The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as theCentral Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India. It is seated in New Delhi, the capital of India.
The government comprises three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary. The executive branch headed by the President, who is the Head of State and exercises his or her power directly or through officers subordinate to him.[1] The Legislative branch or the Parliament consists of the lower house, the Lok Sabha, and the upper house, the Rajya Sabha, as well as the president. The Judicial branch has the Supreme Court at its apex, 21 High Courts, and numerous civil, criminal and family courts at the district level.
The basic civil and criminal laws governing the citizens of India are set down in major parliamentary legislation, such as the Civil Procedure Code, the Indian Penal Code, and the Criminal Procedure Code. The union and individual state governments consist of executive, legislative and judicial branches. The legal system as applicable to the federal and individual state governments is based on the English Common and Statutory Law. India accepts International Court of Justice jurisdiction with several reservations. By the 73rd and 74th amendments to the constitution, the Panchayat Rajsystem has been institutionalised for local governance.
President
Main article: President of India
The executive power is vested on mainly the President of India by Article 53(1) of the constitution. The President enjoys all constitutional powers and exercises them directly or through officers subordinate to him as per the aforesaid Article 53(1).The President is to act in accordance with aid and advise tendered by the head of government (Prime Minister of India) and his or her Council of Ministers (the cabinet) as described in Article 74 (Constitution of India).
The Constitution vests in the President of India all the executive powers of the Central Government. The President appoints the Prime Minister the person most likely to command the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha (usually the leader of the majority party or coalition). The President then appoints the other members of the Council of Ministers, distributing portfolios to them on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Council of Ministers remains in power during the 'pleasure' of the President. In practice, however, 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 own initiative, it might trigger a constitutional crisis. Thus, in practice, the Council of Ministers cannot be dismissed as long as it commands the support of a majority in the Lok Sabha.
The President is responsible for making a wide variety of appointments. These include:
- Governors of States
- The Chief Justice, other judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts of India.
- The Attorney General
- The President's Officer
- The Comptroller and Auditor General
- The Chief Election Commissioner and Cabinet Secretary
- The Chairman and other Members of the Union Public Service Commission
- Ambassadors and High Commissioners to other countries.
The President also receives the credentials of Ambassadors and High Commissioners from other countries. The President is the de jure Commander in Chief of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India can grant a pardon to or reduce the sentence of a convicted person for one time, particularly in cases involving 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.
Vice President
Main article: Vice-President of India
The Vice-President of India is the second-highest ranking government official in the executive branch of the Government of India, after the President. The Vice-President also has the legislative function of acting as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
The Vice-President acts as President in the event of death, resignation, or removal of the President until a new President is chosen by the electoral college for maximum 6 months. During this period, the Vice President shall not perform the duties of the office of the Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
Cabinet, executive departments and agencies
Judicial branch
India's independent judicial system began under the British, and its concepts and procedures resemble those of Anglo-Saxon countries. The Supreme Court of Indiaconsists of a Chief Justice and 30 associate justices, all appointed by the President on the advice of the Chief Justice of India. The jury trials were abolished in India in early 1960s, after the famous case KM Nanavati v State of Maharashtra, for reasons of being vulnerable to media and public pressure, as well as to being misled
Unlike its US counterpart, the Indian justice system consists of a unitary system at both state and federal level. The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court of India,High Courts of India at the state level, and District Courts and Sessions Courts at the district level.
National judiciary
Main article: Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India has original jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction and advisory jurisdiction. Its exclusive original jurisdiction extends to any dispute between the Government of India and one or more states, or between the Government of India and any state or states on one side and one or more states on the other, or between two or more states, if and insofar as the dispute involves any question (whether of law or of fact) on which the existence or extent of a legal right depends.
In addition, Article 32 of the Indian Constitution gives an extensive original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court in regard to enforcement of Fundamental Rights. It is empowered to issue directions, orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus,prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari to enforce them. The Supreme Court has been conferred with power to direct 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.
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) : Although the proceedings in the Supreme Court arise out of the judgments or orders made by the Subordinate Courts, of late the Supreme Court has started entertaining matters in which interest of the public at large is involved, and the Court may be moved by any individual or group of persons either by filing a Writ Petition at the Filing Counter of the Court, or by addressing a letter to Hon'ble The Chief Justice of India highlighting the question of public importance for invoking this jurisdiction.
Civil Service
Main article: Civil Services of India
The Civil Services of India is the civil service and the permanent bureaucracy of the Government of India. The executive decisions are implemented by the Indian civil servants. Civil servants are employees of the Government of India and not Parliament of India. Not all employees of the Government of India are civil servants.
In parliamentary democracy of 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 on the basis of universal adult franchise. The ministers are indirectly responsible to the people themselves. But the handful of ministers cannot be expected to deal personally with the manifold problems of modern administration. Thus the ministers lay down the policy and it is for the civil servants to carry out this policy.
Cabinet Secretary
The head of executive officers is Cabinet Secretary after President of India. The Cabinet Secretary is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. The administrative head of the Cabinet Secretariat is the Cabinet Secretary who is also the ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board, and thus the head of the Indian Administrative Service.
The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India Transaction of Business Rules, 1961 and the Government of India Allocation of Business Rules 1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/Departments of the Government by ensuring adherence to these rules. The Secretariat assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst Ministries/Departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing/adhoc Committees of Secretaries. Through this mechanism new policy initiatives are also promoted.
The Cabinet Secretariat ensures that the President of India, the Vice-President and Ministers are kept informed of the major activities of all Departments by means of a monthly summary of their activities. Management of major crisis situations in the country and coordinating activities of the various Ministries in such a situation is also one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat.
The Cabinet Secretariat has 3 wings: Civil, Military and Intelligence. The Civil wing is the main wing and provides aid, advise and assistance to the Union Cabinet. The Military wing provides secretarial assistance to the Defence Committee of the Cabinet, the Military Affairs Committee, the National Defence Council and other committees dealing with defence matters. The Intelligence wing deals with matters pertaining to the Joint Intelligence Committee of the Union Cabinet. The chief of Research and Analysis Wing R&AW also officially first reports to the Cabinet Secretary, and is officially designated Secretary R in the Cabinet Secretariat. The Cabinet Secretary is arguably India's most powerful bureaucrat and right hand of Prime Minister of India.
