Introduction

India is a democratic republic with a parliamentary form of government. The government at

the Central level is called ‘Union Government’ and at the State level it is known as ‘State
Government’. The Union Government has three organs – the Executive, the Legislature and
the Judiciary. The President, the Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers collectively
constitute the Union Executive.

By understanding the Union Executive's intricate dynamics, we gain a deeper appreciation for
its impact on the governance structures of nations, recognizing the delicate balance it strikes
between power and accountability. This exploration serves as a gateway to comprehending
the nuances of constitutional law and the crucial role played by the executive branch in
ensuring the effective functioning of democratic societies. As we navigate through the
various facets of the Union Executive, we embark on a journey to decode the mechanisms
that drive the engine of governance in a unionized constitutional framework.

The Union Executive authorises powers to the government to implement laws that fall under
Articles 52 to 78 of Chapter- I of Part IV. Due to Its important activities, the Union Executive
became the most significant branch of the government. The union executive of India
consists of the President, the head of the State, Vice-president and Prime Minister, and
Council of Ministers who governs the Union and Attorney General. The Indian Constitution
empowers the President’s executive authority but is not allowed to exercise it alone. The
Prime Minister supervises the Council of Ministers helps the President exercise executive
power.

The union executive of India consists of three members to set laws and govern the
administrative work within the parliament. The qualifications, as well as roles and powers of
these executive members, are mentioned below:

The President
We have already read that India is a sovereign democratic republic. The President of India
who is head of State, is indirectly elected.

Qualifications:

To be eligible for the presidency, an individual must meet two requirements: first, they must
be an Indian citizen; second, they must be at least 35 years old. iii) must be eligible to be
elected to the Lok Sabha; and (iv) the candidate must not occupy any position of profit,
meaning they cannot be employed by the government. For this purpose, however, the offices
of the Governor, the President, the Vice-President, and the Minister of the Union or the State
are not regarded as offices of profit.

Election Procedure
The elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabhas) and both Houses
of Parliament—the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha—compose the Electoral College, which
chooses the President. Members of State and Members of Parliament nominated
The Electoral College does not include Legislative Council members. A single transferable
vote system with proportional representation is used to hold the election. Voting takes place
via a secret ballot.
The elected legislators in each State's Legislative Assembly and the elected members of
Parliament were to cast their votes equally, according to the writers of the Constitution. They
came up with a method to figure out how much each member of the Legislative Assembly
and Parliament may vote.

Tenure and Removal

The President is elected for a term of five years and is eligible for re-election, though a
convention has developed that no President seeks election for the third term. However, the
first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected for two full terms. He/she may resign before
the expiry of his term, or the office of President may fall vacant due to his/her death. His term
of office commences from the date he takes the oath of office.

Removal of the President

The President can only be removed from office through a process called impeachment. The
Constitution lays down a detailed procedure for the impeachment of the President. He can
only be impeached ‘for violation of the Constitution’. The following procedure is
intentionally kept very difficult so that no President should be removed on flimsy ground.
The resolution to impeach the President can be moved in either House of Parliament. Such a
resolution can be moved only after a notice has been given by at least one-fourth of the total
number of members of the House. Such a resolution charging the President for violation of
the Constitution must be passed by a majority of not less than two-third of the total
membership of that House before it goes to the other House for investigation. The charges
levelled against the President are investigated by the second House. President has the right to
be heard or defended when the charges against him are being investigated. The President may
defend himself in person or through his counsel. If the charges are accepted by a two-third
majority of the total membership of the second House, the impeachment succeeds. The
President thus stands removed from the office from the date on which the resolution is
passed.

Legislative Powers

The Houses of Parliament are proroguing and summoned by the President. He has the
authority to call a meeting of the Parliament no less than twice a year, with a maximum six-
month interval between sessions. Even before its term ends, the President has the authority to
dissolve the Lok Sabha.

of its tenure at the Prime Minister's advice. In regular practice he/she dissolves Lok Sabha
after five years. Twelve Rajya Sabha members are nominated by the President from among
those with expertise in the arts, sciences, literature, and social services. In the event that the
Anglo-Indian community is underrepresented in the House, the President may also propose
two members to the Lok Sabha.

In the event that the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha cannot agree on a non-money bill, the
President may convene a joint meeting of the two Houses of Parliament. Such joint sessions
have been called so far three times (see Lesson no. 11). The President is authorized to speak
to Parliament and to transmit communications there. Every year at the start of the first session
and following a general election, the President addresses both Houses of Parliament jointly.
The current government's policies are contained in these addresses every law that the
legislature passes is forwarded to the president for approval. The President may approve it or
return it once so that the Parliament can review it.

