VANDANA VIDYAMANDIR CLASSES
Political and Permanent Prime Minister:-
Executives The leader of the majority party or the
coalition of parties that commands a
The executive branch of a democratic government majority in the Lok Sabha, is appointed as
is divided into two types. Political Executives and the Prime Minister by the President.
the Permanent Executives. The political executives In the event that no single party or alliance
have more power than the non-political executives obtains a majority, the President appoints
because, in a democracy, the will of the people is the person most likely to obtain majority
supreme. support.
The Political Executives:- Council of Ministers
The political executive comprises those The Council of Minister is a larger body
political leaders who are chosen by the consisting of 50-60 members while cabinet
people for a particular period. is a smaller body consisting of 15-20
Political Executives make major decisions. members.
Since ministers are elected representatives, (Before the 91st Amendment Act (2003),
the people have given them the authority the size of the Council of Ministers was
to carry out the people’s will on their determined according to the need of the
behalf. time and situation. This led to large size of
In all technical matters, the minister seeks Council of Ministers. This amendment
the advice of experts, who may have stated that the size of the Council of
differing viewpoints. The minister Ministers shall not exceed 15% of total
determines the ultimate goal. number of members of the Lok Sabha or
Rajya Sabha.
Permanent Executive: The Prime Minister is in charge of the
They are appointed on a long-term Council of Ministers and misters are
basis. normally from the party or the coalition
Persons working as civil services are with a majority in the Lok Sabha.
called as civil servants. A person who is not a Member of
They remain in office even when the Parliament can sometimes become a
ruling party changes. minister. However, within six months after
These officers work under political being appointed a minister, such a person
executive and assist them in carrying must be elected to one of the Houses of
out the day today administration. Parliament.
Category of Ministers
Cabinet Ministers: The Cabinet is the real policy- the government, chairs the cabinet meetings
making body. The decisions of the Cabinet are and coordinates the various working mysteries
taken as decisions of the entire council. The and departments.
Council of Ministers does not regularly meet as a The Prime Minister is the head of the
body to transact government business, while the government.
cabinet meets periodically once in a week to When the Prime Minister resigns, the whole
decide national policies. Cabinet resigns.
The inner ring of the Council of Ministers is Cabinet meetings are presided over by the
made up of Cabinet ministers. Prime Minister.
These ministers are the top-ranking He coordinates the work of various
members of the ruling parties who are in departments
control of key ministries. He is in charge of overseeing various
The Cabinet as a team is assisted by the ministries
Cabinet Secretariat which includes many He assigns and reassigns work to ministers
senior civil servants. He has the authority to dismiss ministers
Ministers of State with independent He makes the final decision in any dispute
charge between Departments
They are in charge of smaller ministries A coalition government’s Prime Minister,
that do not have cabinet ministers. however, cannot make whatever decisions he
They can only attend Cabinet meetings if or she wants.
they have been invited. The coalition leader must accommodate
Ministers of State: They are attached to the various parties and factions within his or her
Cabinet Ministers of their ministries and are own party as well as the coalition
expected to assist them. government.
Collective Responsibility
The President
Since the Cabinet operates as a team, even
though ministers have differing opinions and The President is the country’s head and the head of
viewpoints, they must take responsibility for the states. He appoints the prime Minister and
every Cabinet decision. summons the Parliament sessions. A Bill becomes
a law only after his or her signature.
No minister can publicly criticise the
government’s actions, even though they are of Election of President
another Ministry or Department.
The citizens do not elect the President of
Powers of the Prime India directly.
He is elected by an electoral
Minister college consisting of the elected members
of Parliament and the elected members of
Prime Mister is the real exerciser of powers of
State Legislative Assemblies (MLAs).
governance. In short, we can say that he heads
President must receive a majority of votes This power is exercised when no single
from Members of Parliament (MPs) and political party or alliance wins a majority in
Members of the Legislative Assemblies elections.
(MLAs). The President appoints a leader who, in
her/his judgement, can garner a majority in
Powers and Functions of the the Lok Sabha.
In such a circumstance, the President may
President request that the newly appointed Prime
Minister demonstrate majority support in
All government business is conducted
the Lok Sabha within a certain timeframe.
under the President’s name.
