable knowledge — worth learning even though today's office-holder will eventually be someone else.

• 1The President is elected for a five-year term and can be re-elected; there is no constitutional limit on the number of terms.
• 2The Chief Justice of India is appointed by the President, conventionally on the basis of seniority among Supreme Court judges.
• 3The RBI Governor is appointed by the central government for a term usually of three years, renewable.
• 4Gujarat's Governor is appointed by the President and holds office during the President's pleasure; the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor and is the actual head of government.
• 5Always verify a current office-holder's name against a recent official source before an exam — this is the single most time-sensitive fact category in the syllabus.

• The Comptroller and Auditor General is appointed by the President for six years or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier, and can be removed only in the manner prescribed for a Supreme Court judge.
• Election Commissioners hold office for six years or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier.
• Supreme Court judges retire at 65 and High Court judges at 62; both are appointed by the President.
• Members of the Union Public Service Commission serve six years or until the age of 65; members of a State Public Service Commission serve six years or until 62.
• The Reserve Bank of India Governor is appointed by the central government, normally for a term of three years, which may be extended.

• Do not answer an appointment question from memory of an old note without checking the date — office-holders change, and a stale name is simply wrong.

• Indian Polity — M Laxmikanth
• India Year Book — Publications Division, Government of India

• PIB — government press releases
• National Portal of India
• Gujarat State Portal