Chapter Notes

Introduction

In any government, there are three main organs: the Legislature, the Executive, and the Judiciary. Together, they create and enforce laws, maintain order, and work for the welfare of the people. The Indian Constitution ensures these three organs work in coordination and maintain a balance of power.

In a parliamentary system like India's, the executive and the legislature are closely linked and interdependent. The legislature has control over the executive, and in turn, the executive influences the legislature. This chapter focuses on the executive branch of the Indian government, exploring its structure, functions, and the political changes that have shaped it over time.

What is an Executive?

The Executive is the branch of government responsible for implementing the laws and policies made by the legislature. Think of it as the management or administrative arm of the government.

Every organization, from a school to a large company, has a body of people who make important policy decisions and oversee day-to-day operations. In government, the executive performs this role. It is a body of persons that ensures rules and regulations are put into actual practice.

The executive is not just made up of top leaders like presidents or prime ministers. It includes two main parts:

• The Political Executive: This includes the heads of government (like the Prime Minister) and their ministers. They are responsible for overall government policy and are directly accountable to the people.
• The Permanent Executive: This refers to the bureaucracy or civil servants. These are trained, skilled officers who are permanent employees of the government. Their job is to assist the political executive in framing and implementing policies.

What are the Different Types of Executive?

Not all countries have the same type of executive. The powers of the President of the USA are very different from the powers of the President of India. This is because governments are structured in different ways. The main types are:

Presidential System

In this system, the president is both the Head of State (the ceremonial leader) and the Head of Government (the one with actual power). The office of the president is very powerful in both theory and practice.

• Examples: United States, Brazil, and most nations in Latin America.

Parliamentary System

In this system, the head of government is the Prime Minister, who holds the real executive power along with the cabinet. There is also a Head of State, who is a president or a monarch, but their role is mostly nominal and ceremonial.

• Examples: Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and Canada.

Semi-Presidential System

This system has both a president and a prime minister. Unlike in a parliamentary system, the president may have significant day-to-day powers. Sometimes the president and the prime minister belong to the same political party, but at other times they can be from different, opposing parties.

• Examples: France, Russia, Sri Lanka.

Parliamentary Executive in India

When the Indian Constitution was being written, India already had some experience with the parliamentary system under the British Acts of 1919 and 1935. This experience showed that a parliamentary system allows the people's representatives in the legislature to effectively control the executive.

The makers of the Constitution chose the parliamentary system for several key reasons:

• Accountability: They wanted a government that would be sensitive and accountable to public expectations.
• Avoiding Personality Cult: The alternative, a presidential system, places a lot of emphasis on the president as the source of all power. The framers feared this could lead to a "personality cult," where one leader becomes too powerful.
• Checks and Balances: The parliamentary system has many mechanisms to ensure the executive is answerable to the legislature.

Under this system, the President is the formal Head of State of India, while the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers run the government at the national level. At the state level, the executive consists of the Governor, the Chief Minister, and the state's Council of Ministers.

Power and position of President

The Constitution of India formally gives all executive power of the Union to the President. However, in reality, the President exercises these powers on the advice of the Council of Ministers, which is headed by the Prime Minister.

• Election: The President is elected for a five-year term. The election is indirect, meaning ordinary citizens do not vote directly. Instead, the President is elected by elected Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) and Members of Parliament (MPs).
• Removal: The President can only be removed from office by Parliament through a procedure called impeachment. This requires a special majority and can only be initiated for "violation of the Constitution."

Discretionary Powers of the President

While the President is mostly a formal head, there are three situations where he or she can use their own discretion:

1. Reconsidering Advice: The President can send advice from the Council of Ministers back for reconsideration. By asking the Council to rethink a decision, the President uses their own judgment, especially if they believe the advice has flaws or is not in the country's best interest. Although the President must accept the reconsidered advice, the initial request carries significant weight.

2. Veto Power: The President can withhold or refuse to give assent to Bills (other than Money Bills) passed by Parliament. The President can send a bill back to Parliament for reconsideration. However, if Parliament passes the bill again and sends it back, the President must give assent. The Constitution does not specify a time limit for the President to act on a bill. This allows the President to keep a bill pending indefinitely, an informal power known as the pocket veto.

