major organs of government
- Legislature, executive and judiciary are the main organs of the government
- These three organs work together for governance and contribute significantly to public welfare
- Coordination and balance is maintained among these three organs through the constitution
What is meant by executive
- Executive refers to a group of people who work to implement rules, regulations and laws.
- The executive is responsible for implementing the laws made by the legislature
under the executive
- Prime Minister, President, Ministers and Government servants (members of the civil service)
Types of executive
1. Permanent executive - bureaucracy, civil servants
2. Temporary Executive or Political Executive
- President, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers etc.
Political executive
And
Differences in the permanent executive
1. Political executive
- The provisional executive is elected for a term of 5 years
- It can also be removed before time.
- They are not proficient in their work.
2. Permanent Executive
- Bureaucracy works till retirement age
- Are competent and skilled in their work
- Being efficient and skilled, they help the political executive.
Executive in different countries
- Not all countries have the same executive. For example, the functions and powers of the President of America will be completely different from the functions and powers of the President of India.
- Similarly, the functions and powers of the Queen of Britain will be different from that of the King of Bhutan. America has a presidential system and the powers lie with the President.
- Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and the prime minister as head of government.
- In France, the President and Prime Minister are part of a semi-presidential system. The President appoints the Prime Minister and other ministers but cannot remove them from office because they are answerable to the Parliament.
How many types of executive are there?
1. Parliamentary executive
- the head of the government is the prime minister
- The leader of the majority party in the legislature is
- is accountable to the legislature
2. Semi-presidential executive
- the president is the head of the country
- the prime minister is the head of the government
- The Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers are answerable to the legislature
3. Presidential Executive
- the president is the head of the country
- the president is the head of the government
- The President is usually elected by direct election
- He is not answerable to the legislature
Parliamentary Executive in India
- By the time the Constitution of India was being written, India already had some experience in the functioning of a parliamentary system under the Acts of 1919 and 1935.
- From this experience we learnt that under the parliamentary system the executive can be effectively controlled by the people's representatives.
- The makers of the Indian Constitution wanted a government that would be sensitive and responsive to the expectations of the people of India.
- The other option was a presidential form of government instead of a parliamentary executive.
- But the presidential executive lays great emphasis on the President as the chief executive and considers him the source of all powers. There is always a danger of personality cult in the presidential executive.
- The makers of the Constitution wanted a government which would have a powerful executive but at the same time would have adequate checks on personality cult.
- There are many processes in the parliamentary system which ensure that the executive and the legislature will be accountable to and controlled by the representatives of the people.
- Therefore, the system of parliamentary executive was accepted in the Constitution at both the national and provincial levels.
- Under this system, the President is the formal head of the state in India and the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers run the government at the national level.
- The Constitution of India formally vests the executive powers of the Union in the President.
- But in reality the President exercises these powers through the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. The President is elected for 5 years. There is no direct election by the people for the post of President.
- The election of the President is indirect. This means that the President is not elected by the common citizens but by the elected MLAs and MPs. This election is held according to the proportional representation system and the principle of single transferable vote.
- Only the Parliament can remove the President from his office through the process of impeachment. Impeachment can be done only on the grounds of violation of the Constitution.
Power and position of the President
- The President is the formal head of the government.
- He formally enjoys numerous executive, legislative, legislative, and emergency powers.
- In the parliamentary system, the President actually exercises these powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
- The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers enjoy a majority in the Lok Sabha and are the real executive.
- In most cases the President has to accept the advice of the Council of Ministers.
Privileges of the President
- The President has the right to obtain information regarding all important issues and proceedings of the Council of Ministers.
- It is the duty of the Prime Minister to give all the information sought by the President.
- The President writes letters to the Prime Minister and expresses his views on the problems of the country.
- The President can return the advice of the Council of Ministers and ask it to reconsider its decision.
- The President uses his discretion in doing so. When the President feels that there is some mistake in the advice or there are some legal flaws or the decision is not in the interest of the country, he can ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider its decision.
- But the Council of Ministers can give the same advice again after reconsideration and then the President will be bound to accept it.
Power of Veto
- The President has the power of veto which allows him to delay or refuse assent to bills passed by the Parliament (except money bills).
- The President can return it to the Parliament or ask for its reconsideration.
Power of appointment
- The President appoints the Prime Minister.
- Normally the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha is appointed as the Prime Minister, but if after the election no leader gets a majority in the Lok Sabha.
- What if, despite efforts to form a coalition, two or three leaders claim that they have a majority in the Lok Sabha?
- Then the President has to decide whom to appoint as the Prime Minister. In this situation, the President has to use his privilege to decide who has the support of the majority or who can form and run the government.
Why is a President needed?
- If the ruling party does not support the government, the Council of Ministers can be removed at any time.
- At such a time, there is a need for a head of nation whose tenure is permanent and who can symbolically represent the entire country.
Vice President
- In the absence of the President, the Vice President performs all these functions.
- Vice-President of India: Elected for a term of five years in the same manner as the President.
- He is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and acts as Acting President when the office of the President becomes vacant due to his death, resignation, removal by impeachment or any other reason.
Prime Minister and Council of Ministers
- The prime minister has real power
- He is the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha
- The Prime Minister is the head of the Council of Ministers
- If the Prime Minister loses the majority, he also loses his position
- The Prime Minister decides who will be the ministers in his Council of Ministers
Qualifications for the post of Prime Minister
- must have attained the age of 25 years
- have the support of the majority
- be a citizen of India
- If at the time of becoming Prime Minister he is not a member of Parliament, he must be elected as a member of Parliament within six months
Powers of the Prime Minister
- Allocations to ministries are made by the Prime Minister
- The prime minister controls the council of ministers
- The Prime Minister coordinates between various departments
- Access to media
- Dismissal of the Council of Ministers
- Acting as a bridge between the President and the Parliament
- Travelling abroad, entering into treaties
Form of Executive in the States
- States have a governor
- Who is appointed by the President on the advice of the Centre
- States have a Chief Minister who is the leader of the majority party in the Legislative Assembly
Permanent executive - bureaucracy
- The executive organ of the government includes the Prime Minister, ministers and a huge organization of bureaucracy.
- Trained and skilled officers working as permanent employees of the government assist the ministers in formulating and implementing policies.
- In a parliamentary system, the legislature controls the administration.
- India has an efficient administrative machinery. But this machinery is politically accountable. The bureaucracy is also expected to be politically neutral.
- Today the nature of Indian bureaucracy has changed a lot, now it has become quite complex.
- It includes All India Services, Provincial Services, local government employees and technical and managerial officers of public undertakings.
- Our Constitution makers knew the importance of a non-political and professionally efficient administrative machinery.
- He wanted members of the civil service or bureaucracy to be selected on the basis of merit without any discrimination.
- The Union Public Service Commission is entrusted with the task of recruiting members of the civil services for the Government of India.
- Similar Public Service Commissions have been formed in the states as well. Members of the Public Service Commission are appointed for a fixed tenure.
- He can be suspended or removed only on the basis of an investigation by a Supreme Court judge.
- The Union Public Service Commission selects candidates for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS).
Classification of civil services
1. All India Services, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service
2. Central Services Indian Foreign Service, Indian Revenue Service
3. Provincial Services, Provincial Civil Services
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