Political Executive - Concepts - Chapter 4 Class 9 Political Science - Working of Institutions - Political Science

Political Executive

• Functionaries make daily decisions at various levels of any government , yet they do not act in the people's best interests.
  
  
• The executive is the aggregate term for all of these employees. This executive is in charge of the ‘execution’ of the policies of the government. 
  
  
•  As a result, when we refer to " the government," we typically mean the executive.

Political and Permanent Executive

• In a democratic country, two categories make up the executive.
  
  
• One that the people elect for a specific period, is called the political executive.
  Political leaders who take big decision s fall into this category.
  
  
• When people are appointed on a long-term basis, it is called Permanent executive or civil services. Persons working in civil services are called civil servants.
  They remain in office even when the ruling party changes. These officers work under the political executives and assist them in carrying out the day-to-day administration.
  
  
• In a democracy the will of the people is supreme. The minister is an elected representative of the people and thus empowered to exercise the will of the people on their behalf.
  
  
• The minister is finally answerable to the people for all the consequences of his/her decision. That is why the minister takes all the final decisions.
  
  
• The minister is not, and is not expected to be, an expert in the matters of her ministry. The minister takes the advice of experts on all technical matters and then takes the decision

Prime Ministers and Council of Ministers

• The position of prime minister is not directly elected . The Prime Minister is chosen by the President.
  
  
• The Prime Minister is chosen by the President from among the leaders of the parties that make up the majority in the Lok Sabha.
  
  
• The President picks the candidate most likely to win majority support if no single party or alliance receives a majority.
  
  
• The tenure of the p rime minister is not fixed. As long as he continues to be the head of the majority party or coalition, he remains in charge.
  
  
• Following the nomination of the Prime Minister, the President names additional ministers on the Prime Minister's recommendation. These individuals are typically from the majority party or coalition that controls the Lok Sabha.
  
  
• The Prime Minister is free to choose ministers , as long as they are members of Parliament.
  
  
• A person who is not a member of Parliament can also become a minister. But such a person has to get elected to one of the Houses of Parliament within six months of appointment as minister.
  
  
• The Council of Ministers is the official name for the body that includes all the Ministers. I t usually has 60 to 80 Ministers of different ranks as mentioned below:
  Cabinet Ministers are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in charge of the major ministries. The cabinet is the inner ring of the Council of Ministers and comprises about 25 ministers.
  
  
• Ministers of State with i ndependent charge are usually in charge of smaller Ministries. They participate in Cabinet meetings only when specially invited.
  
  
• Ministers of State are the junior ministers, who are assigned to assist cabinet ministers and the ministers of state with independent charge.
  
  
• Parliamentary democracy in most countries is often known as the Cabinet form of government because most of the decisions are taken in Cabinet meetings. Every ministry has secretaries, who are civil servants.
  
  
• The secretaries provide the necessary background information to the ministers to take decisions. The Cabinet as a team is assisted by the Cabinet Secretariat.

Powers of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister has wide-ranging powers-

1. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet meetings.
2. He coordinates the work of different Departments.
3. His decisions are final in case disagreements arise between Departments.
4. He exercises general supervision of different ministries.
5. All ministers work under his leadership.
6. The Prime Minister distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.
7. He has th e power to dismiss ministers.
8. When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.
9. Thus, if the Cabinet is the most powerful institution in India, within the cabinet it is the Prime Minister who is the most powerful.

The President

• The President is the head of the State.
  
  
• The President supervises the overall functioning of all the political institution s in India so that they operate in harmony to achieve the objectives of the State.
  
  
• The President is not elected directly by the people.
  
  
• A candidate standing for the President’s post has to get a majority of votes from Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Members of the Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) to win the election.
  
  
• All governmental activities take place in the name of the President.
  
  
• All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in the name of the President.
  
  
• All major appointments are made in the name of the President, which includes the appointment of the Chief Justice of India, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts of the states, the Governors of the states, the Election Commissioners, Ambassadors to other countries, etc.
  
  
• Al l international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President.
  
  
• The President is the supreme commander of the defense forces of India.
  
  
• The President exercises all these powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The President can only appoint the Prime Minister by his/her own will.