Working of institutions

Governing a country involves various activities. Several arrangements are made to do these
activities in all modern democracies. Such arrangements are called institutions. Eg: Legislature,
Executive, and Judiciary. A democracy works well when these institutions perform functions
assigned to them. The Constitution of any country lays down basic rules on the powers and
functions of each institution.

• The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are institutions that make all important policy
decisions.
• The Civil Servants, working together, are responsible for taking steps to implement the
ministers’ decisions.
• The Supreme Court is an institution where disputes between citizens and the government
are finally settled.
1. LegisLature
Parliament

Why do we need a Parliament?

In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives exercises supreme political authority

on behalf of the people. In India, such a national assembly of elected representatives is called
Parliament. At the state level, this is called the Legislature or Legislative Assembly.

It exercises political authority on behalf of the people in many ways:

1. Parliament is the final authority for making laws in any country.

Parliaments all over the world can make new laws- change existing laws, or abolish existing
laws and make new ones in their place.
2. Parliaments all over the world exercise some control over those who run the
government.
Those who run the government can make decisions only so long as they enjoy the support of
Parliament. Eg: India
3. Parliaments control all the money that governments have.
In most countries, public money can be spent only when Parliament sanctions it.
4. The highest forum of discussion and debate
Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national
policy in any country. Parliament can seek information about any matter.

Two Houses of Parliament

In India, the Parliament consists of two Houses. The two Houses are known as the Council of States
(Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). The President of India is a part of
Parliament, although she is not a member of either House. That is why all laws made in the Houses
come into force only after they receive the assent of the President.

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House of the People (Lok Sabha): It is directly elected by the people and has the power in order to
represent on behalf of the people. The Lok Sabha is the lower house of India's bicameral
Parliament. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Parliament House, New Delhi.

The maximum membership of the House allotted by the Constitution of India is 552. Currently, the
House has 543 seats. The tenure of the Lok Sabha is 5 years. The Lok Sabha Speaker controls the
Lok Sabha proceedings.

Council of States (Rajya Sabha): The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the
upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023, it has a maximum membership of
250, of which 238 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories. The president
can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. The
current potential seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245 (233 elected, 12 appointed), after the
Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act, 2019, the seats came down to 245. The tenure of the
Rajya Sabha Member is 6 years. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body. The Vice President controls
the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha.

Question: “Our Constitution does give the Rajya Sabha some special powers over the
states. But on most matters, the Lok Sabha exercises supreme power”. – Support the
statement.

Ordinary Bill: Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both the Houses. But if there is a difference
between the two Houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session of the Parliament in which
members of both Houses sit together. Because of the larger number of members, the view of the
Lok Sabha is likely to prevail in such a meeting.

Money Bill: Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes the
budget of the government or any other money-related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it. The
Rajya Sabha can only delay it by 14 days or suggest changes to it. The Lok Sabha may or may not
accept these changes.

Control Council of Ministers: Most importantly, the Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers.
Only a person who enjoys the support of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha is appointed
the Prime Minister. If the majority of the Lok Sabha members say they have ‘no confidence’ in the
Council of Ministers, all ministers including the Prime Minister, have to quit. The Rajya Sabha does
not have this power.

2. executive
At different levels of any government, we find functionaries who take day-to-day decisions but do
not exercise supreme power on behalf of the people. All those functionaries are collectively known
as executives. They are called executives because they are in charge of the ‘execution’ of the
policies of the government.

Political executives v/s Permanent executives

Permanent Executive

• Permanent Executive is appointed on a long-term basis. It is also called civil services.

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 • Persons working in civil services are called civil servants. Eg: District Collectors,
Government secretaries, etc.

• All IAS, IPS, IFS, and IJS holders fall under this category.

• They remain in office even when the ruling party changes.

• They are highly qualified and recruited on the basis of tests and exams.

• These officers work under political executives and assist them in carrying out the day-to-
day administration.

• They can work till their retirement from the service.

Political executives

• One that is elected by the people for a specific period is called the political executive.
Political leaders who take the big decisions fall into this category. Eg: the Prime Minister and
the Council of Ministers.

• Political executives have more power than non-political executives. A minister is more
powerful than a civil servant because they are elected by the people.

• No prescribed qualification is required to become a political executive.

• The civil servant is usually more educated and has more expert knowledge of the subject.

• These officers work under political executives and assist them in carrying out the day-to-
day administration.

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers:

The Prime Minister is the most important political institution in the country. The President appoints
the Prime Minister. The President appoints the leader of the majority party or the coalition of parties
that commands a majority in the Lok Sabha, as Prime Minister. He continues in power so long as he
remains the leader of the majority party or coalition. After the appointment of the Prime Minister,
the President appoints other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Ministers are usually
from the party or the coalition that has the majority in the Lok Sabha. Council of Ministers is the
official name for the body that includes all the Ministers.

Cabinet Ministers: Cabinet Ministers are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties
who are in charge of the major ministries. Usually, the Cabinet Ministers meet to take decisions in
the name of the Council of Ministers. Cabinet is thus the inner ring of the Council of Ministers. It
comprises about 25 ministers.

Ministers of State with independent charge: Ministers of State with independent charge are
usually in charge of smaller Ministries. They participate in the Cabinet meetings only when specially
invited.

