RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

Unit-II: UNION GOVERNMENT

The government Of India (GOI) also known as the Union of India (According to Article 300 of
Indian Constitution) is modeled after the Westminster system for governing the state, the Union
government is mainly composed of the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary, these
powers are vested by the constitution in the Prime Minister, Parliament and the Supreme Court.
This is a famous concept of government followed in other countries like Japan, Canada, and
Britain. This form of government in India was majorly inspired by Britain.

The Structure of the Indian government can be understood by95 the following flow chart:

(I) Union Executive:

Article 52 to 78 in part V of the Indian Constitution deals with the Union Executive. It consist
of (i) The President (ii) The Vice-President (iii) The Prime Minister (iv) The Union Council
of Ministers.
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India is a form of Parliamentary Government. The parliament is bicameral in nature, with the
Lok Sabha being the lower house, and the Rajya Sabha the upper house. It is also called the
Cabinet Government due to the concentration of executive powers in the Cabinet. The
Executive is a part of the Legislative.

According to this system, the president is the head of the state at the national level in Union
Government. The president is the nominal executive whereas the Prime Minister is the real
executive. The offices of vice-president, the prime minister and the union council of ministers
give assistance to the president in exercise of his powers and functions. The vice-president has
no considerable executive powers. But he plays an important role in the law-making affairs as
the Ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. The prime minister and his team of ministers will act
as the de-facto executive in union affairs. The prime minister being appointed by the president
on the other hand the union council of ministers is appointed bythe president on the advice
of the prime minister.

Let us know about the qualifications, functions and powers of the members such as the
President, The Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Union Council of Ministers.

THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA (Article 52):

The first and foremost part of the Executive is the President. Article 52 created the office of the
President of India. The president is the constitutional head of the Indian union. He is the first
citizen of India. He symbolizes unity, integrity and solidarity of the nation. He has the solemn
duty of preserving and defending the constitution and the laws of Indian union. Our constitution
considered the President of India acts as executive head of the country in normal times. All the
Executive business of the country is carried out in the name of the President. He exercised his
powers either directly or through officers who are subordinates to him, i.e. the prime minister,
the council of ministers and others. He also exercises some extraordinary powers during the
period of emergency.

Article 52: The President Of India

There would be a President for free India.

Article 53: Executive Power Of The Union

Article 53 mentions that the President may exercise his abilities promptly or by secondary
authority, with some peculiarities, all the executive sovereignty conferred by the President are,
in policy, practised by the Council of Ministers.

Article 54: Election Of President

The President would be authorised by the electoral college members comprising of

The elected members of the Parliament and

The elected members of the States Legislative Assemblies
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Election of President (Article 54 & 55)

This article states that the President of India shall be elected indirectly by an electoral college
consisting of the elected members of both houses of the parliament and the members of
legislative assemblies of states and also elected members of Delhi and Puducheri.
Mode of Voting: As per Article 55(3), the election of the President is held in accordance with
the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote system and by
secret ballot. A candidate who secures the required quota of votes will be declared elected to
the office of the president.

The value of the vote of an MLA is calculated by dividing the population of the state with the
total number of elected members of the state legislative assembly and multiplying it by 100.

The value of the vote of an MP of a state is calculated by dividing the total value of votes of
MLAs of all states to the total number of elected members’ parliament and multiplying it by
100.

Term of office of President (Article 56)

This article states that the President term of office is five years from the day that he entered the
office. He is eligible for re-election. Even after the expiry of the term, he continues in office
until his successor is elected and assumes the office. Normally, the presidential electionis held
well in advance before the expiry of the term of the person holding the office.

Article 57: Re-Election Eligibility

Anyone who holds the President’s office would be competent for re-election based on the other
requirements of the Constitution.

Qualifications for election (Article 58)

Article 58 states, a person to be eligible to contest the office of the president shall possess the
following qualifications:
(a) He should be a citizen of India
(b) He should have completed the age of 35 years.
(c) He should be qualified for election as the members of the Lok Sabha.
(d) He should be of sound mind means he holds any office of profit under the government of
India.

Article 59: President’s Office Conditions

1. The President would not be the member of the House of Parliament or the House of
Legislatures .
2. The President would not keep any other profit office.
3. The President would be authorised without rent payment for the benefit of his authorised
residences. He would also be authorised to such privileges, emoluments, and allowances
inferred by Parliament, and until a prerequisite in that area is made, such privileges,
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emoluments, and allowances are stipulated in Schedule 2.

