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The Legislature
India has a parliamentary form of government based on universal adult franchise. The executive authority is responsible to the elected representatives of the people in Parliament for all its decisions and actions. Sovereignty rests ultimately with the people.
Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
Rajya Sabha (Council of States): The Council of States consists of not more than 238 members, of whom the President of India nominates 12 and the rest are elected. | The Rajya Sabha is not subject to dissolution, with one-third of its members retiring at the end of every second year. The elections to the Council are indirect. The allotted quota of the representatives of each State is elected by the members of the Legislative Assembly of that State, in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote. The nominated members are persons with special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service. The Rajya Sabha is presided over by the Vice-President of India.
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Lok Sabha (House of the People)
The Lok Sabha consists of 552 members, 2 of whom may be of the Anglo-Indian community appointed by the President, if they are not adequately represented. The people of India directly elect the members of the Lok Sabha. A policy of adult franchise through a secret ballot is exercised. Recently the system of electronic voting has been introduced to enable a more economic and fair election process. Each state has a fixed number of seats allotted and each Lok Sabha seat has a clearly defined area.
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Unless dissolved sooner, the term of the House is five years from the date appointed for its first meeting. The Lok Sabha elects its own presiding officer, the Speaker.
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The Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers is headed by the Prime minister, who is the leader of the party with a majority or of a coalition. The council of ministers consists of the Cabinet Ministers, the Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers.
The Executive
The President of India is the Head of the State and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.He is elected by an electoral college composed of members of both the Houses of Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha) and the legislatures of the constituent States. |
The President holds office for five years and can be re-elected.
The President does not normally exercise any constitutional powers on his own initiative. These are exercised by the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, which is responsible to the popularly elected Parliament.
The Vice-President
The Vice-President is elected jointly by the members of both the Houses of Parliament. The person enjoying support of the majority in the Lok Sabha is appointed Prime Minister by the President. The President appoints other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister can remain in office only as long as he or she enjoys majority support in Parliament.
The Judiciary
The judiciary is independent of the executive. It is the guardian and interpreter of the Constitution. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial tribunal, standing at the apex of a single unified system for the whole country. Each State has its own High Court. A uniform code of civil and criminal laws applies to the whole country.
The States
The States have their own Legislative Assemblies and in certain cases a second chamber. All members of the Legislative Assemblies are elected by universal adult franchise. The heads of the States are called Governors. Appointed by the President, they normally exercise the same powers in the States as the President does in the Union government. As in the Central Government, each State has a Cabinet headed by the Chief Minister responsible to the elected State Legislature.
Election Commission
The electoral machinery is centralized in an independent statutory body called the Election Commission. The Commission is responsible for the 'superintendence, direction and control' of the electoral rolls for all elections to Parliament and to the State Legislatures and also for conducting the elections.
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