The President must consent if the measure is passed once more. No bill may become law
without his or her approval. When the Parliament is not in session, the President may
promulgate an ordinance.

The aforementioned ordinance is enforceable. The aforementioned ordinance ought to be

presented to both chambers of Parliament upon their next meeting. If it is neither rejected by
the Parliament nor withdrawn by the President, it automatically lapses six weeks following
the commencement of the next session of Parliament. Usually, the government proposes a bill
to replace the ordinance with a new legislation.

Financial Powers

Only with the President's prior consent can any money bill be submitted in the Lok Sabha.
The President is in charge of the Indian Contingency Fund. She can use it to advance funds in
order to cover unforeseen costs. The annual budget as well as the railway budget are
introduced in the Lok Sabha on the proposal of the President. The government may make
additional demands if, in the middle of the fiscal year, it determines that the amount of money
needed exceeds what was originally projected in the yearly budget. Cash bills are never taken
back for review. The Finance Commission is appointed by the President every five years.
On a number of particular financial issues, most notably the division of central taxes between
the Union and the States, it offers recommendations to the President.

Judicial Powers

The President appoints the Chief Justice and other Supreme Court judges, as you have seen
above. Chief Justices and other judges of the High Courts are also appointed by the President.
Law officers under the Union Government are appointed by the President, including the
attorney general of india.

As head of state, the President has the authority to pardon, lessen, suspend, commute, or remit
the sentence of a criminal who has been found guilty by the Supreme Court or other High
Courts of violating federal laws. A guilty individual may be pardoned by the president.

through a martial court. He or she has the authority to pardon anyone, even those who have
been given the death penalty. However, the Law Ministry advises the President when it
comes to carrying out this duty.

The Vice-President
The Vice-President position is established by the Indian Constitution. Based on proportional
representation using a single transferable vote, an electoral college made up of members of
both Houses of Parliament elects the vice president of India indirectly voting procedure
Voting takes place via a secret ballot. The Vice-President is not permitted to serve in the State
Legislature or in either of the Houses of Parliament. The Vice-President must meet the
following requirements:
In addition to being an Indian citizen, he or she must be at least 35 years old, not hold a
position of profit, and be qualified to be elected to the Rajya Sabha. The Vice-President is
elected for a term of five years. He/she may resign from the office of the Vice-President even
before the expiry of five years by writing to the President. The Vice President can be
removed before five years if a resolution to this effect is passed by a majority of members of
Rajya Sabha and agreed to by the Lok Sabha.
Functions of the Vice-President

The Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha which means that whosoever is
the Vice-President, he/she presides over the Rajya Sabha and performs normal duties of a
presiding officer. These include maintenance of order in the House, allowing members to
speak and ask questions, and putting bills and motions to vote. Since the Vice-President is not
a member of the Rajya Sabha, he/she cannot vote in the House. But, in case of a tie (equality
of votes in favour and against a bill), the Vice President exercises his/her casting vote so that
a decision can be reached. If ever a vacancy arises in the office of President, due to death,
resignation or impeachment, the Vice-President officiates as the President for not more than
six months (see above). During that period, he enjoys all powers of the President, and does
not preside over the House when he officiates as President. In case the President is
temporarily unable to discharge his/her functions, the Vice-President may be called upon to
discharge his/her functions, without becoming officiating President.

Qualification

1. Citizenship: The applicant must be an Indian national.

2. Age: The applicant must be at least 35 years old.
3. Requirements: The Vice President serves as the Rajya Sabha's (Council of States) ex-
officio chairman. As a result, the candidate needs to meet the requirements to be elected to
the Rajya Sabha.

Prime Minister
The President appoints the Prime Minister, although he or she has no discretion in the choice
of Prime Minister. The majority party leader must typically be invited by the president in
order to form a government. If there isn't a clear majority for any one party, the

The individual most likely to have the backing of two or more of the majority-party parties in
the Lok Sabha is invited by the President. The Prime Minister is in office for as long as the
majority of Lok Sabha members support him or her after appointment. In the Lok Sabha, the
Prime Minister often serves as the head of the majority party. Nonetheless, there have been
instances where a Rajya Sabha member was appointed prime minister.

