Which of the following statements about Cabinet Mission are correct? 1. It was sent to India in 1946 to negotiate the transfer of power with the Indian leaders. 2. It proposed a two-tiered federal plan while conceding the largest measure of regional autonomy. 3. There was to be a federation of provinces and states, alongside a federal centre. 4. The individual provinces were allowed to form regional unions to which they could surrender some of their powers by mutual agreement.

The Cabinet Mission (1946) proposed a specific constitutional framework to resolve the deadlock between the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League. Here is the evaluation of the statements:

• Statement 1 is correct: The Mission arrived in March 1946 to negotiate the terms for the transfer of power and the framing of a new constitution.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: The Mission famously proposed a three-tier federal structure (Union, Groups, and Provinces), not a two-tier plan. The Union was at the top, Groups (Sections A, B, C) in the middle, and Provinces at the bottom.
• Statement 3 is correct: It envisioned a Union of India (a federal centre) comprising both British Indian Provinces and the Princely States, handling only Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Communications.
• Statement 4 is incorrect: The grouping of provinces into Sections A, B, and C was a predefined proposal by the Mission itself to satisfy communal demands, not a voluntary process where provinces formed unions by "mutual agreement."

Since statement 2 is false, options B, C, and D are eliminated, leaving A (1 and 3 only) as the correct choice.