The President of India is the supreme
commander of the country’s armed forces.
Limitations on the
In the name of the President, the President’s Powers
government issues all laws and major
policy decisions. All the powers of the President are
All major appointments are made in the exercised only on the advice of the Council
President’s name, including the Chief of Ministers.
Justice of India, Supreme Court and state The President, however, can request that
High Court judges, state governors, the Council of Ministers reconsider its
election commissioners, and ambassadors recommendation. But if the same advice is
to other countries. given again, she/he is obligated to follow it.
Both international treaties and agreements A bill passed by Parliament is sent to the
are signed in the President’s name. President for signature. The President can
Each of these powers is exercised by the postpone this for a while and send the law
President only on the advice of the Council back to Parliament for reconsideration if
of Ministers. she/he so desires. She/he must, however,
sign the bill if Parliament passes it again.
Legislative Powers:
The Presidential System in
No bill can become a law without the
signature of the President. Other Parts
He nominates 2 Anglo-Indian members to
the Lok Sabha and 12 members to the In certain nations, such as the US, the
Rajya Sabha. President serves as both the head of state
and the head of government.
Discretionary Powers of The US President is directly elected by the
people, allowing him/her to choose and
President appoint all Ministers, though the
legislature makes the laws.
The President does not need the approval The Supreme Court is in charge of the
of a majority of members of the legislature country’s legal system. Its rulings are
(known in the US as Congress) and is not binding on all other courts in the country.
accountable to them. It resolves conflicts between:
He or she is elected for a four-year term People of the country
and must complete it even if his or her Two or more state governments
party does not have a majority in Citizens and the government
Congress.
Most Latin American countries and many Union and State
ex-Soviet Union countries have this type of
government, which is known as the governments
Presidential form of government.
The parliamentary form of government is Appointment and removal
found in countries that follow the British
model of government with the parliament of judges
at its core, such as India’s.
The judges of the Supreme Court and the
High Courts are appointed by the President
on the advice of the Prime Minister and in
The Judiciary consultation with the Chief Justice of the
All the courts at different levels in a country put Supreme Court.
together are called judiciary. India has integrated In practice, the senior judges of the
judicial system. Indian judiciary consists Supreme Court select the names of the
of Supreme Court, High Court, District Courts and new judges of the Supreme Court and the
courts at the local level. The Indian judiciary is High Courts.
independent. Independence of judiciary means The senior-most judge of the Supreme
that the Courts should be free from Legislative and Court is usually appointed the Chief
Executive controls. The Judge should be fair, Justice.
honest, and impartial and fearlessly give It is practically impossible to remove a
judgement. Supreme Court or High Court judge once
appointed.
The Supreme Court controls the judicial
Only an impeachment resolution passed
administration in the country
independently by two-thirds of members
Anyone can go to the court if public
of the two Houses of Parliament can
interest and fundamental rights are
remove a judge. It has never happened in
affected by the actions of the government.
the history of Indian democracy.
This is called a Public Interest Litigation.
The courts can ensure that the government
and its officials are not misusing the
Independence of the
powers. judiciary
The legislature and the executive do not
have power over the judiciary.
The judges do not act on orders from the
government or in accordance with the
wishes of the ruling party.
The Indian Constitution guarantees judges’
job security. Their service cannot be
terminated by any authority after the
President has appointed them.
The salary and allowances of judges are
guaranteed. Their wages cannot be cut.
The Supreme Court and the High Courts
have complete autonomy over their
practice and established procedures.
Judges are not permitted to practise law
after retirement to prevent them from
influencing court decisions
Powers of the judiciary
The country’s Constitution can be
interpreted by the Supreme Court and the
High Courts.
They have the authority to declare invalid
any legislative act or governmental action,
whether at the Union or state level, if they
believe it violates the constitution.
The judiciary serves as the protector of
human rights.
The Supreme Court has complete power
over the country’s judicial system and is
the highest court of appeal.
If a government’s decision harms public
interest, anybody can file a lawsuit to
oppose it. It is referred to as Public Interest
Litigation.
