Indian Polity · Topic 8 of 25
Composition, powers and relationships of the central executive
The Basics
The executive is the organ of government responsible for implementing laws and policies made by the legislature. It is also involved in framing policy. It supervises administration and runs the day-to-day affairs of the state. Every government has such a body at the top, whatever its official name.
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A parliamentary system of government is one in which the government, meaning the Council of Ministers, is responsible to Parliament and can be removed by it. The executive is not separate from the legislature, as in a presidential system, but is drawn out of it, works through it, and survives only as long as it keeps its confidence. This fusion, rather than separation, is the defining feature that distinguishes a parliamentary system from a presidential one.
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A presidential system separates the executive from the legislature, unlike the fused parliamentary system. The President is elected directly by the people. The President does not need the legislature's confidence to stay in office. This contrasts with the parliamentary system, where the council of ministers must retain majority support in the lower house.
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The President of India is not elected directly by the citizens of the country. Instead, the President is elected by an electoral college. The method used is proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, with voting by secret ballot.
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The President of India is the formal head of the Union executive, and every act of the national government is carried out in his or her name, even though the real decisions are taken by the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
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The President is treated as an integral part of Parliament, even though he or she does not sit in either House. This legislative role exists so that law-making always has a formal constitutional head to summon, address and complete it through assent.
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The President of India is not just a lawmaker's signatory. The President also controls government money and appoints higher judiciary.
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The President of India holds diplomatic, military and emergency powers. These are exercised in the Union's name, usually on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
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When Parliament passes a bill, it needs the President's assent to become law. Article 111 of the Constitution governs this process. On receiving a bill, the President has three choices. These are: give assent, withhold assent, or return it for reconsideration. Return is not possible for money bills. If Parliament passes the bill again, with or without changes, the President must then give assent. This power to act on bills is called the President's veto power. It exists to prevent hasty, ill-considered, or unconstitutional legislation from becoming law.
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A bill passed by a State Legislature becomes law only after it receives assent, either from the Governor or, if reserved, from the President.
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An ordinance is a law made by the President when Parliament is not in session. Under Article 123, the President can issue an ordinance if satisfied that immediate action is necessary. An ordinance has the same force and effect as an act of Parliament. However, it is temporary in nature.
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The President's pardoning power lets the head of state forgive or soften a court's punishment. Article 72 gives the President power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment, or to suspend, remit or commute a sentence, in three kinds of cases: punishment for an offence against a Union law, punishment by a court martial, and any death sentence, no matter which law it arises from.
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The President and Governors act mostly on the advice of ministers. Personal liability for every official act would disturb smooth governance. So the Constitution shields their office from such suits.
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The Vice-President holds the second highest office in India. This rank comes just after the President in the official order of precedence. This office is modelled on the American Vice-President. Like the President, the Vice-President is elected indirectly, not directly by the people. A special electoral college elects the Vice-President.
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The Vice-President of India has two distinct jobs described in Article 64 and Article 65. One is a regular, day-to-day job of presiding over the Rajya Sabha. The other is a standby job, stepping in for the President only when needed.
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The Prime Minister is the real, functioning head of the government, while the President is only the nominal head of the State. The Constitution makes the President the de jure executive and the Prime Minister the de facto executive. Real power is exercised on the advice of the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. Article 53 vests the Executive Power of the Union in the President, not the Prime Minister. In practice, the Prime Minister actually wields this power.
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The Prime Minister is the real executive authority in India. But the formal constitutional position is more precise. The executive power of the Union is vested in the President. The President exercises this power with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers is headed by the Prime Minister. So the Prime Minister leads the government in practice. The formal power still rests with the President's office.
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The Prime Minister's work extends beyond running the Council of Ministers. It also extends beyond facing Parliament. The office carries several institutional, diplomatic and symbolic roles. These roles make the Prime Minister the real centre of the political system.
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The Council of Ministers is the real executive team that runs the government in the President's name. The Prime Minister heads this team. Two Articles of the Constitution, Article 74 and Article 75, lay down how this body is formed and how it functions. The Constitution describes the parliamentary system only in a broad and sketchy way, leaving conventions to fill the gaps.
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Responsibility is what the Council of Ministers owes for exercising the President's executive power. It must constantly answer to the elected house for its decisions.
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The Council of Ministers is not one flat group of equals. It has three tiers, differing in rank, salary, and political importance. The Constitution itself does not mention any of these ranks by name. The classification exists purely as a working convention, developed in practice, not written into any article.
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The Council of Ministers and the Cabinet are not the same thing, though people often use the terms loosely. The Council of Ministers is the wider body. It includes Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State, and Deputy Ministers. The Cabinet is a smaller body, made up only of Cabinet Ministers. So the Cabinet is a part of the Council of Ministers, not something separate from it.
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Cabinet Committees are smaller groups formed within the Cabinet. They handle specific areas of government work. This stops the full Cabinet from being burdened with every detail. The Cabinet, though smaller than the Council of Ministers, still cannot discuss every issue in depth. Committees allow division of labour and focused examination of policy.
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The Kitchen Cabinet, also called the Inner Cabinet, is an informal, extra-constitutional group of advisors. It consists of the Prime Minister's most trusted colleagues. It acts as the real centre of power behind the formal Cabinet.
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