4. The allowances and emoluments of the President would not be reduced during his office
tenure.

Article 60: Presidents Affirmation or Oath

A President would, before entering his office, pledge in the Chief Justice’s presence or another
senior Judge available in his absence, an affirmation like this swearing in God’s name /
solemnly affirm that he would faithfully implement the President’s office (or acquit the role of
the President) and he would preserve, defend and protect the law and the Constitution and that
he will commit himself to the well-being and duty of India’s people.

Procedure for impeachment of the President (Article 61)

The President of India can be removed from the office by a process of impeachment under
Article 61, for the violation of the Constitution. Impeachment is a quasi-judicial procedure
adopted by the parliament. The resolution to impeach the president can be moved in either
House of the parliament. The president’s office remains vacant within the term of five years in
either of three ways:

(a) By addressing the resignation letter to the vice-president expressing his inability to perform
his duties due to ill health.

(b) By his death

(c) By removal for violation of the constitution, through the process of impeachment.

There are four stages in the impeachment of the President.

Firstly, the impeachment resolution has to be moved within 14 days of prior notice in writing
signed by at least one-fourth of the total members of the house. Such resolution has to be passed
by at least two-thirds majority of the house.

Secondly, the resolution is approved by the first house will be sent to the second house for
consideration and approval.

Thirdly, the second house must investigate the charges directly or constitutes a committee to
enquire into the charges. The President has the right to present his views directly or through a
deputy during such enquiry.
Fourthly, If the charges against the president are accepted by two-thirds majority of the total
members of the second house and declares the charges as sustaining, it results in removing the
President from his office from the date of passing of the resolution.

Note: No president has so far been impeached in our country till today
RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESIDENT

The President is considered to be the head of the Government of India and is also the Supreme
Commander of the Armed forces.

The function and powers of the President of India can be classified into several types, which
are, Executive, Legislative, Financial, Judicial, Diplomatic, Military, and Emergency. These
can be explained as follows:

1. Executive Functions

The executive functions of the President are as follows –

(a) Head of the Union: The President is the Head of the Union; therefore, he holds the right
to exercise all the executive powers.
(b) Appointments: The President of the country holds the right to appoint the governors of the
state, the judges of the Supreme Court, and high court, and many other higher officials like the
Election Commission, Union Public Commissions, and more.

(c) Appointment of the Prime Minister: The President does enjoy some discretionary powers
in this case only under exceptional circumstances. The President has a larger role to play in the
case of Coalition Politics, wherein he must appoint the Prime Minister of the country.

(d) Supreme Commander: The President is considered to be the Supreme Commander of the
armed forces. He holds the right to sign a treaty, or declare war, as and when needed.

(e) Can ask to prove majority in Lok Sabha: Usually, the council of minister remains in the
office for a period of five years but the President holds the right to dissolve the Union Council
of Ministers under Article 75(2) of the Indian Constitution if he feels that the Ministry does not
enjoy the support of the majorities in the Lok Sabha.

2. Legislative Powers and Functions

(a) Nomination: The President is responsible for ensuring adequate representation of all the
sections in the Parliament. President nominates the members of both the houses.

(b) Power in Respect of Bills: After a bill gets passed from both the houses, it needs to be
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signed by the President. He can either choose to pass the bill or can even keep it on a stand.

However, upon the disapproval of the President, if the parliament passes the same bill, even
without any amendment, it becomes obligatory for the President to pass the bill this time
around.

(c) Bill passed by a state legislature: Under Article 200, The President enjoys the right in
relation to a bill passed by a State Legislature only in the cases where those are referred to
him by the Government of a State.

(d) Part of parliament: The President is an integral part of the Union Legislature. He shall
summon the Houses of Parliament from time to time, either separately or jointly. If needed, he
also holds the power to dissolve the lower houses of the Parliament.

(e) Summons and Addresses Parliament: If the President of the country has a serious
disagreement with the council of ministers then he has the authority to Summon or send
messages to the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha or both. He may also place the reasons for doing
so.

3. Financial Powers and Functions: The President of India has an integral hold on to the
finances of the country. No proposal for spending money or raising revenues for purposes of
government can be introduced in Parliament without the previous permission of the President.

The Indian constitution says that the Annual Financial Statement shall be placed by the
President before both the Houses of Parliament.

Judicial Powers: As said in Article 72 of the Indian Constitution, the President is empowered
with the powers to grant pardons (the action of forgiving or being forgiven for an error or
offence) in case the Punishment is for an offense against Union Law, Sentence is that of death,
or Punishment is by a Military Court. Mostly, the President exercises his executive powers on
the advice of the Prime Minister and the cabinet.

(4) Diplomatic Powers: Since the President is considered to be the first citizen of the country,
therefore, he has a hand on the diplomatic powers. All the international treaties and agreements
are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the President by the Prime Minister of the Country.
However, the President can send and receive diplomats.

