BharatNotes RPSC names this Act in the Prelims syllabus in full, which very few statutes are. It is the law under which the examination you are preparing for is itself conducted, and it is short enough — twenty sections and two schedules — to be learned completely rather than in summary.
One thing decides most questions on it. The Act as passed in 2022 punished organised paper leaking with five to ten years. An amendment in 2023 replaced that with a minimum of ten years and a maximum of imprisonment for life. The syllabus names the 2022 Act; the operative penalty is the 2023 one. Both numbers are in circulation, and the older one is still printed in a great deal of preparation material.
1. Three laws that get confused, and how to tell them apart
Before anything else, fix which examinations this Act actually governs. There are three separate statutes with near-identical names, and an option only has to move one word.
| Rajasthan Act, 1992 | Rajasthan Act No. 6 of 2022 | Central Act No. 1 of 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rajasthan Public Examination (Prevention of Unfairmeans) Act, 1992 | Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2022 | Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 |
| Covers | Examinations of the Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan, and of universities established by law | Recruitment to any post under the State Government, including autonomous bodies, authorities, boards and corporations | UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment Board, NTA, IBPS, and central government departments |
| Made by | Rajasthan State Legislature | Rajasthan State Legislature | Parliament |
| In the RAS syllabus | No | Yes, by name | No |
The distinction to hold is board-and-university versus recruitment versus central. The 1992 Act is about examinations you pass to get a qualification. The 2022 Act is about examinations you pass to get a job with the State Government — which is what RAS is. The 2024 Act is Parliament's law and reaches UPSC and NTA, never RPSC.
So an option that applies the 2022 Act to a school board examination is wrong, and one that applies it to the UPSC Civil Services Examination is wrong.
2. The Act itself: title, extent and commencement
| Short title | The Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2022 |
| Act number | Act No. 6 of 2022 |
| Assent of the Governor | 5 April 2022 |
| Published | Rajasthan Gazette, Extraordinary, 6 April 2022 (Chaitra 16, Saka 1944) |
| Extent | The whole of the State of Rajasthan |
| Commencement | Section 1(3) — on such date as the State Government may appoint by notification in the Official Gazette |
| Structure | 20 sections and 2 schedules |
Note the commencement clause. The Act did not come into force on the day of assent; section 1(3) leaves the date to a government notification. Assent, publication and commencement are three separate dates, and this is the standard place a statute question is set.
3. The definitions, which carry more weight than they look
Section 2 defines seven expressions, and three of them decide questions.
"Conduct of public examination" — section 2(a) — is deliberately wide. It means and includes: preparation, printing, supervision, coding, processing, storing, transportation, distribution and collection of question papers, answer sheets, OMR sheets and result sheets, together with evaluation and declaration of result.
Read that list once more. It reaches transportation and storing, not merely the examination hall. The offence surface of this Act begins at the printing press and ends at the result, which is why it can catch a person who never enters an examination centre.
"Examinee" — section 2(d) — is a person granted permission by the concerned authority to appear in a public examination, and includes a person authorised to act as scribe on his behalf. The scribe is an examinee for the purposes of this Act.
"Unfair means" — section 2(f) — is defined in two limbs, and the whole penalty structure turns on which limb applies.
| Limb | Who | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 2(f)(i) | In relation to an examinee | Taking unauthorised help in a public examination from any person or group, directly or indirectly, or from any material written, recorded, copied or printed, in any form whatsoever; or use of any unauthorised electronic or mechanical instrument or gadget |
| 2(f)(ii) | In relation to any person | I. impersonate, or leak / attempt to leak / conspire to leak a question paper; II. procure or possess — or attempt either — a question paper in an unauthorised manner; III. solve or attempt to solve, or seek assistance to solve, a question paper in an unauthorised manner; IV. directly or indirectly assist the examinee in an unauthorised manner |
And then the Explanation that closes the gap: "Any person also includes an examinee."
That single sentence is the most examinable line in the definitions. It means an examinee is not confined to the lighter limb. A candidate who merely uses a cheat sheet falls under 2(f)(i); a candidate who conspires to leak the paper falls under 2(f)(ii) and faces the heavier punishment, because the Explanation pulls examinees into the wider limb.
