In India, which of the following review the independent regulators in sectors like telecommunications, insurance, electricity, etc.? I. Ad Hoc Committees set up by the Parliament II. Parliamentary Department Related Standing Committees III. Finance Commission IV. Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission V. NITI Aayog Select the correct answer using the code given below.

The correct answer is A. Statements 1 and 2 are right, and 3, 4 and 5 are not.

Regulators such as TRAI, IRDAI and CERC are statutory bodies, and Parliament holds them accountable. It does this through ad hoc committees set up for specific issues, such as the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 2G spectrum allocation, and through the Departmentally Related Standing Committees, which examine regulators' annual reports, demands for grants and related bills.

• Statement 3 is wrong. The Finance Commission is a constitutional body under Article 280. It recommends the distribution of taxes between the Centre and the States. It does not oversee regulators.
• Statement 4 is wrong. The Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission (2011 to 2013) was a one-time body. It drafted the Indian Financial Code and proposed a unified regulatory architecture. It did not review regulators on an ongoing basis.
• Statement 5 is wrong. NITI Aayog is a policy think tank. It has no regulatory oversight role.

For Mains, this links to GS-II and GS-III on regulatory independence versus accountability. The question is whether regulators stay independent of the executive while remaining answerable to Parliament.

Trap: aspirants pick options with the Finance Commission or NITI Aayog because they are prominent bodies. Check whether a body actually has a regulatory or oversight role.