(5) Military Powers: Being the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces, the
President can declare war or conclude peace. This shall be done on the advice of the Union
Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. All the major treaties are made in the name
of the President. He also appoints the chiefs of the armed forces.

(6) Emergency Powers

The constitution provides the President with the right to impose three types of emergencies in
the country. They are –

(a) National Emergency: National emergency shall be imposed by the President if he feels
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that the security of India or any part of India is threatened by war.

During a national emergency, the right to freedom of speech and expression, freedom to form
an association, freedom to practice and profession, etc., embodied in Article 19 shall remain
suspended during the period of emergency. A national emergency can be imposed for an
indefinite period.

(b) Failure of State Constitutional Machinery: During such an emergency, the powers of the
legislatures of the State are to be exercised by the Union Parliament. The President can opt to
declare this emergency in case of failure of Constitutional machinery in a State. This type of
emergency can be carried for a period of three years.

(c) Financial Emergency: If the president feels that the financial stability of the country is
threatened then he can declare a Financial Emergency. A financial emergency can be continued
for an indefinite period.

During the time of the emergency, all money-bills passed by the State Legislatures are to be
reserved for the consideration of the President.

&&&&&
RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA

The office of the Prime Minister is the most powerful office in India. If Cabinet is the strongest
institution, the Prime Minister is the strongest person in the cabinet under the Constitution of
India, the real centre of power is the office of the Prime Minister. He is the Head of the
Government of India. He is the real custodian of all executive authority.

Appointment of the Prime Minister:

The Constitution simply lays down that the Prime Minister is to be appointed by the President.
He appoints the leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister. Whenever a
party gets a clear majority in Lok Sabha elections, the President plays a little role and he
appoints the leader of such a party or a coalition group as the Prime Minister. However, in case
no party gets a majority and some parties are even unable to elect a common candidate as their
leader, the President can play a real role in the appointment of the Prime Minister.

(a) Prime Minister need not be always from Lok Sabha:

Between 1950-96 the Prime Ministers always belonged to the Lok Sabha. But it was a
convention and not a law. This convention was broken in June 1996, April 1997, May 2004
and May 2009. Since May 2004 (for the second consecutive time since May 2009) Dr
Manmohan Singh has been the Prime Minster and he has been and still he is a member of the
Rajya Sabha. Thus the convention that Prime Minister always belongs to Lok Sabha now stands
broken. The Prime Minister can be from either House of the Parliament. The only essential
condition is that he must be the adopted or elected leader of majority in the Lok Sabha.

(b) Prime Minister need not be a sitting member of the Parliament:

Further, that any person who is not a member of either House of the Parliament can also become
a minister or the Prime Minister and he can remain so for six months, within this period he has
to essentially get the membership of either House. In case he fails to do so, he loses his office
of Minister/Prime Minister.

(c) No Formal Qualifications:

The Constitution lays down no formal qualifications for the office of the Prime Minister. Since
no person who is not a member or cannot become a member of the Parliament can be appointed
as the Prime Minister, it can be said that the qualifications essential for themembership of the
Parliament are also the essential qualifications for the office of the Prime Minister.

(d) Tenure:

Theoretically, the Prime Minister holds office during the pleasure of the President. It really
means, so long as he enjoys the confidence of majority in Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha can pass a
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vote of no-confidence against him and in this case the Prime Minister either submits his
resignation to the President or gets dismissed by the President.

Whenever it may appear that the Prime Minister’s party has lost its majority in the Lok Sabha,
the President can ask him to prove his majority in House. A failure to do so compels the Prime
Minister to either resign forthwith or face dismissal at the hands of the President.

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS (DUTIES) OF THE PRIME MINISTER:

(1) Elected head of Country: The Prime Minister is not only the leader of the majority party
or head of the government, but he is also the head of the nation. General elections are fought in
his name. We know that it was the charismatic and charming personality of Narendra
Damodardas Modi that used to sweep popular votes in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP). The personality of the Prime Minister and the respect and love, that he commands act as
a source of strength for his party as well as the nation. He leads the nation both in times of
peace and war.

He is to shape the destiny of the nation. It is said “when he speaks, the Nation has spoken”.
All questions on critical and baffling issues are addressed to him. He initiates and leads in the
debates of a general nature. He shields his colleagues on the floor of the House, for their errors
of omission and commission. He assists the speaker in maintaining order and disciplinein the
House. He keeps liaison with the opposition parties so that the areas of disagreement are
removed as much as possible.

(2) Leader of Majority Party: The Prime Minister in India has emerged as the leader of the
Party, though ordinarily the President of the party supporting the Prime Minister could afford
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to be more assertive yet in case of India M.Narendra Modi is likely to the BJP president and
chair-person of coordination committee of NDA.