Section 2(g) provides that words used but not defined here carry the meanings assigned to them in the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
4. The prohibitions, sections 3 to 9
Seven sections create the offences, and they are best learned by who each one binds.
| Section | Binds | Prohibits |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Any person | Using unfair means at any public examination |
| 4 | A person authorised by virtue of his duties | Before the time fixed for opening and distribution: opening, leaking, procuring, possessing or solving the question paper or any part or copy; or giving or promising confidential information about it |
| 5 | A person entrusted or engaged with examination work | Divulging any information that came to his knowledge by virtue of that work, except as permitted by his duties |
| 6 | A person not lawfully authorised | Before the time fixed for distribution: procuring or possessing the question paper, answer sheet or OMR sheet, or any portion or copy in any form; or imparting or offering to impart information he knows or has reason to believe is derived from or bears upon it |
| 7 | Any person not entrusted, not engaged and not an examinee | Entering the premises of the examination centre |
| 8 | A person entrusted or engaged with examination work | Using any place other than the examination centre for holding a public examination |
| 9 | Management, Institution, LLP or others | Fixes liability on every person who at the time was in charge of, or responsible to, the body for the conduct of its business |
Sections 4 and 6 are a matched pair and the pairing is the question. Section 4 binds the insider — the person authorised to handle the paper. Section 6 binds the outsider — the person with no authority at all. Both concern the period before the time fixed for distribution, and an option that swaps the two is testing whether you noticed that the Act polices the paper from both directions.
Section 7 is the one candidates forget exists. Merely entering the examination centre premises, without being an examinee or a person engaged in the work, is itself prohibited.
5. Penalties: section 10, before and after the 2023 amendment
This is the heart of the chapter.
10(1) — the examinee who uses unfair means
For an examinee who indulges in unfair means as defined under section 2(f)(i):
| Imprisonment | Of either description, which may extend to three years |
| Fine | Not less than one lakh rupees |
| On default of payment of fine | Further imprisonment of either description for nine months |
Note the asymmetry: the imprisonment has a ceiling and no floor, while the fine has a floor and no ceiling. A court may imprison for a day or for three years, but it cannot fine less than one lakh rupees.
10(2) — organised unfair means, and what 2023 changed
For any person, including an examinee, whether entrusted or authorised with the conduct of the examination or not, who in conspiracy or otherwise indulges or attempts to indulge in unfair means under section 2(f)(ii), or contravenes or abets the contravention of any provision of the Act:
| As enacted, 2022 | As amended, 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum imprisonment | Five years | Ten years |
| Maximum imprisonment | Ten years | Imprisonment for life |
| Fine | Not less than ₹10 lakh, up to ₹10 crore | Unchanged |
| On default of payment of fine | Two years | Unchanged |
| Proviso — court may go below | Five years, for adequate and special reasons recorded in the judgment | Ten years, on the same condition |
The amending statute is the Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) (Amendment) Act, 2023 — Act No. 17 of 2023 — which received the Governor's assent on 5 August 2023 and came into force at once.
It amended one sub-section and nothing else. In section 10(2) it substituted "less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life" for "less than five years but which may extend to imprisonment of ten years", and in the proviso substituted "ten years" for "five years".
Three consequences worth stating separately, because each is a possible option.
- The fine did not change. ₹10 lakh to ₹10 crore was the 2022 figure and remains the figure. An option that raises the fine along with the imprisonment is wrong.
- Section 10(1) did not change. The examinee's three years and one lakh rupees are untouched by the 2023 amendment. Only organised unfair means got heavier.
- The proviso survived, at a higher floor. A court may still sentence below the minimum for adequate and special reasons to be recorded in the judgment — but the floor it may go below is now ten years, not five.
6. Consequences beyond imprisonment
Debarment — section 11
An examinee convicted of an offence under this Act shall be debarred from taking any public examination for a period of two years.