3. Appointing the Prime Minister: Formally, the President appoints the Prime Minister. Usually, this is the leader of the party or coalition with a majority in the Lok Sabha. However, if no single party or coalition has a clear majority after an election, the President must use their discretion to decide who is most likely to be able to form a stable government.

Since 1989, coalition governments have become common, increasing the importance of the President's discretionary powers in appointing Prime Ministers and deciding on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.

The Vice President of India

• Election: The Vice President is elected for a five-year term. The election method is similar to the President's, but members of State legislatures do not participate.
• Functions: The Vice President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. If the office of the President becomes vacant due to death, resignation, or impeachment, the Vice President acts as President until a new one is elected.

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

The Prime Minister is the most important government functionary in India. The Council of Ministers, which holds the real executive power, is headed by the Prime Minister.

• Appointment: The Prime Minister must have the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha. The President appoints the leader of the majority party or coalition as the Prime Minister.
• Council of Ministers: The Prime Minister selects the ministers for the Council of Ministers and allocates their ranks (cabinet minister, minister of State, etc.) and portfolios (departments). All ministers, including the Prime Minister, must be members of Parliament. If a non-MP is made a minister, they must get elected to Parliament within six months.

Size of the Council of Ministers

Previously, the size of the Council of Ministers was not fixed, which sometimes led to very large councils, especially in coalition governments where ministerial positions were used to secure support. The 91st Amendment Act (2003) fixed this by stating that the total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, shall not exceed 15 percent of the total number of members in the Lok Sabha (or the state assembly).

Collective Responsibility

The most important feature of the parliamentary executive is collective responsibility.

• The entire Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
• This means that if the Lok Sabha passes a vote of no-confidence against the government (or even a single minister), the entire ministry must resign.
• It is based on the principle of cabinet solidarity. If a minister disagrees with a cabinet decision, they must either accept it or resign.

Powers and Role of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister holds a pre-eminent place in the government. Pt. Nehru described the PM as the 'linchpin of Government'. The sources of the Prime Minister's power include:

• Control over the Council of Ministers.
• Leadership of the Lok Sabha.
• Command over the government's bureaucratic machinery.
• Access to media.
• Projection as a national leader.

However, the PM's power can be affected by political conditions. When a single party has a clear majority, the PM is very powerful. In coalition governments, which have been common since 1989, the PM often has to act more as a negotiator among allies, leading to some erosion of prime ministerial authority.

Permanent Executive: Bureaucracy

The executive organ includes not just the ministers but also the vast administrative machinery known as the bureaucracy or civil service. These are trained and skilled officers who are permanent employees of the government. They assist ministers in formulating and implementing policies.

• Political Neutrality: The bureaucracy is expected to be politically neutral. It must faithfully implement the policies of the government in power, regardless of which party it is.
• Recruitment: Members of the civil services are selected impartially on the basis of merit. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is responsible for recruiting civil servants for the central government. States have their own Public Service Commissions.
• Representation: To ensure the bureaucracy is representative of all sections of society, the Constitution provides for reservations in jobs for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBC), and others.

Classification of Civil Services

• All-India Services: Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS). Officers are appointed by the central government but are assigned to a particular state. Only the central government can take disciplinary action against them, which strengthens the central government's control over the states.
• Central Services: Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Custom Service. Officers work for the central government.
• State Services: Provincial Civil Service. Officers are recruited by the state and work for the state government.

The bureaucracy is the instrument through which government policies reach the people. However, it is often criticized for being insensitive to ordinary citizens. Democratic control by elected representatives is necessary to keep the bureaucracy accountable, but too much political interference can make it an instrument in the hands of politicians.

Conclusion

The modern executive is a powerful institution. To prevent it from becoming unresponsive, the makers of the Indian Constitution chose a parliamentary executive, which is firmly under the supervision and control of the legislature. Through periodic elections, constitutional limits, and democratic politics, the system ensures that the executive remains accountable to the people.