(3) Chief Link between the President and the Parliament: The Prime Minister is the main
channel of communication between the President and the Parliament. He communicates to the
President all decisions of the Cabinet, and puts before the Cabinet the views of the President.
This is the sole privilege of the Prime Minister and no other minister can, of his own convey
the decisions or reveal to the President the nature or summary of the issues discussed in the
Cabinet.

(4) Chief Advisor and Informer to the President: The Prime Minister acts as the chief
advisor and informer to the president of India. He communicates to the President all decisions
of the Cabinet, relating to the administration of the affairs of the Union and proposals for
legislation. He is to furnish such information to the President, as and when the latter asks for.

(5) Formation of the Council of Ministers: The task of formation of the ministry begins
with the appointment of the Prime Minister by the President. After the appointment of Prime
Minister, the President appoints all other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The
PM determines the strength of his ministry and selects his team of ministers. However this
number cannot be more than 15% of the total membership of the Lok Sabha.

Normally, most of the ministers are drawn from Lok Sabha. Prime Minister decides who
amongst them shall be the Cabinet Minister and who will be Minister of State or a Deputy
Minister. He can, if he so desires, even have one or two Deputy Prime Ministers in his Council
of Ministers.

(6) Allocation (Distribution) of Portfolios: The Prime Minister allocates portfolios to the
individual Minister according to his choice. He is empowered to review the allocation of offices
among his colleagues, from time to time. Though the Prime Minister possesses discretionary
authority to assign portfolios yet important party whips must get portfolios of substantial
importance, otherwise they would not accept the offices of insignificant nature.

(7) Change of Portfolios: The Prime Minister has the power to change the departments
(portfolios) of the ministers at any time. It is his privilege to shuffle and re-shuffle his ministry
any time and as many times as he may like.

(8) Removal of Ministers: The Prime Minister can demand resignation from any minister at
any time, and the latter has to accept the wishes of the former. However, if any minister may
fail to resign, the Prime Minister can get him dismissed from the President. In April 2010 Mr.
Shashi Throor had to submit his resignation because PM Manmohan Singh had asked him to
do so.

(9) Chairman of the Cabinet: The Prime Minister is the leader of the Cabinet. He presides
over its meetings. He decides the agenda of its meetings. In fact all matters in the Cabinet are
decided with the approval and consent of the Prime Minister. It is up to him to accept or reject
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proposals for discussions in the Cabinet. All ministers conform to his views and policies. There
is scope for deliberations and discussions but not for opposition.

(10) Chief Coordinator: The Prime Minister acts as the general manager of the state and the
chief coordinator. It is his responsibility to co-ordinate the activities of all the departments and
to secure co-operation amongst all government departments. He resolves all differences, among
the ministers.

(11) Power to get the Parliament Dissolved: The Prime Minister has the power to advise the
President in favour of a dissolution of the Lok Sabha. This power of dissolution really means
that the members hold their seats in the House at the mercy of the Prime Minister.

No member likes to contest frequent elections as these involve huge expenditures and
uncertainties. It has been rightly remarked that this is such an important weapon in the hands
of the Prime Minister that it binds his party men, and even the members of opposition.

(12) Director of Foreign Affairs: As the powerful and real head of the government, the Prime
Minister always plays a key role in determining Indian foreign policy and relations with other
countries. He may or may not hold the portfolio of foreign affairs but he always influences all
foreign policy decisions.
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(II) UNION LEGISLATURE

Introduction:

The union legislature (Parliament) is the highest legislative organ of the Union Government.
Due to that adoption of the Parliamentary government, it occupies a pre-eminent and central
position in Indian democratic political system. The makers of Indian Constitution suggested
Westminster model of legislature for Indian Parliament which is a bicameral legislature.

It is the Supreme legislature of the union of India. The union legislature makes laws required
for the citizen of India. It serves as the law making body. It reflects the opinions, hopes and
aspirations of the citizens of India. Article 79 to 129 in Part-V of Indian Constitution deal with
the composition, organisation, powers and functions of the Indian Union Legislature.

Union Legislature (Parliament):

The Union Legislature, popularly known as Parliament, is a component of the government. It

is a bicameral legislature with the House of the People (Lok Sabha) as the Lower House and
the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) as the Upper House. Legally the law-making powers are
exercised by the President-in-Parliament. All bills are introduced and passed by the Parliament
in the name of President and these become laws when signed by him. However, the President
is not a member of either House.

Unique Features of Union Legislature:

The Union Legislature has the following unique features.

(1) It is bicameral legislature in structure.

(2) Indian Constitution is not a sovereign body. It acts according to provisions of the
constitution.

(3) Powers and Functions of both the Houses are not equal in Union Legislature.

