Indian polity 4

COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

Conditions of service

• It is composed of all Union Ministers – the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers
• The council is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister
• A Minister must be a member of either House of Parliament, or be elected within 6 months of assuming office

Collective Responsibility

• The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha
• A vote of no confidence even against a single Minister means the entire Council must resign
• Each Minister is also responsible for his department and can be removed from office by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister

Functions of the Council of Ministers

• Formulates policies of the country on the basis of which administration is carried out
• Introduces all important Bills in Parliament and oversees their passage
• Presents the Budget to the Parliament
• Determines foreign policy
• Approves international agreements and treaties
• Render advice to the President regarding proclamation of war or emergency

CATEGORIES OF MINISTERS

• Cabinet Minister
  • Senior minister in charge of a particular Ministry
  • May hold additional charges of other Ministries (if no other Cabinet Minister is appointed)
  • Cabinet Ministers must belong to either House of Parliament
  • Currently there are 33 Cabinet Ministers
• Minister of State (Independent Charge)
  • In charge of a particular portfolio
  • Is not under the oversight of a Cabinet Minister
  • Currently there are 7 MoS with independent charge
• Minister of State
  • A minister with a specific responsibility in a particular Ministry
  • Reports to the concerned Cabinet Minister
  • Currently there are 38 MoS

THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA

Overview

• The Prime Minister is the head of government and the head of the Council of Ministers
• The PM is responsible for the discharge of functions and powers of the President
• The PM must be a member of either House of Parliament, or be elected within 6 months of taking office

ELECTION TO OFFICE

Appointment

• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President on the basis of his being the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha
• If no party gets an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha or a PM resigns or dies, the President can use his own discretion in the choice of a Prime Minister
• If the person the President so appoints is not a member of the Lok Sabha, he must get himself elected within a period of 6 months

Conditions of service

• The Prime Minister serves in office for 5 years
• He can be re-appointed
• When the Lok Sabha is dissolved, he can continue in office upon the request of the President
• If the government is defeated in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister and entire cabinet must resign
• However, if defeated in the Rajya Sabha, resignation is not obligatory

FUNCTIONS OF THE PRIME MINISTER

1. Legislative functions
   1. He is the leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha
   2. The President convenes and prorogues sessions of Parliament in consultation with the PM
   3. Can recommend dissolution of the Lok Sabha to the President
   4. All members of the Cabinet are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the PM
2. Administrative functions
   1. Acts as the chief channel of communication between the President and the Council of Ministers
   2. Allocates portfolios among various ministers and shuffles them
   3. Presides over meetings of the Council of Ministers
   4. Supervises the working of other Ministers
3. Executive functions
   1. Represents the country internationally
   2. Acts as the ex-officio Chairman of the Planning Commission
   3. Has exclusive jurisdiction over the disposal of the PM’s National Relief Fund and the PM’s National Defence Fund
4. Advisory functions
   1. Assists the President in the appointment of all high officials
   2. Recommends to the President proclamation of emergency
   3. Advices the President on the imposition of President’s Rule

LIST OF PRIME MINISTERS OF INDIA 

No.	Prime Minister	Date	Notes
1	Jawaharlal Nehru	1947 – 1964	First Prime Minister First to die in office Longest tenure
2	Guzari Lal Nanda	May 1964 – Jun 1964	First and only “acting” PM
3	Lal Bahadur Shastri	Jun 1964 – Jan 1966	First PM to die abroad during official tour
4	Guzari Lal Nanda	Jan 1966 – Jan 1966
5	Indira Gandhi	Jan 1966 – Mar 1967	First woman PM First PM to lose an election
6	Moraji Desai	Mar 1977 – Jul 1979	Oldest to become PM (81 years) First to resign from office
7	Charan Singh	Jul 1979 – Jan 1980	Only PM that did not face Parliament
8	Indira Gandhi	Jan 1980 – Oct 1984	First PM to be assassinated
9	Rajiv Gandhi	Oct 1984 – Dec 1989	Youngest to become PM (40 years)
10	VP Singh	Dec 1989 – Nov 1990	First PM to resign after vote of no confidence
11	Chandra Shekar	Nov 1990 – Jun 1991
12	Narasimha Rao	Jun 1991 – May 1996
13	AB Vajpayee	May 1996 – Jun 1996	Shortest tenure (13 days)
14	Deve Gowda	Jun 1996 – Apr 1997
15	IK Gujral	Apr 1997 – Mar 1998
16	AB Vajpayee	Mar 1998 – May 2004
17	Manmohan Singh	May 2004 – Present

THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

• It is not a constitutional post
• Does not carry any specific powers
• Can chair meetings of the Cabinet in the absence of the PM, and take on the responsibility of the PM in case of the latter’s death
• India has had 7 Deputy Prime Ministers
• Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the first Deputy PM. He was also the Home Minister concurrently
• The current government does not have a Deputy PM

Indian polity 3

THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA

ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT

Qualifications of the President

• Must be a citizen of India
  
• Must be 35 years or older
  
• Must be qualified to be a member of the Lok Sabha, but should not be a member
  
• Must not hold an office of profit under the Central or State or local governments
  
• The name of the candidate must be proposed and seconded by at least 50 electors
  

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, Indian polity

Conditions of service

• Holds office for 5 years
  
• Is elected indirectly by an electoral college consisting of
  
  • Elected members of both Houses of Parliament
    
  • Elected members of State Assemblies in accordance with proportional representation
    
  • The value of the vote of an MLA differs from state to state in order to give equality of representation
    
• Eligible for immediate re-election
  
• Resignation must be addressed to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha
• Oath of affirmation is administered by the Chief Justice of India. In the CJI’s absence, the senior most available judge of the SC administers the oath.
  
