TheGovernment of Indiaconstitutionally known as theUnion Governmentand also called theCentral Government,is thenational authorityof theRepublic of India,a federal republic located inSouth Asia,consisting of28 states and eight union territories.
 Emblem of the Government of India | |
| Formation | 28 August 1833 |
|---|---|
| Current constitution | Indian Constitution of 1950 |
| Country |  Republic of India |
| Website | india |
| Legislative branch | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Meeting place | Parliament House |
| Executive branch | |
| Leader | President of Indiaalong withUnion Council of Ministersheaded by thePrime Minister of India |
| Headquarters | Central Secretariat |
| Departments | Union Council of Ministers,Union Government ministries of India |
| Judicial branch | |
| Court | Supreme Court of India |
| Chief Justice | Chief Justice of India |
The government, seated inNew Delhi,has three primary branches: the legislative, the executive and the judiciary, whose powers are vested in abicameralParliament,aprime minister,and theSupreme Courtrespectively, with apresidentas head of state. Judicial appointments are made with negligible say from the executive or legislature.[citation needed]
Etymology and history
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TheGovernment of India Act 1833,passed by theBritish parliament,is the first suchact of lawwith theepithet"Government of India".[1]
Basic structure
The Government of India is modelled after theWestminster system.[2]The Union government is mainly composed of theexecutive,thelegislature,and thejudiciary,and powers are vested by theconstitutionin theprime minister,parliament,and thesupreme court,respectively. Thepresident of Indiais thehead of stateand thecommander-in-chiefof theIndian Armed Forces,while theelectedprime ministeracts as the head of the executive and is responsible for running the Union government.[3]The parliament isbicameralin nature, with theLok Sabhabeing thelower house,and theRajya Sabhatheupper house.The judiciary systematically contains an apexsupreme court,25high courts,and severaldistrict courts,all inferior to the supreme court.[4]
The basicciviland criminal laws governing the citizens of India are set down in major parliamentary legislation, such as thecivil procedure code,thepenal code,and thecriminal procedure code.[5]Similar to the Union government, individual state governments each consist of executive, legislative and judiciary branches. The legal system as applicable to the Union and individual state governments is based on theEnglish commonandStatutory Law.[6]The full name of the country is theRepublic of India.India and Bharat are equally official shortnamesfor the Republic of India in the Constitution,[7]and both names appears on legal banknotes, in treaties and in legal cases. The terms "Union government", "central government" and "bhārat sarkār"are often used officially and unofficially to refer to the government of India.[citation needed]The termNew Delhiis commonly used as ametonymfor the Union government,[8]as the seat of the central government is inNew Delhi.
Legislature
The powers of the legislature in India are exercised bythe Parliament,a bicameral legislature consisting of theRajya Sabhaand theLok Sabha.Of the two houses of parliament, the Rajya Sabha (or the 'Council of States') is considered to be theupper houseand consists of members appointed by the president andelectedby thestate and territorial legislatures.The Lok Sabha (or the 'House of the People') is considered thelower house.[9]
The parliament does not have complete control andsovereignty,as its laws are subject tojudicial reviewby theSupreme Court.[10]However, it does exercise some control over theexecutive.The members of theCouncil of Ministers,includingthe prime minister,are either chosen from parliament or elected there within six months of assuming office.[11]The council as a whole isresponsibleto the Lok Sabha.[12]The Lok Sabha is a temporary house and can be dissolved only when the party in power loses the support of the majority of the house. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent house and can never be dissolved. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected for a six-year term.[13]
Executive
Theexecutiveof government is the one that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the republican idea of theseparation of powers.[14]
President
The executive power is vested mainly in thePresident of India,as per Article 53(1) of the constitution. The president has allconstitutionalpowers and exercises them directly or through subordinate officers as per the aforesaid Article 53(1). The president is to act following aid and advice tendered by the Prime Minister, who leads the Council of Ministers as described inArticle 74 of the Constitution.
