Government of India

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The Government of the India, officially referred to as the Union Government, and commonly as Central Government, established by the Constitution of India, is a union federal republic of 28 states and 7 union territories. The basic laws of the India are set down in major parliamentary legislation, such as the India Code. The federal, union government consists of executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The legal system is based on English common and statutory law, while most state and territorial law is based on English common law. India accepts compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction, with many reservations. The branches of State Governments usually mirror the pattern followed at the national level.

Legislative branch

India's bicameral parliament (also known as the Sansad) consists of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People). The Union Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha. In India's parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature.There are 543 members in the Lok Sabha that are elected from the various states on the basis of proportional representation.There are 2 Anglo-Indian members nominated by the President.The Rajya Sabha has 250 members.

Executive branch

The executive arm consists of the President, Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament

President of India

Main article:President of India

The government exercises its broad administrative powers in the name of the President of India, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the Head of State and chief guardian of the Constitution of the Republic.

The President's true role is mainly ceremonial. He is the Supreme Commander, has the authority to dissolve Parliament and call elections, declare a state of emergency and dismiss governments in the states, but all upon the counsel of the Prime Minister and the elected government.

Historically, the President of the Republic has been a man revered by the people for his position aloof and above ordinary politics, leaving him as a source of comfort for peoples disenchanted by the ills of politics and national problems.

The President and Vice President are elected indirectly for 5-year terms by a special electoral college, composed of delegates from the Union Parliament and state legislatures.

Union Cabinet

Main article:Indian Cabinet Ministers

Real national executive power is centered in the Council of Ministers, the Union Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister of India, the head of government. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who is the designated leader of the political party or coalition commanding parliamentary majority. All Central Government decisions are nominally taken in the name of the President.

The Ministers can be of 3 types: Cabinet Minister, Minister of State (Independent Charge) and Minister of State, in the order of seniority. Cabinet Minister and M of State (Indp Charge) usually attend Cabinet meetings. Accordingly to policy issues at discussion, the Cabinet meets as the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Defence etc.

The Union Ministries

The day-to-day enforcement and administration of national laws is in the hands of the various federal Union Ministries and Departments, created by the Indian Parliament to deal with specific areas of national and international affairs. In matters delegated to the States, Ministries act in advisory and fundng capacity.

Template:Union Ministries and Departments

Independent Executive Agencies

The Constitution also provides for following independent organisations, who are answerable only to the Parliament and are not under the purview of any Ministry,

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - premier national investigative agency, analogous to the United States FBI, but limited in authority.
Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) -
Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
Election Commission of India
National Commission for Women
National Commission on Population
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
Planning Commission - The premier agency
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) - Telecom regulator.
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) - The recruitment agency for Union Government positions based on competitive exams.

Judicial branch

India's independent judicial system began under the British, and its concepts and procedures resemble those of Anglo-Saxon countries. The Supreme Court of India consists of a chief justice and 25 other justices, all appointed by the president on the advice of the Chief Justice of India. In the 1960s India moved away from using juries for most trials, finding them to be corrupt and ineffective, instead almost all trials are conducted by judges.

Unlike its US counterpart, the Indian justice system consists of a unitary system at both state and national level. The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court India, and state level High Courts and subordinate district level District and Session Courts.

National Judiciary

Main article:Supreme Court of India

The Supreme Court has original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction. Its exclusive original jurisdiction extends to any dispute between the Government of India and one or more States or between the Government of India and any State or States on one side and one or more States on the other or between two or more States, if and insofar as the dispute involves any question (whether of law or of fact) on which the existence or extent of a legal right depends.

In addition, Article 32 of the Indian Constitution gives an extensive original jurisdiction to the Supreme Court in regard to enforcement of Fundamental Rights. It is empowered to issue directions, orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari to enforce them. The Supreme Court has been conferred with power to direct transfer of any civil or criminal case from one State High Court to another State High Court or from a Court subordinate to another State High Court.

Public Interest Litigation: Although the proceedings in the Supreme Court arise out of the judgments or orders made by the Subordinate Courts, of late the Supreme Court has started entertaining matters in which interest of the public at large is involved and the Court can be moved by any individual or group of persons either by filing a Writ Petition at the Filing Counter of the Court or by addressing a letter to Hon'ble the Chief Justice of India highlighting the question of public importance for invoking this jurisdiction.

Such concept is known as Public Interest Litigation or PIL and several matters of public importance have become landmark cases. This concept is unique to the Supreme Court of India only and perhaps no other Court in the world has been exercising this extraordinary jurisdiction.

State Judiciary

Main article:High Courts of India

The High Court stands at the head of a State's judicial administration. There are 21 High Courts in the country, three having jurisdiction over more than one State. Among the Union Territories Delhi alone has a High Court of its own. Other six Union Territories come under the jurisdiction of different State High Courts. Each High Court comprises a Chief Justice and such other Judges as the President may, from time to time, appoint.

Each High Court has powers of superintendence over all subordinate courts within its jurisdiction, namely the District and Sessions courts and their lower courts. It can call for returns from such Courts, make and issue general rules and prescribe forms to regulate their practice and proceedings and determine the manner and form in which book entries and accounts shall be kept.

The District and Session Courts comprise the lowest level of courts and are trial courts of original jurisdiction, applying both federal and state laws. States are divided into districts and within each, a District and Sesions Judge is head of the judiciary. A District Judge presides over civil cases, while a Sessions Judge over criminal cases. These judges are appointed by the state governor in consultation with the state's high court. There is a hierarchy of judicial officials below the district level, many selected through competitive examination by the state's public service commissions.

