What is the executive?
Government has three organs: the legislature (makes laws), the executive (carries out laws and runs the administration) and the judiciary (settles disputes). The executive is not just the Prime Minister or President: it includes everyone who implements policy.
- Political executive: elected leaders such as the PM and ministers. They make broad policy and change after elections.
- Permanent executive: civil servants who run the day-to-day work and stay for many years.
Types of executive
- Presidential system (USA, Brazil): the President is both head of state and head of government, is elected directly for a fixed term, and chooses ministers who are not members of the legislature. The President cannot easily be removed by the legislature.
- Parliamentary system (India, UK, Germany, Japan): a nominal head of state (a President or monarch) and a Prime Minister who is head of government. The PM and ministers come from the legislature and stay only as long as they have its support.
- Semi-presidential system (France, Sri Lanka): a directly elected President and a Prime Minister both have real powers. The President may belong to a different party from the PM.
India chose the parliamentary system because it keeps the executive answerable to the people's representatives every day, and because Indians knew it from British times. The makers feared that a very strong single President could become a personality cult.
Parliamentary executive in India: the President
The President is the head of state. The President is elected indirectly by an electoral college of elected MPs and MLAs, for 5 years, and can be removed only by impeachment for violating the Constitution.
All executive actions are taken in the President's name, but under Article 74 the President must act on the advice of the council of ministers headed by the PM. Still, the President has some discretion (own choice):
- Can send advice back once for reconsideration (then must accept).
- Can hold a bill without any time limit (pocket veto), except money bills and constitutional amendments.
- Can choose the PM when no party or group has a clear majority.
The Vice-President (elected by MPs for 5 years) is the chair of the Rajya Sabha and acts as President if needed.
Prime Minister and council of ministers
The President appoints as Prime Minister the leader of the party or coalition that has a majority in the Lok Sabha. The PM chooses the ministers, gives them departments, and can drop them. A minister who is not an MP must become one within 6 months.
- The council of ministers can have at most 15% of the Lok Sabha's members (91st Amendment, 2003).
- The cabinet is the small group of senior ministers who take the main decisions.
- Collective responsibility: all ministers are jointly answerable to the Lok Sabha. If the Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion, the whole council must resign.
The PM's power depends on politics: a single-party majority makes the PM very strong; in a coalition the PM must consult partners. The same pattern exists in states, with a Governor and a Chief Minister.
Permanent executive: bureaucracy
The bureaucracy is the body of trained, permanent officials who carry out government policy. It should be politically neutral: it serves whichever government is elected.
- All India Services (IAS, IPS, IFS-forest) serve under state governments but are recruited by the centre.
- Central services (for example Indian Foreign Service, Income Tax) and state services.
- The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) selects central officers through an open exam; State Public Service Commissions do this for states. Reservation applies for SC, ST, OBC and EWS.
Concerns: too much red tape and delay, political pressure on officers, and distance from ordinary citizens. The Right to Information Act (2005) helps people hold officials accountable.
Try it: who does what in your town?
Pick one service near you: a school, a ration shop or a road repair. Find out (ask an adult or search the news) which minister is in charge and which officer (such as the District Collector or Block Development Officer) runs it. Write them in two columns: political executive and permanent executive. Then use the slider in the last 3D step to see what happens to the ministers if they lose the Lok Sabha's support.
Key formulas and definitions
- Executive = political executive (PM, ministers) + permanent executive (civil servants)
- Presidential: one head for state and government; Parliamentary: nominal head + PM
- President: elected indirectly by MPs and MLAs; 5-year term; removed by impeachment
- Article 74: President acts on the advice of the council of ministers
- Council of ministers โค 15% of Lok Sabha strength
- Lok Sabha majority = 272 of 543; no-confidence motion โ whole council resigns
Worked examples
1. The Lok Sabha has 543 members. What is the largest possible size of the council of ministers?
15% of 543 = 81.45, so at most 81 ministers (including the PM).
2. After an election no party has 272 seats. What role does the President play?
The President uses discretion to invite the leader most likely to win a majority (often the largest party or pre-poll alliance) and may ask them to prove it on the floor of the Lok Sabha.
3. The cabinet advises the President to sign an ordinance. The President sends it back. The cabinet sends it again unchanged. What happens?
The President must now accept it. The President can ask for reconsideration only once.
4. A minister disagrees with a cabinet decision in private. Can she criticise it in public and stay a minister?
No. Under collective responsibility she must support the decision in public or resign.
5. Name the political and permanent executive for a district police force.
Political: the state Home Minister and Chief Minister. Permanent: the IPS officer (Superintendent of Police) and police staff.
6. Why can the US President ignore a vote of the legislature that the Indian PM cannot?
The US President has a fixed term and does not depend on the legislature's confidence. The Indian PM stays only while the Lok Sabha supports the government.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the President of India has the real power. Real power is with the PM and council of ministers.
- Saying the President is elected directly by the people. It is an indirect election by MPs and MLAs.
- Mixing up cabinet and council of ministers. The cabinet is the inner, senior part of the council.
- Thinking bureaucrats change with each government. They are permanent and should be neutral.