The council of ministers remains in power during the 'pleasure' of the president. However, in practice, the council of ministers must retain the support of the Lok Sabha. If a president were to dismiss the council of ministers on his or her initiative, it might trigger a constitutional crisis. Thus, in practice, the Council of Ministers cannot be dismissed as long as it holds the support of a majority in theLok Sabha.
The President is responsible for appointing many high officials in India. These high officials include thegovernorsof the 28states;thechief justice;other judges of thesupreme courtandhigh courtson the advice of other judges; theattorney general;thecomptroller and auditor general;thechief election commissionerand otherelection commissioners;the chairman and members of theUnion Public Service Commission;the officers of theAll India Services(IAS,IFoSandIPS) andCentral Civil Servicesin group 'A'; and theambassadorsandhigh commissionersto other countries on the recommendations of the Council of Ministers.[15][16]
The President, as thehead of state,also receives the credentials ofambassadorsfrom other countries, while theprime minister,ashead of government,receives credentials ofhigh commissionersfrom othermembers of the Commonwealth,in line with historical tradition.
The President is thede jurecommander-in-chiefof theIndian Armed Forces.[17]
ThePresident of Indiacan grant a pardon to or reduce the sentence of a convicted person once, particularly in cases involving the punishment of death. The decisions involving pardoning and other rights by the president are independent of the opinion of the prime minister or the Lok Sabha majority. In most other cases, however, the president exercises his or her executive powers on the advice of the prime minister.[18]Presently, the President of India isDroupadi Murmu.
Vice president
The vice president is the second-highest constitutional position in India after the president. The vice president represents the nation in the absence of thepresidentand takes charge as acting president in the incident of resignation impeachment or removal of the president. The vice president also has the legislative function of acting as the chairman of theRajya Sabha.[19]The vice president is elected indirectly by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both the houses of the parliament following the system ofproportional representationemploying thesingle transferable voteand the voting is by secret ballot conducted by theelection commission.
Prime minister
ThePrime Minister of India,as addressed in theConstitution of India,is the chief executive of the government and the leader of the majority party that holds a majority in the Lok Sabha. The prime minister leads the executive of the Government of India.
The prime minister is the senior member of the cabinet in the executive government in a parliamentary system. The prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet; allocates posts to members within the Government; is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet and is responsible for bringing a proposal of legislation. The resignation or death of the prime minister dissolves the cabinet.
The prime minister is appointed by the president to assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive.
Cabinet, ministries and agencies
TheUnion Council of Ministersincludes the prime minister,Cabinet MinistersandMinisters of State(MoS).[20]Each minister must be a member of one of the houses of the parliament. The cabinet is headed by theprime minister,and is advised by thecabinet secretary,who also acts as the head of theIndian Administrative Serviceand other civil services. Other members of the council are either union cabinet ministers, who are heads of various ministries; or ministers of state, who are junior members who report directly to one of the cabinet ministers, often overseeing a specific aspect of government; or ministers of state (independent charges), who do not report to a cabinet minister. As per article 88 of the constitution, every minister shall have the right to speak in, and to take part in the proceedings of, either house, any joint sitting of the houses, and any committee of parliament of which he may be named a member, but shallnotbe entitled to a vote in the house where he is not a member.
Secretaries
Asecretary to the Government of India,acivil servant,generally anIndian Administrative Service(IAS) officer,[21][22][23][24]is the administrative head of the ministry or department, and is the principal adviser to the minister on all matters of policy and administration within the ministry/department.[25][26]Secretaries to the Government of India rank 23rd onIndian order of precedence.[27][28][29][30]Secretaries at the higher level are assisted by one or manyadditional secretaries,who are further assisted byjoint secretaries.[26]At the middle they are assisted by directors/deputy secretaries and under secretaries.[26]At the lower level, there are section officers, assistant section officers, upper division clerks, lower division clerks and other secretarial staff.[26]
Civil services
The Civil Services of India are the civil services and the permanentbureaucracyof India. Theexecutivedecisions are implemented by the Indian civil servants.
