Which of the following bodies is/are not mentioned in the Indian Constitution? 1. National Development Council 2. Planning Commission 3. Zonal Councils Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

The correct answer is D. None of the three bodies finds a place in the Constitution's text.

• National Development Council: Set up in 1952 by a Cabinet resolution, not by any constitutional provision. It is a forum where the Centre and states discuss plans, and it is only advisory.
• Planning Commission: Created by a Cabinet resolution of 1950. It was replaced by NITI Aayog in 2015, which is also a non-statutory body.
• Zonal Councils: Constituted under Part III of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, a statute, not the Constitution. Aspirants often confuse them with the Inter-State Council, which Article 263 does provide for.

The core concept here is the difference between constitutional, statutory and executive bodies. Mains GS-II often asks about federal institutions, and whether the Inter-State Council (Article 263) or a Cabinet-created body should have more teeth comes up often. Knowing the legal source of each body helps you answer such questions precisely.

Trap: Assuming that any body with a federal-sounding name must be in the Constitution, and picking B by treating the Planning Commission as the only non-constitutional one.