(4) It has some nominated members in both Houses.

(5) Union Parliament enjoys several legislative, executive and judicial powers.

(6) There will be a chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The Vice-President of India acts as its ex-
official chairman.

(7) The Speaker of Lok Sabha though he belongs to the ruling party, runs the House impartially
irrespective of party affiliations unlike the Speaker in British Parliament or the Speaker in US
Congress.

(8) The President is not a member of the Parliament but he is regarded as integral part of
Parliament.
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COMPONENTS OF UNION LEGISLATURE (INDIAN PARLIAMENT)

Union Parliament is a bicameral legislature with the Rajya Sabha as the upper house and The
Lok Sabha as the lower house follows:

I. The Council of States the Rajya Sabha:

The Council of States, i.e., the Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of the Union Parliament. Its
maximum membership can be 250 involving 238 representatives of the States and Union
Territories and 12 members nominated by the President from amongst persons from the
fieldsof literature, science, art or social service. The seats allotted to each State and Union
Territoryhave been mentioned in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution.

Presently, the Rajya Sabha has 245 members (233 (225Members from States + 8 Members
from UTs) elected and 12 nominated members) AP Has 11 and TS has 7 seats in the Rajya
Sabha. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the
Legislative Assembly of each State. All the MLAs of a state together elect the Rajya MPs of
their state. Each member of Rajya Sabha holds a term of six years. The Rajya Sabha as a
whole is a quasi-permanent body it is never dissolved as a whole. Its 1/3rd members retire
after every two years.

It is also called the House of Elders because citizens of the age of 30 years or above alone can
become its members. The quorum for its meetings is 1/10th of its total membership. The Vice-
President of India is ex- officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. It also elects one Deputy
Chairman from amongst its members, who presides over its meetings in the absence of the
Vice- President.
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II. The House of the People—the Lok Sabha:

The House of the People, i.e., the Lok Sabha is the lower, directly elected and powerful House
of the Union Parliament. Its maximum strength can be 552. It has at present a strength of 545
members, out of which 523 are the elected representatives of the people of the States of the
Union, 20 are the elected representatives of the people of Union Territories, and two are
nominated members belonging to the Anglo-Indian Community. AP has 25 and TS has 17
seats in the Lok Sabha.

131 Lok Sabha seats stand reserved for the people belonging to SCs and STs. The members of
the Lok Sabha are directly elected by all the adult citizens (voters) who are of 18 years or
above of age. The seats of Lok Sabha are distributed on the basis of population. The Lok Sabha
has a tenure of 5 years. However, it can be dissolved at any time by the President acting under
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the advice of the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers.

The meetings of the Lok Sabha are presided over by Speaker who is elected by all its members
from amongst themselves. They also elect a Deputy Speaker who presides over its meetings in
the absence of the Speaker.

All 543 seats in the Lok Sabha

272 seats needed for a majority

First party Second

party

Leader Narendra Modi Mallikarjun

Kharge
Party BJP INC
Alliance NDA INDIA
Leader since 12 September 26 October
2013 2022
Leader's seat Varanasi Karnataka
(Rajya
Sabha)
Last election 37.36%, 303 19.49%, 52
seats seats

Alliance seats 293 234

Alliance 42.5% 40.6%

percentage
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(B) Powers and Functions of the Union Parliament:

(i) Legislative Powers:

The most important power of the Union Parliament is to make laws for the whole country. It
can legislate over the subjects of Union List. It has concurrent jurisdiction with State
Legislatures over the subjects of the Concurrent List. It has also the power to legislate over all
other subjects (Residuary Subjects) which are not mentioned in any list.

In the sphere of ordinary law-making, i.e., non-financial legislation, the two Houses of
Parliament enjoy co-equal powers. A bill becomes an act only after the two Houses have passed
it in identical terms. In case of a deadlock between the two Houses over any bill, the President
can summon their joint sitting. The matter is then decided by a majority vote in this joint sitting.

Further, an ordinary bill passed by the two Houses becomes an act only after the signatures of
the President. The President has the power to return the bill to the Parliament for
reconsideration. In this case the Parliament has to re-pass it. Thereafter, the bill again goes to
the President who has to sign it. The laws made by the Union Parliament are called Union
Statutes or Union laws.
RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

(ii) Financial Powers:

The Parliament is the custodian of the national purse. The government cannot levy or collect
any tax or make an expenditure without the consent of the Parliament. No tax can be levied
or collected or revised by the government without the approval of the Parliament. The fiscal
policies of the government can be enforced only after these get the approval of the Parliament.