Ministers of State: Ministers of State are attached to and required to assist Cabinet Ministers. They
cannot attend cabinet meetings.

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Powers of the Prime Minister: If the Cabinet is the most powerful institution in India, within the
Cabinet it is the Prime Minister who is the most powerful. The powers of the Prime Minister in all
parliamentary democracies of the world have increased so much in recent decades that
parliamentary democracies are sometimes seen as Prime Ministerial forms of government.

• The Prime Minister controls the Cabinet and Parliament through the party.
• As head of the government, the Prime Minister has wide-ranging powers.
• He chairs Cabinet meetings.
• He coordinates the work of different Departments.
• His decisions are final in case disagreements arise between Departments.
• He exercises general supervision of different ministries.
• All ministers work under his leadership.
• The Prime Minister distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.
• He also has the power to induct and dismiss ministers.
• When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits

The Prime Minister of a coalition government cannot take decisions as he likes. He has to
accommodate different groups and factions in his party as well as among alliance partners.

The President
• The President is the head of the State. In India’s political system, the head of the State
exercises only nominal powers. The President supervises the overall functioning of all the
political institutions in the country so that they operate in harmony to achieve the objectives
of the State.

• Election: The President of India is elected by an electoral college, which consists of the
elected members of both houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) and the
elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of States and Union territories. The
President is elected based on value votes. To calculate the number of voters each legislator
represents, the total population of the state is divided by the number of assembly members
and then divided by 1,000.

• For example, each member of the Uttar Pradesh assembly represents 208 voters, while a
member from Sikkim represents seven voters. The value of an MPs vote is a uniform 708.

Question: What qualifications are necessary to run for the position of the President of India?

Powers of the President

• All governmental activities take place in the name of the President.

• All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in his name.

• All major appointments are made in the name of the President. These include the
appointment of the Chief Justice of India, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High
Courts of the states, the Governors of the states, the Election Commissioners,
ambassadors to other countries, etc.

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 • All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President.

• The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.

• He appoints the leader of the party or coalition of parties and secures a clear majority in the
elections, as the Prime Minister.

• President exercises all these powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The
President can ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider its advice. But if the same advice is
given again, he is bound to act according to it.

Discretionary Power: When no party or coalition gets a majority in the Lok Sabha, the
President exercises his discretion. The President appoints a leader who in his opinion can
muster majority support in the Lok Sabha. In such a case, the President can ask the newly
appointed Prime Minister to prove majority support in the Lok Sabha within a specified time.

III. Judiciary

• The judiciary is an independent and powerful organ. It is considered essential for

democracies. All the courts at different levels in a country put together are called the
judiciary.

• The Indian judiciary consists of a Supreme Court for the entire nation, High Courts in the
states, District Courts and the courts at the local level.

• India has an integrated judiciary. It means the Supreme Court controls the judicial
administration in the country. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the country.

• The Supreme Court can take up any dispute: Between citizens of the country; between
citizens and government; between two or more state governments; and between
governments at the union and state level.

• It is the highest court of appeal in civil and criminal cases. It can hear appeals against the
decisions of the High Courts.

Independence of judiciary: Independence of the judiciary means that it is not under the control of
the legislature or the executive. The judges do not act on the direction of the government or
according to the wishes of the party in power. The powers and the independence of the Indian
judiciary allow it to act as the guardian of the Fundamental Rights
PIL: Anyone can approach the courts if the public interest is hurt by the actions of the government.
This is called public interest litigation (PIL)
The courts intervene to prevent the misuse of the government’s power to make decisions. They
check malpractices on the part of public officials.
The judiciary in India is also one of the most powerful in the world. The Supreme Court and the High
Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution of the country.
The powers and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the guardian of the
Fundamental Rights.
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 Lesson revisit
Answer the following.

1. Which of the following institutions can make changes to an existing law of the country?
a) The Supreme Court b) The President c) The Prime Minister d) The Parliament
2. Which of the following statements about the judiciary is false?
a) Every law passed by the Parliament needs the approval of the Supreme Court
b) The Judiciary can strike down a law if it goes against the spirit of the Constitution.
c) The judiciary is independent of the Executive.
d) Any citizen can approach the courts if her rights are violated.
3. Who among the following is a part of the political executive?
a) Inspector General of Police
b) Secretary of the Ministry of Railways
c) Education Minister
d) District Commissioner
4. Why is the Prime Minister in India not directly elected by the people?
a) In a Parliamentary democracy only the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha
can become the Prime Minister.
b) Lok Sabha can remove the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers even before
the expiry of their term.
c) Since the Prime Minister is appointed by the President there is no need for it.
d) The direct election of the Prime Minister will involve lot of expenditure on election.
5. A teacher was making preparations for a mock parliament. She called two students to act
as leaders of two political parties. She gave them an option: Each one could choose to have
a majority either in the mock Lok Sabha or in the mock Rajya Sabha. If this choice was given
to you, which one would you choose and why?
6. What are the three ministerial categories that make up the Council of Ministers?
7. What factors contribute to the political executives wielding more power compared to the
permanent executives?
8. Explain how the Lok Sabha holds greater authority compared to the Rajya Sabha.
9. What are the functions and powers of the Prime Minister?
10. What roles and authorities does the President possess?
11. What is the functioning mechanism of the judiciary in India?

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