On the Prime Minister's recommendation, the President appoints members of the Council of
Ministers. The Prime Minister (PM) considers due representation to diverse regions of the
country, to different religious and caste groups, while choosing the ministries groups.
Members of coalition parties must have adequate representation in the Council of Ministers
under a coalition administration. The Prime Minister selects the Ministers' portfolios and has
the authority to change them at any time.

Qualifications and Appointment:

In order to be a Minister, a person has to be a member of either of the two Houses of

Parliament. Even a person who is not a member of any of the two Houses can become a
Minister for a period of six months. Within six months the Minister has to get himself/ herself
elected to either House of Parliament, failing which he/she ceases to be a Minister. All the
Ministers are collectively as well as individually responsible to the Lok Sabha.

Functions and Role:

The Union Government's most significant and potent employee is the prime minister.
The President leads the Lok Sabha and serves as the head of state. The President serves as the
President's primary advisor and is the public face and spokesperson for the nation foreign
policy. The President plays a unique role in setting national policy and providing guidance to
the government.
The Ministers who will be sworn in by the President are chosen by the Prime Minister, who is
the leader of the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister really appoints the Ministers, and
they hold their positions for as long as the Prime Minister has faith in them. The Prime
Minister assigns portfolios among Ministers. The President is free to switch around the
portfolios whenever he pleases.

The Prime Minister runs the Cabinet's business and preside over its meetings.
He or she has significant influence over the Cabinet's choices in their capacity as head. The
activity of different ministers is coordinated by the prime minister. Any disagreements
between various Ministers are settled by the President. The Prime Minister serves as the
liaison between the Cabinet and the President. The Prime Minister informs the President of
the Cabinet's choices. He is the one who informs the President of all government plans and
choices. The Prime Minister's consent is required before any Minister meets with the
President. The Prime Minister advises the President before making any significant
appointments.

The Council of Ministers and The Cabinet

The titles Council of Ministers and ‘The Cabinet’ are often used as inter-changeable terms. In
actuality, they are not. The word "Cabinet" was not referenced in the Constitution before the
44th Amendment. Let's make a distinction between the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers.
The primary distinctions are: The Ministerial Council Governmental Organization

includes Ministers of State and Cabinet Ministers, among other categories of Ministers.
Conversely, the sole members of the Cabinet are Senior Ministers. Its membership ranges
from 15 to 30, but the total number of Ministers in the Council of Ministers can exceed 70.
Seldom does the entire Council of Ministers get together. Conversely, the Cabinet convenes
as often as feasible.

Functions of the Cabinet

It has vast authority and a wide range of duties. The Prime Minister is in charge of the
Cabinet, which carries out all of the President's executive authority.
The Cabinet sets and develops the nation's foreign and internal policies. It makes all
significant decisions pertaining to national security and defense. In order to give people better
living conditions, it must also establish policies.The Cabinet is in charge of the country's
finances. The Cabinet is in charge of all government spending as well as obtaining the
necessary funding.

The President's speech to the Parliament is drafted by the Cabinet. When the Parliament is not
in session, the Cabinet is also in charge of the President's Ordinances. The meetings of the on
the recommendation of the Cabinet, which is communicated through the Prime Minister, the
President calls a meeting of Parliament. The Parliament's session agenda is created by the
Cabinet.
Conclusion

India's parliamentary form of government designates the President as the constitutional head
of state, while the real executive power is vested in the Council of Ministers, led by the Prime
Minister. The President is indirectly elected through a complex system involving an Electoral
College comprising members from both Houses of Parliament and State Legislative
Assemblies. While the President holds vast powers in legislative, executive, financial, and
judicial domains, these powers are effectively exercised by the Council of Ministers.

The President enjoys numerous privileges and immunities and serves as a guide and advisor
to the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister, appointed by the President, acts as the head
of the government and is responsible for the administration of the country. The Council of
Ministers, consisting of Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State, is appointed by the
President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister, as the leader of the nation, presides over Cabinet meetings, links the
President with the Council of Ministers, and supervises and coordinates the functioning of
different ministries. The Prime Minister holds office as long as they maintain the support of
the majority in the Lok Sabha. Important appointments are made by the President based on
the Prime Minister's recommendations.

The Council of Ministers, including both Cabinet and non-Cabinet Ministers, collectively and
individually, is accountable to the Lok Sabha. The Cabinet, a smaller group within the
Council of Ministers, formulates government policies and programs, coordinating various
departments and exercising control over national finances. A vote of no-confidence from the
Lok Sabha can lead to the removal of the Council of Ministers from office, emphasizing the
parliamentary system's accountability and responsiveness to the legislative body.