The financial powers of the Parliament are really exercised by the Lok Sabha. The money bills
can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha. After getting passed, a money bill goes to the Rajya
Sabha which can at the most delay its passage for only 14 days. As such financial legislation is
really the handiwork of the Lok Sabha. A cut motion passed or a rejection of any money bill
by the Lok Sabha means a vote of no- confidence against the Council of Ministers, and it has
to resign.

(iii) Power to Control the Executive:

For all its decisions and policies, the Council of Ministers is directly responsible to the
Parliament (in reality to the Lok Sabha) MPs can put questions and supplementary questions to
the ministers for getting information regarding the forking of administration. They can move
adjournment motion, cut motion, call attention motion, censure motion and no- confidence
(only by the members of the Lok Sabha) motion for keeping the ministry under control and
making it responsible and accountable. The defeat of a government bill or decision in the Lok
Sabha is taken as a loss of confidence by the Council of Ministers, and it resigns.

The Lok Sabha can cause the fall of the government by passing a direct vote of no-confidence
against the Prime Minister or his ministry. The government has to get all its policies approved
by the Parliament before these are implemented.

(iv) Power to amend the Constitution:

The Union Parliament enjoys the power to amend the constitution in accordance with the
provisions of Article 368. A bill for amending the constitution can be introduced in either house
of n Parliament. Most of the constitution can be amended by the Union Parliament by passing
an amendment bill by a 2/3rd majority of members in each House.

However, when the amendment relates to several specific subjects as mentioned, the concerned
bill after having been passed by the Parliament by a 2/3rd majority in each House, can become
an act only when it gets ratified by at least one-half of all the State Legislatures.

(v) Electoral Functions:

The elected members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha form one part of the Electoral
College which elects the President. The other part is constituted by the elected members of all
the State Legislative Assemblies. Both Houses of Parliament together elect the Vice-
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President of India. The members of the Lok Sabha elect two of their members as the Speaker
and Deputy Speaker. The members of the Rajya Sabha elect their own Deputy Chairman.

(vi) Impeachment Functions:

The Parliament has the power to impeach the President on charges of violation of the
Constitution. For this purpose l/4th members of either House can move an impeachment
resolution. For doing this, they have to give a prior notice of 14 days. If the House in which the
impeachment resolution is moved, passes it with 2/3rd majority of its total membership, the
resolution goes to the other House, which investigates the charges.

The President is given the opportunity to defend himself. If this House also passes the
impeachment resolution in identical terms and by 2/3rd majority of its total membership, the
President stands impeached. The judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts and several
other high officials of the State can also be impeached by the Parliament in a similar way.

(vii) Miscellaneous Functions:

The Union Parliament can:

I. Change the boundaries of the States.

II. Establish or abolish the Legislative Council in any State.

III. Approve or disapprove an Emergency proclamation made by the President.

IV. Provide for a common High Court for two or more States.

V. Pass laws required for the enforcement of International Treaties.

VI. Act as board of directors for Public Sector Corporations.

VII. Redress grievances of the people.

VIII. Deliberate upon all matters of national and international importance.

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RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

FEDERALISM UNDER THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Meaning and Features:

A federal government is a system of government that separates the power between central
government and state government of the country. It delegates certain responsibilities to each
sector so that the central government has its own task to do and state government has its own.

A Quasi-Federal government is a system of government that separates the power between

central government and state government of the country but in quasi-federal government, the
central government assigned more power than the state government. In a quasi-central
government system, the central government can interfere in the decision which is made by the
state government.

Nature of Indian federalism

The constitution of India has not described India as a federation. However, Article 1 of Indian
constitution describes India as a ‘’Union of States.’’ This means India is a union comprising
of various states which are an integral part of it. Here, the states cannot break away from the
union. They do not have the power to secede (withdraw) from the union. In a true federation,
the constituting units or the states have the freedom to come out of the union.

India is not a true federal government because it combines features of a federal government and
the features of unitary government which can also be called as a quasi-federal government.

Federal Features of Indian Constitution

1. Two sets of Government: There are 2 sets of government in India and that is union
government and state government. Central government looks after the whole country and state
government mainly works for the states. Working of both governments are different.

2. Division of Powers: Powers between central government and state government have been
divided by Constitution of India. The seventh schedule of the Indian constitution provides how
the division of powers is made between state and central government. Both central and state
governments have separate power and responsibilities.

The 7th schedule of Indian constitution consists of union list, state list, and concurrent list.
RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

Union list: It contains all the matters on which only central government can make laws.

State list: It contains all the matters on which state government can make laws.

Concurrent list: It contains all the matters on which both central and state government can
make laws.

3. Written Constitution: India has the one of the largest constitution in the world which
consist of 395 articles 22 parts and 12 schedules. Every article of Indian constitution is clearly
written down and has been discussed in full detail.