In theparliamentary democracyof India, the ultimate responsibility for running the administration rests with the elected representatives of the people which are the ministers. These ministers are accountable to the legislatures which are also elected by the people based onuniversal adult suffrage.The ministers are indirectly responsible to the people themselves. But the handful of ministers is not expected to deal personally with the various problems of modern administration. Thus the ministers lay down the policy and it is for the civil servants to enforce it.
Cabinet secretary
The cabinet secretary (IAST:Maṃtrimaṇḍala Saciva) is the top-most executive official andsenior-most civil servantof the Government of India. The cabinet secretary is theex-officiohead of the Civil Services Board, theCabinet Secretariat,theIndian Administrative Service(IAS) and the head of all civil services under the rules of business of the government.
The cabinet secretary is generally the senior-most officer of theIndian Administrative Service.The cabinet secretary ranks 11th on theIndian order of precedence.[27][28][29][30]The cabinet secretary is under the direct charge of theprime minister.Presently, theCabinet Secretary of IndiaisRajiv Gauba,IAS.
Judiciary
India's independent union judicial system began under the British, and its concepts and procedures resemble those ofAnglo-Saxon countries.TheSupreme Court of Indiaconsists of thechief justiceand 33 associate justices, all appointed by the president on the advice of theChief Justice of India.The jury trials were abolished in India in the early 1960s, after the famous caseKM Nanavati v. the State of Maharashtra,for reasons of being vulnerable to media and public pressure, as well as to being misled.
Unlike its United States counterpart, the Indian justice system consists of a unitary system at both state and union levels. The judiciary consists of theSupreme Court of India,high courtsat the state level, anddistrict courtsandSessions Courtsat thedistrictlevel.
Supreme Court
TheSupreme Court of Indiais situated inNew Delhi,the capital region ofIndia.
The Supreme Court is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal under theConstitution of India,the highest constitutional court, with the power ofconstitutional review.Consisting of theChief Justice of Indiaand 33 sanctioned other judges, it has extensive powers in the form oforiginal,appellateandadvisory jurisdictions.[31]
As thefinal court of appealof the country, it takes up appeals primarily against verdicts of thehigh courtsof various states of the Union and other courts and tribunals. It safeguardsfundamental rightsof citizens and settles disputes between various governments in the country. As an advisory court, it hears matters which may specifically be referred to it under theconstitutionby the president. It also may take cognisance of matters on its own (or 'suo moto'), without anyone drawing its attention to them. The law declared by the supreme court becomes binding on all courts within India and also by the union and state governments.[32]PerArticle 142,it is the duty of thepresidentto enforce the decrees of the supreme court.
In addition, Article 32 of the constitution gives an extensive original jurisdiction to the supreme court concerning enforcing fundamental rights. It is empowered to issue directions, orders or writs, includingwritsin the nature ofhabeas corpus,mandamus,prohibition,quo warrantoandcertiorarito enforce them. The supreme court has been conferred with power to direct the transfer of any civil or criminal case from one state high court to another state high court, or from a Court subordinate to another state high court and the supreme court. Although the proceedings in the supreme court arise out of the judgment or orders made by the subordinate courts, of late[when?]the supreme court has started entertaining matters in which the interest of the public at large is involved. This may be done by any individual or group of persons either by filing awritpetitionat the filing counter of the court or by addressing a letter to theChief Justice of India,highlighting the question of public importance for redress. These are known aspublic interest litigations.[33]
Elections and voting
India has aquasi-federalform of government, called "union" or "central" government,[34]with elected officials at the union, state and local levels. At the national level, thehead of government,theprime minister,is appointed by thepresident of Indiafrom the party or coalition that has the majority of seats in theLok Sabha.The members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected for a term of five years byuniversal adult suffragethrough afirst-past-the-postvoting system. Members of theRajya Sabha,which represents thestates,are elected by the members of State legislative assemblies byproportional representation,except for 12 members who are nominated by the president.
