Consider the following Charter Acts with their peculiar provisions and the Governor-General at the time:

S.No	Charter Act	Peculiar Provision	Governor-General
1	Charter Act of 1773	Introduced the first Law Commission	Lord Cornwallis
2	Charter Act of 1833	Made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India	Lord William Bentinck
3	Charter Act of 1853	Introduced an open competition for Civil Services	Lord Dalhousie

How many of the above rows is/are correctly matched?

The correct answer is Only two.

Key Points

• Charter Act of 1773:
  • Provision: It was the first step towards central administration in India and created the position of Governor-General of Bengal (Warren Hastings).
  • Law Commission was introduced in 1833, not 1773.
  • Governor-General: Warren Hastings, not Cornwallis. Hence pair 1 is incorrectly matched
• Charter Act of 1833:
  • Provision: Governor-General of Bengal was made Governor-General of India (first being Lord William Bentinck).
  • Correct Governor-General: Lord William Bentinck. Hence pair 2 is correctly matched.
• Charter Act of 1853
  • Provision: Introduced open competition for Indian Civil Services.
  • Governor General: Lord Dalhousie. Hence pair 3 is correctly matched.

Additional Information

• Charter Act of 1773:
  • Key Provisions:
    • Created the office of Governor-General of Bengal (Warren Hastings was the first).
    • Established a Supreme Court in Calcutta (1774) to oversee British subjects in India.
    • Subordinated the presidencies of Bombay and Madras to Bengal.
    • Created an Executive Council of 4 members to assist the Governor-General.
• Charter Act of 1833:
  • Key Provisions:
    • Made the Governor-General of Bengal the Governor-General of India (Lord William Bentinck was the first).
    • Centralized legislative powers in the hands of the Governor-General.
    • Introduced an open competition system for the Indian Civil Services (ICS), but it was not implemented immediately.
    • Ended the East India Company’s commercial activities, making it a purely administrative body.
• Charter Act of 1853:
  • Key Provisions:
    • Separated legislative and executive functions by creating a separate Legislative Council (6 members).
    • Introduced local representation for the first time (4 members from local governments).
    • Extended the Company’s rule but allowed the British Parliament to take over anytime.
    • Opened the Indian Civil Services (ICS) to all British subjects, including Indians (though Indians faced practical barriers).