4. Supremacy of the Constitution: The Constitution of India is regarded as supreme law of

land. No law can be made or passed against the constitution of India. The Constitution of India
is above all citizens and organizations of the country.

5. Supreme judiciary: The Supreme Court of India is regarded as the superior court of the
country. The decision of the Supreme Court is binding upon all courts and it has the power to
interpret the articles of the constitution.
6. Bicameral-legislation: In India, the legislature is bicameral. It has two houses and that are
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The upper house of the parliament which represents the states is
Rajya Sabha and the lower house of the parliament which represents the people in general is
Lok Sabha.

The constitution of India consists of federalism features such as division of power, supreme
judiciary, two set of government, bicameral-legislation etc which clearly shows its Federal
nature. The division of power between state and central government shows the federal nature
of the India and supremacy of judiciary shows the absolute power of the Supreme Court that
its decision is supreme and binding upon all courts. However, the powers given to the central
government have more weight in comparison to the state government.

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RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

THE RELATION BETWEEN CENTRE AND STATE IN INDIA

Distribution of Powers: Legislative, Administrative and Financial:

Our Constitution is one of the very few that has gone into details regarding the relationship
between the Union and the States. A total of 56 Articles from Article 245 to 300 in Part XI and
XII are devoted to the State-Centre relations. Part XI (Articles 245-263) contains the legislative
and administrative relations and Part XII (Articles 246-300) the financial relations.

By going into great details of the relations, the Constitution framers hope to minimize the
conflicts between the centre and the states. By and large, the confrontations between the two
have been minimal.

(I) Legislative Relations (Articles 245-255):

From point of view of the territory over which the legislation can have effect, the jurisdiction
of a State Legislature is limited to the territory of that State. But in the case of Parliament, it
has power to legislate for the whole or any part of the territory of India i.e.

States, Union Territories or any other areas included for the time being in the territory of India.
Parliament has the power of ‘extraterritorial legislation’ which means that laws made by the
Union Parliament will govern not only persons and property within the territory of India, but
also Indian subjects resident and their property situated anywhere in the world. Only some
provisions for scheduled areas, to some extent, limit the territorial jurisdiction of Parliament.
Legislative Methods of the Union to Control over States:

(i) Previous sanction to introduce legislation in the State Legislature (Article 304).

(ii) Assent to specified legislation which must be reserved for consideration [Article 31 A
(1)].

(iii) Instruction of President required for the Governor to make Ordinance relating to
specified matters [Article 213(1)].

(iv) Veto power in respect of other State Bills reserved by the Governor (Article 200).

The Three Lists:

As for the subjects of legislation the Constitution has adopted, as if directly from the
Government of India Act, 1935, a three-fold distribution of legislative powers between the
Union and the States, a procedure which is not very common with federal constitutions
 RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

elsewhere.

The Constitutions of the United States and Australia provided a single enumeration of
powers—power of the Federal Legislature— and placed the residuary powers in the hands of
the States.

Canada provides for a double enumeration, dividing the legislative powers between the Federal
and State legislatures.

The Indian Constitution introduces a scheme of three-fold enumeration, namely, Federal, State
and Concurrent.

List I includes all those subjects which are in the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament.

List II consist of all the subjects which are under exclusive jurisdiction of the State Legislature,
and

List III which is called the Concurrent List, consists of subjects on which both Parliament and
the State legislatures can pass laws.

Union List: List I, or the Union List, includes 99 items, including residuary powers, most of them
related to matters which are exclusively within the jurisdiction of the Union. Subjectsof national
importance requiring uniform legislation for the country as a whole are inducted in the Union List.
The more important examples are defence, armed forces, arms and ammunition, atomic energy,
foreign affairs, coinage, banking and insurance. Most of them are matters in which the State
legislatures have no jurisdiction at all.

But, there are also items dealing with inter-state matters like inter-state trade and commerce
regulation and development of inter-state rivers and river valleys, and inter-state migration,
which have been placed under the jurisdiction of the Union Parliament.

Certain items in the Union List are of such a nature that they enable Parliament to assume a
role in certain spheres in regard to subjects which are normally intended to be within the
jurisdiction of the States; one such example is that of industries.
RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

While assigned primarily to the State List; industries, the control of which by the Union is
declared by a law of Parliament, to be expedient in the public interest’ are to be dealt with by
parliamentary legislation alone. Parliament, by a mere declaration, can take over as many
industries as it thinks fit.

It is under this provision that most of the big industries, like iron, steel and coal, have been
taken over by Parliament under its jurisdiction. Similarly, while museums, public health,
agriculture etc. come under State subject, certain institutions like the National Library and
National Museum at New Delhi and the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta have been placed under
the jurisdiction of Parliament on the basis of a plea that they are financed by the Government
of India wholly or in part and declared by a law of Parliament to be institutions of national
importance.