India is currently the largest democracy in the world, with around 900 million eligible voters, as of 2019.[35]
State and local governments
This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(March 2021) |
In India, power is divided between the governments of the union and thestates of India,[36]the latter being ruled by thechiefs ministers.[37]The state legislature isbicameralinfive statesandunicameralin the rest.[38]The lower house is elected with a five-year term, while in the upper house one-third of the members in the house gets elected every two years with six-year terms.
Local governments function at the basic level. It is the third level of government apart from union and state governments. It consists ofpanchayatsin rural areas andmunicipalitiesin urban areas. They are elected directly or indirectly by the people.
Finance
Taxation
India has a three-tier tax structure, wherein theconstitutionempowers the union government to levyincome tax,tax on capital transactions (wealth tax,inheritance tax),sales tax,service tax, customs andexciseduties and thestate governmentsto levy sales tax on intrastate sale of goods, taxonentertainmentandprofessions,excise duties on manufacture ofalcohol,stamp dutieson transfer of property and collect land revenue (levy on land owned). Thelocal governmentsare empowered by the state government to levyproperty taxand charge users forpublic utilitieslikewater supply,sewageetc.[39]More than half of the revenues of the union and state governments come from taxes, of which 3/4 come fromdirect taxes.More than a quarter of the union government's tax revenues are shared with the state governments.[40]
The tax reforms, initiated in 1991, have sought to rationalise the tax structure and increase compliance by taking steps in the following directions:
- Reducing the rates of individual and corporate income taxes, excises, and customs and making it more progressive
- Reducing exemptions and concessions
- Simplification of laws and procedures
- Introduction ofpermanent account number(PAN) to track monetary transactions
- 21 of the 29 states introducedvalue added tax(VAT) on 1 April 2005 to replace the complex and multiple sales tax system[39][41]
The non-tax revenues of the central government come fromfiscalservices, interest receipts, public sector dividends, etc., while the non-tax revenues of the States are grants from the central government, interest receipts, dividends and income from general, economic and social services.[42]
Inter-state share in the union tax pool is decided by the recommendations of theFinance Commissionto the president.
Total tax receipts of Centre and State amount to approximately 18% of national GDP. This compares to a figure of 37–45% in the OECD.
Union budget
The Finance minister of India usually presents the annualunion budgetin theparliamenton the lastworking dayof February. However, for the F.Y. 2017–18, this tradition had been changed. Now the budget will be presented on the 1st day of February. The budget has to be passed by theLok Sabhabefore it can come into effect on 1 April, the start of India'sfiscal year.The Union budget is preceded by aneconomic surveywhich outlines the broad direction of the budget and the economic performance of the country for the outgoing financial year[43]
India's non-development revenue expenditure had increased nearly five-fold in 2003–04 since 1990–91 and more than tenfold from 1985 to 1986. Interest payments are the single largest item of expenditure and accounted for more than 40% of the total non-development expenditure in the 2003–04 budget. Defence expenditure increased fourfold during the same period and has been increasing to defend from a difficult neighbourhood and external terror threats. In 2020–21, India's defence budget stood at₹4.71 trillion(equivalent to₹5.5 trillion or US$66 billion in 2023).
Issues
Corruption
In 2009, several ministers are accused of corruption and nearly a quarter of the 543 elected members of parliament had been charged with crimes, including murder.[44]Many of the biggest scandals since 2010 have involved high-level government officials, including cabinet ministers and chief ministers, such as the2010 Commonwealth Games scam(₹700 billion(equivalent to₹1.6 trillion or US$19 billion in 2023)), theAdarsh Housing Society scam,theCoal Mining Scam(₹1.86 trillion(equivalent to₹4.2 trillion or US$50 billion in 2023)), themining scandal in Karnatakaand thecash-for-votes scandal.
See also
References
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Further reading
- Subrata K. Mitra and V. B. Singh (1999).Democracy and Social Change in India: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the National Electorate.New Delhi: Sage Publications.ISBN81-7036-809-X(India HB),ISBN0-7619-9344-4(US HB).
External links