Two points are easy to get wrong. The debarment attaches on conviction, not on accusation or on being caught. And it is two years, not permanent — the permanent ban in this Act falls elsewhere, on institutions.
Attachment and confiscation of property — section 12
| The prohibition | No person shall hold or be in possession of any proceeds of any offence under this Act |
| Who may seize | The investigating officer, on reasonable belief that property represents proceeds of an offence |
| Precondition | Prior approval in writing of the State Government |
| If seizure is impracticable | An order of attachment, barring transfer or dealing without permission |
| Reporting | The Designated Court must be informed within forty-eight hours |
| The court's role | It may confirm or revoke the order, but not without giving the person an opportunity to make a representation |
| On conviction | The Designated Court may, in addition to any punishment, declare property confiscated to the State Government free from all encumbrances |
The Explanation defines "proceeds of any offence" widely: all kinds of property derived or obtained from the commission of an offence, or acquired through funds traceable to it, including cash, irrespective of the person in whose name the proceeds stand or in whose possession they are found.
That last clause is the operative one — putting the money in someone else's name does not take it outside the section.
Liability of the Management — section 13
Where a person of the Management, Institution, LLP or others is found guilty under section 10(2), that body:
- shall be liable to pay all cost and expenditure related to the examination, as determined by the Designated Court; and
- shall be banned forever.
This is where the permanent ban lives. An examinee is debarred for two years under section 11; an institution is banned forever under section 13. An option that transposes the two is the standard trap.
7. Procedure: how a case under this Act runs
| Section | Provision |
|---|---|
| 14 | All offences under this Act are cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable |
| 15 | No police officer below the rank of Additional Superintendent of Police shall investigate an offence under this Act |
| 16 | Cases are triable by Designated Courts, notwithstanding the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 |
| 17 | The State Government may designate as many Courts of Session as necessary, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of Rajasthan |
| 18 | The Act is not in derogation of any other law — it operates in addition to, not instead of |
| 19 | Power to remove difficulties |
| 20 | Power to make rules |
Section 14 is three separate facts and questions treat them separately. Cognizable — police may register and investigate without a magistrate's order. Non-bailable — bail is not a matter of right. Non-compoundable — the case cannot be settled or withdrawn by agreement between the parties, which for an offence of this kind is the most consequential of the three.
Section 15 fixes a rank, and the rank is the answer. Additional Superintendent of Police — not Inspector, not Deputy Superintendent, not Superintendent.
Section 17 is a two-part fact: the courts designated are Courts of Session, and the designation is made in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court — not by the government alone.
8. The Schedules: which authorities and which examinations
Schedule-I lists the examination authorities for section 2(b); Schedule-II lists the examinations for section 2(e). The two run in parallel — each authority in Schedule-I has its examinations covered by the matching entry in Schedule-II.
The authorities named are:
- Rajasthan Public Service Commission
- Rajasthan High Court
- Rajasthan Staff Selection Board
- Any other authority, agency or recruitment committee engaged or constituted by the State Government
- State Funded Universities
- Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education
- Rajasthan Police Recruitment and Promotion Board, Jaipur
- Public Sector Undertakings owned by the State Government
- Any Societies, Corporations, Local Bodies and all PSUs owned by the State Government substantially or partially
- Any other authority notified by the State Government
Two entries need care, because they look like exceptions to the recruitment-only rule and are not.
Entries 5 and 6 — State Funded Universities and the Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education — are in Schedule-I. But Schedule-II covers, for each, "any recruitment examination conducted by" them. The Act reaches the RBSE when it recruits staff, not when it conducts the Class 10 and 12 board examinations — those remain with the 1992 Act. The body is listed; only its recruitment examinations are covered.
Entries 4 and 10 are open-ended by design, letting the State Government bring further authorities and examinations within the Act by notification without amending it.