The university is a State subject but a number of universities have been declared as Central
Universities and placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of Parliament. Elections and Audit,
even at the State level, were considered matters of national importance. The Extensive nature
of the Union List thus places enormous powers of legislation even over affairs exclusively
under the control of the States in the hands of Parliament.

(i) State List:

List II or the State List, comprises 61 items or entries over which the State Legislature has
exclusive power of legislation. The subject of local importance, where variations in law in
response to local situations may be necessary, has been included in the State List.

Some subjects of vital importance in the list are State taxes and duties, police, administration
of justice, local self-government, public health, agriculture, forests, fisheries, industries and
minerals.
But, in spite of the exclusive legislative jurisdiction over these items having been given to the
States, the Constitution, through certain reservations made in the Union List has given power
to Parliament to take some of these items under its control. Subject to these restrictions, one
might say, the States have full jurisdiction over items included in the State list.

(ii) Concurrent List:

The inclusion of List III or the Concurrent List, in the Constitution gives a particular
significance to the distribution of legislative power in the Indian federal scheme. The
Concurrent List consists of 52 items, such as criminal law and procedure, civil procedure,
marriage, contracts, port trusts, welfare of labour, economic and social planning.

These subjects are obviously such as may at some time require legislations by Parliament and
at other by a State Legislature. The provision of a Concurrent List has two distinct advantages.

In certain matters in which Parliament may not find it necessary or expedient to make laws, a
Sate can take the initiative, and if other States follow and the matter assumes national
importance, Parliament can intervene and bring about a uniform piece of legislation to cover
the entire Union Territory.
RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

Similarly, if a State finds it necessary to amplify a law enacted by Parliament on an item

included in the Concurrent List in order to make it of a greater use of its own people, it can do
so by making supplementary laws.

The items included in the Concurrent List can be broadly divided into two groups-those dealing
with general laws and legal procedure, like criminal law, criminal procedure, marriage, divorce,
property law, contracts etc, and those dealing with social welfare such as trade unions, social
security, vocational and technical training of labour, legal, medical and other professions etc.;
while the items coming under the first group are of primary importance to the Union
Government, they have been left, by convention, to Parliament. In matters of social welfare, it
is open to the State legislatures either to take the initiative in making laws orto enact laws which
are supplementary to the Parliamentary laws.

(III) Administrative Relations (Articles 256-263):

The distribution of executive powers between the Union and the States follows, in general, the
pattern of distribution of the legislative powers. The executive power of a State is treated as
coextensive with its legislative powers, which means that the executive power of a State extends
only to its territory and with respect to those subjects over which it has legislative competence.

Looking at from the point of view of the Union Government, we can say that the Indian
Constitution provides exclusive executive power to the Union over matters with respect to
which Parliament has exclusive powers to make laws, (under List I of Schedule VII) and over
the exercise of powers conferred upon it, under Article 73, by any treaty or agreement at the
international level. On the other hand, the States have exclusive executive powers over matters
included in List II.

In matters included in the Concurrent List (List III) the executive function ordinarily remains
with the States, but in case the provisions of the Constitution or any law of Parliament confer
such functions expressly upon the Union, the Union Government is empowered to go beyond
giving directions to the State executive to execute a Central law relating to a Concurrent subject
and take up the direct administration of Union law relating to any Concurrent subject.

In the result, the executive power relating to Concurrent subjects remains with the States, ex-
cept in two cases-(a) Where a law of Parliament relating to such subject vests some executive
functions specifically in the Union, e.g., the Land Acquisition Act, 1894; the Industrial Disputes
Act, 1947 [Provision to Art. 73(1)].
RAJIV GANDHI UNIVERSITY OF KNOWLEDGE TECHNOLOGIES – A.P.

Financial Relations Related to the Distribution of Revenue (Article 264-281):

Financial Relations:

All feasible sources of taxation have been listed and allocated either to the Centre or to the
States. These are as follows:

(i) There are certain items of revenue in the State List which are levied, collected and
appropriated by the States. For example, naval revenue etc.;

(ii) There are certain-items of revenue in the Union List which are levied, collected and
appropriated by the Union, e.g. Customs duties etc.;

(iii) There are certain duties levied by the Union but collected and appropriated by the States.
For example, stamp duties etc.;

(iv) There are certain taxes levied and collected by the Union but assigned to the States e.g.
succession and estate duties, taxes on railway fares and freights, etc;

(v) There are certain taxes levied and collected by the Union and distributed between the
Union and the States, e.g. excise duties etc.

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