The correct answer is b,d,a,c Explanation & Key Takeaways: • Balwant Rai Mehta Committee : • In January 1957, the Government of India appointed a committee to examine the working of the Community Development Programme (1952) and the National Extension Service (1953) and to suggest measures for their better working. • The chairman of this committee was Balwant Rai G Mehta. • The committee submitted its report in November 1957 and recommended the establishment of the scheme of ‘democratic decentralisation’, which ultimately came to be known as Panchayati Raj. • Santhanam Committee: • Santhanam Committee was an anti-corruption committee that Lal Bahadur Sastri had appointed in 1962. • The Santhanam Committee's activities focused on preventing and identifying wasteful spending or poor management in government agencies. • The committee submitted its report in Jan 1963, and the report was known as the "Santhanam Committee Report." It was a landmark document in the history of the Indian anti-corruption movement. • Ashok Mehta Committee • It was constituted in 1977 by the Janata Government under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta. • This committee submitted its report in 1978 and gave some recommendations: • The 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj should be replaced by the 2- tier System: Zilla Parishad at district levels and below it the Mandal Panchayat at village levels. • Zilla Parishad should be the executive body and made responsible for planning at the district level. • Seats for SCs and STs should be reserved based on their population. • The State government should not supersede the Panchayati Raj institutions. • There should be an official participation of political parties at all levels of Panchayat elections. • The Panchayati Raj institutions should have compulsory powers of taxation to mobilize their own financial resources. • The Chief Electoral Officer of state in consultation with the Chief Election Commissioner should organize and conduct the Panchayati Raj elections. • Development functions should be transferred to the Zila Parishad and all development staff should work under its control and supervision. • A minister for Panchayati Raj should be appointed in the state council of ministers to look after the affairs of the Panchayati Raj institutions. • G. V. K. Rao Committee: • The Committee to review the existing Administrative Arrangements for Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation Programmes under the chairmanship of G.V.K. Rao was appointed by the Planning Commission in 1985.