Important for RAS
Prelims Focus
- Act No. 6 of 2022; assent 5 April 2022; published 6 April 2022; extends to the whole of Rajasthan; commences on a date notified by the State Government; 20 sections, 2 schedules
- Covers recruitment examinations under the State Government — RPSC, Rajasthan High Court, Rajasthan Staff Selection Board, Rajasthan Police Recruitment and Promotion Board, state PSUs, and the recruitment examinations of state-funded universities and the RBSE
- "Conduct of public examination" reaches preparation, printing, supervision, coding, processing, storing, transportation, distribution, collection, evaluation and declaration of result
- "Examinee" includes a person authorised to act as scribe
- Unfair means has two limbs — 2(f)(i) for the examinee taking unauthorised help or using an unauthorised gadget; 2(f)(ii) for impersonation, leaking, procuring, solving or assisting. The Explanation states that "any person" also includes an examinee
- Section 10(1) — examinee: up to 3 years imprisonment, fine not less than ₹1 lakh, 9 months on default of fine
- Section 10(2), as amended in 2023 — not less than 10 years, extending to imprisonment for life, fine ₹10 lakh to ₹10 crore, 2 years on default. As enacted in 2022 it was 5 to 10 years. The proviso allows a lower sentence for adequate and special reasons recorded in the judgment
- The amending Act is Act No. 17 of 2023, assent 5 August 2023, in force at once; it changed only section 10(2) and did not change the fine
- Section 11 — convicted examinee debarred from any public examination for 2 years
- Section 12 — seizure needs prior written approval of the State Government; Designated Court informed within 48 hours; on conviction, confiscation free from all encumbrances; proceeds include cash irrespective of whose name it stands in
- Section 13 — a guilty Management/Institution/LLP pays all cost and expenditure of the examination and is banned forever
- Section 14 — offences are cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable
- Section 15 — investigation by an officer not below Additional Superintendent of Police
- Sections 16–17 — trial by Designated Courts, which are Courts of Session designated in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court
- Do not confuse — the 1992 Rajasthan Act covers board and university examinations; the central Act of 2024 covers UPSC, SSC, RRB, NTA and IBPS
Interview and Mains Angles
- The Act raises the maximum sentence for organised paper leaking to life imprisonment. What does a state reaching for its heaviest available penalty tell you about the problem it is responding to, and what are the limits of deterrence through sentencing alone?
- Section 12 allows property to be confiscated free from all encumbrances on conviction. Is following the money a more effective answer to examination fraud than imprisoning the individuals caught at the end of the chain?
- The Act's definition of "conduct of public examination" begins at printing and ends at the declaration of result. What does that tell you about where leaks are believed to originate?
- An examinee convicted under this Act is debarred for two years; an institution is banned forever. Is that proportionate?
- Section 14 makes every offence non-compoundable. What is the argument for removing the option of settlement entirely in this class of case?
Practice — Quick Self-Check
1. Under the Act as amended in 2023, the punishment for a person who conspires to leak a question paper is imprisonment of —
Show answer
Answer: (b) — not less than ten years, extending to imprisonment for life. (a) is the position as the Act was enacted in 2022, before Act No. 17 of 2023 substituted the new range, and it is still printed in a great deal of preparation material. (c) is the punishment for an examinee under section 10(1).
2. The fine prescribed under section 10(2) is —
Show answer
Answer: (b) — and it was not changed by the 2023 amendment, which touched only the imprisonment. (a) is the minimum fine for an examinee under section 10(1). (d) is the service-provider fine under the central Act of 2024.
3. An examinee convicted under this Act is debarred from taking any public examination for —
Show answer
Answer: (b) Two years, under section 11, and on conviction rather than on being caught. (d) is the fate of a guilty Management or Institution under section 13, which is banned forever — transposing the two is the standard trap.
4. Under section 15, an offence under this Act may be investigated only by a police officer not below the rank of —
Show answer
Answer: (c) Additional Superintendent of Police.
5. Offences under the Act are —
Show answer
Answer: (c), under section 14 — three separate facts, and questions test them separately. Non-compoundable means the case cannot be settled or withdrawn by agreement between the parties.
6. Which of these examinations would NOT be covered by this Act?
Show answer
Answer: (b). The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education is listed in Schedule-I, but Schedule-II covers only "any recruitment examination conducted by" it. The Act reaches the RBSE when it hires staff, not when it examines school students — those examinations fall under the 1992 Act.