• The President can be impeached for violation of the constitution. Impeachment can be initiated by either House of Parliament. Requires a 2/3^rd majority to pass.
  
• If the office of the President falls vacant, the Vice President takes over. If the VP is not available, the CJI acts as President. If he is also not available, the senior most available judge of the SC acts as President. The acting President enjoys all powers of a regular President
• Fresh elections to the office of President must be held within 6 months of vacancy
  
• All election disputes are decided by the Supreme Court
  

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, Indian polity

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

1. Administrative powers
   1. All executive actions of the Union Government are carried out under the name of the President
   2. Appoints senior officials like the Prime Minister, CJI, CAG, AG etc
   3. Directly controls the administration of the Union Territories
2. Legislative Powers
   1. Nominates 12 distinguished public figures to the Rajya Sabha and 2 Anglo-Indians to the Lok Sabha
   2. Can summon and prorogue sessions of both Houses
   3. Can dissolve the Lok Sabha (but not the Rajya Sabha)
   4. All bills must receive the President’s assent before they become law
   5. Enjoys suspensive veto power that can be applied to non-money bills. No veto power on Constitutional Amendment Bills
   6. Can enact ordinances on Union and Concurrent List subjects. Can issue ordinances on State subjects, only if the state is under President’s Rule
3. Financial Powers
   1. All money bills can originate in the Lok Sabha only on the recommendation of the President
   2. Controls the Contingency Fund of India
   3. Appoints a Finance Commission every 5 years to recommend tax distribution between the Union and states
4. Judicial Powers
   1. Can pardon or reprieve the sentence of anyone punished under Union law
   2. Appoints the Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts
5. Emergency Powers
   1. Can proclaim emergency after getting the recommendation of the Cabinet in writing
6. Military Powers
   1. Appoints the Chiefs of the Army, Navy and Air Force
   2. Enjoys the power to declare war and peace
7. Diplomatic Powers
   1. Appoints Ambassadors to foreign countries and receives their diplomats
   2. All international treaties are concluded on behalf of the President. However, these are subject to ratification by Parliament
8. President’s Rule
   1. Can declare President’s Rule either on the advice of the Governor or on self discretion
   2. Such a proclamation must be laid down before Parliament within two months
   3. Cannot remain in force for more than one year
   4. The concerned State Assembly can be dissolved or suspended
9. Discretionary Powers: The President almost always acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers except under the following circumstances
   
   1. Appointment of a Prime Minister from among contenders when no single party has a majority in the Lok Sabha
   2. A Council of Ministers is voted out/resigns and recommends dissolution of the Lok Sabha
   3. While exercising a pocket veto
   4. Disqualifying members of the Legislature
   5. Return the advice of the Council of Ministers once for reconsideration
   6. Return a Bill passed by the Parliament once for reconsideration

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, Indian polity

PRESIDENT’S RULE IN INDIA

• First imposed on Kerala, June 1951. In effect till April 1952
• Longest duration of President’s Rule was in Punjab May 1987 – Feb 1992
• Imposed maximum number of times on Kerala and Punjab (9 times each)
• Minimum number of times on Maharashtra, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh
• Shortest duration of imposition was on Karnataka. Imposed for 7 days in Oct 1990

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, Indian polity

THE PRESIDENT’S OF INDIA

President	Tenure	Notes
Dr. Rajendra Prasad	Jun 1950 – May 1952	First President Longest tenure
Dr. S. Radhakrishnan	May 1962 – May 1967
Dr. Zakir Hussian	May 1967 – May 1969	Shortest tenure Died in office
V.V. Giri (Acting)	May 1969 – July 1969	First Acting President
Justice M Hidayatullah	July 1969 – Aug 1969	Second Acting President
V.V. Giri	Aug 1969 – Aug 1974
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed	Aug 1974 – Feb 1977	Died in office
B. D. Jatti (acting)	Feb 1977 – July 1977
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy	July 1982 – July 1987	Youngest President (64 years) Elected unopposed
Giani Zail Singh	July 1982 – July 1987
R. Venkataraman	July 1987 – July 1992	Oldest President (76 years)
Dr. S.D. Sharma	July 1992 – July 1997
K.R. Narayanan	July 1997 – July 2002
Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam	July 2002 – July 2007
Pratibha Patil	July 2007 – present	First female President

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, Indian polity

THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF INDIA

Election of the Vice-President

• Is elected by all members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with proportional representation
• The name of the candidate must be proposed and seconded by at least 25 members
• All election disputes are decided by the Supreme Court
• Holds office for 5 years. Is eligible for re-election
• Oath of office administered by the President

Keywords: ias, study material, general studies, Indian polity

Powers and functions of the Vice-President

• Is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, but is not a member of the same
• Has no right to vote except in a tie
• All bills, resolutions, motions and questions in the Rajya Sabha can be taken up only with the consent of the VP
• Acts as the chief spokesperson of the Rajya Sabha
• Functions as Acting President if required. Can do so for a maximum of 6 months, and then a new President must be elected
• Does not automatically become President in the absence of the President (unlike the USA)