7. The Designated Courts that try offences under this Act are —
Show answer
Answer: (a), under section 17 — a two-part fact. The level is the Court of Session, and the designation is not the government's alone.
8. Under section 12, an investigating officer may seize property representing proceeds of an offence only —
Show answer
Answer: (a). The Designated Court is then informed within forty-eight hours, and may confirm or revoke the order — but not without giving the person an opportunity to make a representation. Confiscation itself, under section 12(5), comes only on conviction, which is what makes (c) a plausible distractor for the wrong sub-section.
Practice — Statement-Based (RPSC Style)
9. Consider the following statements about the 2023 amendment to the Act:
1. It raised the minimum imprisonment under section 10(2) from five years to ten years.
2. It raised the maximum fine under section 10(2) from ₹10 crore to ₹25 crore.
3. It also increased the punishment for an examinee under section 10(1).
Which of the statements is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: (a) 1 only. Act No. 17 of 2023 amended section 10(2) alone, substituting "less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life" and raising the proviso's threshold from five years to ten. Statement 2 is wrong — the fine range of ₹10 lakh to ₹10 crore was untouched. Statement 3 is wrong — section 10(1) was untouched, so an examinee still faces up to three years and a minimum fine of ₹1 lakh.
10. Consider the following statements about the definition of "unfair means" under section 2(f):
1. Limb (i) applies to an examinee and limb (ii) to any person.
2. An examinee can only ever be charged under limb (i).
3. Use of an unauthorised electronic gadget by an examinee falls under limb (i).
Which of the statements is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only. Statement 2 is wrong, and the Explanation to section 2(f) is what defeats it: "Any person also includes an examinee." So a candidate who conspires to leak a paper is charged under limb (ii) and faces the ten-years-to-life range, not the three-year range. The lighter limb is not a shelter.
11. Consider the following statements:
1. The Act extends to the whole of the State of Rajasthan.
2. It came into force on the date it received the Governor's assent.
3. It contains a provision empowering the State Government to make rules.
Which of the statements is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only. Statement 2 is wrong: section 1(3) provides that the Act shall come into force on such date as the State Government may appoint by notification in the Official Gazette. Assent was given on 5 April 2022 and publication followed on 6 April 2022, but assent, publication and commencement are three different things. Rule-making power is section 20.
12. Consider the following statements about consequences for an institution found guilty under section 10(2):
1. It is liable to pay all cost and expenditure related to the examination, as determined by the Designated Court.
2. It is banned for a period of two years.
3. Its property may be confiscated to the State Government free from all encumbrances on conviction.
Which of the statements is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: (a) 1 and 3 only. Statement 2 confuses the two bans: under section 13 an institution is banned FOREVER; it is the convicted examinee who is debarred for two years, under section 11.
Practice — "Which Is/Are NOT Correct" (Inverted Phrasing)
13. Which of the following is NOT covered by the Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2022?
Show answer
Answer: (b). The UPSC falls under the central Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, along with the SSC, Railway Recruitment Board, NTA and IBPS. A state legislature cannot legislate for a Union recruitment body, which is the reasoning behind the answer as much as the list.
14. Which of the following statements about section 2(a), "conduct of public examination", is NOT correct?
Show answer
Answer: (c) is not correct. The definition runs from preparation and printing through supervision, coding, processing, storing, transportation, distribution and collection to evaluation and declaration of result. The offence surface begins at the printing press and ends at the result, which is why the Act can reach a person who never enters an examination hall.
15. Which of the following is NOT a prohibition created by sections 3 to 8?
Show answer
Answer: (c). The Act prohibits the use of any unauthorised electronic or mechanical instrument or gadget under section 2(f)(i), but it does not itself list permitted or prohibited articles — that is a matter for the examination authority's own instructions. (a) is section 7, (b) is section 8, (d) is section 4(b).
Key Terms
- Act No. 6 of 2022 — the Rajasthan Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Act, 2022; assent 5 April 2022, published 6 April 2022; 20 sections and 2 schedules.
- Act No. 17 of 2023 — the Amendment Act; assent 5 August 2023; in force at once; amended only section 10(2), raising it to a minimum of ten years and a maximum of life imprisonment.
- Unfair means, limb (i) and limb (ii) — section 2(f); the first for an examinee's unauthorised help or gadget, the second for impersonation, leaking, procuring, solving and assisting. The Explanation brings examinees within limb (ii) as well.
- Designated Court — a Court of Session designated under section 17 by the State Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court, which alone tries offences under the Act.
- Proceeds of any offence — section 12 Explanation; property derived from, or acquired through funds traceable to, an offence, including cash irrespective of whose name it stands in.
- Cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable — section 14; police may act without a magistrate's order, bail is not a matter of right, and the case cannot be settled between the parties.
- Rajasthan Public Examination (Prevention of Unfairmeans) Act, 1992 — the earlier and separate state Act, covering Board of Secondary Education and university examinations rather than recruitment.
- Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 — the central Act, covering UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment Board, NTA, IBPS and central government departments.
More in This Series
- International Events of 2026 — BRICS Chairship, summits, and Rajasthan's global calendar
- Sports Governance & Institutions — the National Sports Governance Act 2025 and Rajasthan's sports machinery
- Civilian Honours — Bharat Ratna, Padma Awards and the Gandhi Peace Prize
- Caution for Readers — the claims across this site that are genuinely unsettled
Sources & Verification
Written on 23 August 2026.
The Act's text was read directly from the gazette. The source is the Rajasthan Gazette, Extraordinary, Part 4(a), 6 April 2022, carrying the Law (Legislative Drafting) Department notification of Act No. 6 of 2022, together with the authorised English translation of Act No. 17 of 2023 appended to the same document, as published by PRS Legislative Research. Every section number, penalty, time limit, rank and schedule entry on this page is taken from that text rather than from a summary.
Verified from the gazette text: the short title, extent and commencement in section 1; all seven definitions in section 2, including the two limbs of "unfair means" and the Explanation extending "any person" to examinees; the prohibitions in sections 3 to 9; the penalties in section 10(1) and 10(2) with the fine floors and default-imprisonment terms; the two-year debarment in section 11; the seizure, attachment, forty-eight-hour reporting and confiscation provisions of section 12 with its Explanation; the cost liability and permanent ban in section 13; the cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable character of offences in section 14; the Additional Superintendent of Police threshold in section 15; the Designated Court provisions in sections 16 and 17; and the ten entries each in Schedule-I and Schedule-II.
The 2023 amendment was verified against its own text, not inferred from reporting: Act No. 17 of 2023 received assent on 5 August 2023, came into force at once, and substituted the imprisonment range in section 10(2) and the figure in its proviso. It made no other change, which is why this page states explicitly that the fine and section 10(1) are unaltered.
Checked against the possibility that the Act had been superseded. A search directed at finding a repeal or replacement of the 2022 Act returned no such instrument. No repeal or replacing statute was found on record as of 23 August 2026, and the 2022 Act as amended in 2023 is carried here as the operative law. This is an absence of evidence rather than proof of absence, and it is stated that way deliberately.
Flagged rather than asserted. The date on which the Act was brought into force under section 1(3) is not stated on this page, because the commencement notification itself was not located. Assent (5 April 2022) and gazette publication (6 April 2022) are given because they appear in the gazette text; the commencement date is a separate fact and is not supplied from a secondary source.
The comparison in section 1 draws on two further statutes. The scope of the Rajasthan Public Examination (Prevention of Unfairmeans) Act, 1992 — examinations of the Board of Secondary Education under the Rajasthan Secondary Education Act, 1957, and of universities established by law — and the scope and penalties of the central Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (assent 25 February 2024, in force 21 June 2024; covering UPSC, SSC, Railway Recruitment Board, NTA, IBPS and central departments) are taken from the India Code entries and PRS's tracking of those laws. They are given here only to mark the boundary of the 2022 Act, and no question on this page turns on the internal detail of either.