Civil cases at the sub district level are filed in subdistrict or munsif courts. Lesser criminal cases are entrusted to courts of magistrates functioning under the Sessions Judge. At the village level, disputes are frequently resolved by panchayats or Lok Adalats (people's courts), appealable to the District and Sessions Court.

Note: The judicial system retains substantial legitimacy in the eyes of many Indians despite its politicization since the 1970s. In fact, as illustrated by the rise of social action litigation in the 1980s and 1990s, many Indians turn to the courts to redress grievances with other social and political institutions. It is frequently observed that Indians are highly litigious, which has contributed to a growing backlog of cases.

Indeed, the Supreme Court was reported to have more than 150,000 cases pending in 1990, the high courts had some 2 million cases pending, and the lower courts had a substantially greater backlog. Research in the early 1990s show that the backlogs at levels below the Supreme Court are the result of delays in the litigation process and the large number of decisions that are appealed, and not the result of an increase in the number of new cases filed.

**Jurisdiction and Seats of State High Courts**
Name	Year	State jurisdiction	Seat
Allahabad	1866	Uttar Pradesh	Allahabad(Bench at Lucknow)
Andhra Pradesh	1956	Andhra Pradesh	Hyderabad
Bombay	1862	Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	Bombay (Benches at Nagpur, Panaji and Aurangabad)
Calcutta	1862	West Bengal	Calcutta (Circuit Bench at Port Blair)
Chhattisgarh	2000	Chhattisgarh	Bilaspur
Delhi	1966	Delhi	Delhi
Guwahati	1948	Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland,Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh	Guwahati (Benches at Kohima, Aizwal & Imphal. Circuit Bench at Agartala & Shillong)
Gujarat	1960	Gujarat	Ahmedabad
Himachal Pradesh	1971	Himachal Pradesh	Shimla
Jammu & Kashmir	1928	Jammu & Kashmir	Srinagar & Jammu
Jharkhand	2000	Jharkhand	Ranchi
Karnataka	1884	Karnataka	Bangalore
Kerala	1958	Kerala & Lakshadweep	Ernakulam
Madhya Pradesh	1956	Madhya Pradesh	Jabalpur (Benches at Gwalior and Indore)
Madras	1862	Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry	Madras (Bench at Madurai)
Orissa	1948	Orissa	Cuttack
Patna	1916	Bihar	Patna (Bench at Ranchi)
Punjab & Haryana	1975	Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh	Chandigarh
Rajasthan	1949	Rajasthan	Jodhpur (Bench at Jaipur)
Sikkim	1975	Sikkim	Gangtok
Uttaranchal	2000	Uttaranchal	Nainital

Type of Government

The Preamble lays down the type of government that India has adopted - sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic.

Sovereign

The word sovereign means supreme or independent. India is internally and externally sovereign - externally free from the control of any foreign power and internally, it has a free government which is directly elected by the people, which makes laws which governs the people.

Socialist

The word socialist was added to the Preamble by the 42^nd ammendment act of 1976. It implies social and economic equality. By social equality, we mean that there will be no discrimination on the basis of caste, colour, creed, sex, religion, language etc. Everybody will be given equal status and opportunities. By economic equality, we mean that the government will make efforts to reduce the concentration of wealth in a few hands and provide a decent standard of living to all.

India has adopted a mixed pattern of economy and the government has framed many laws to achieve the goal of socialism like Abolition of Untouchability and Zamindari, Equal Wages Act and Child Labour Prohibition Act.

Secular

The word secular was inserted into the Preamble by the 42^nd ammendment act of 1976. It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance. India does not have any official state religion. Every person has the right to preach, practise and propogate any religion of their own choice. The government does not favour or discriminate any religion. It treats all religions with equal respect. All citizens, irrespective of their religious beliefs are equal in the eyes of law. No religious instruction is imparted in government or government - aided schools.

Democratic

India is a democratic country. People of India elect their governments at all levels (central, state and local) by a method of universal adult franchise. Every citizen of India, who is 18 years of age and above and who s not otherwise debarred by law, is entitled to vote. Every citizen enjoys this right without any discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, colour, sex, religion or education.

Republic

As opposed to a monarchy, in which the head of state is appointed on hereditary basis for a lifetime or till he abdicates from the throne, a republic is a state in which the head of state is elected, directly or indirectly for a fixed tenure. The President of India is elected by an electoral college for a term of five years.

Quasi - Federal Government

India has been called as a Union of States. Inspite of having a Federal structure, that is two sets of government, clear division of powers and an independent judiciary, there is a strong bias towards making the Central government more powerful. This is called a Centralized Federation' or a Quasi - Federal Government, that is partly federal and partly unitary.

Federal Features of the Indian Government

There are two sets of government, that is Central and State government. There is clear division of powers stated under the three lists – Union list, State list and Concurrent list. Also, there is a written Constitution which is a supreme document and an independent and impartial judiciary to solve conflicts between the Central and State governments.

Unitary Features of the Indian Government

India has adopted the idea of single citizenship. The Parliament has vast legislative powers. It can legislate on 97 subjects of the union list, 47 subjects of the concurrent list and in times of national and state emergency, it can also make laws on the 66 subjects of the state list. If there is a conflict between a union law and a state law over a subject present in the Concurrent list, the law made by the Parliament will prevail over the law made by the state legislatures.

The President of India has vast emergency powers. He can declare national, state and financial emergency. The Governor of a state acts as an agent of the President in the state. He is appointed by the President and can be recalled back by him. The Governor can advise the President to impose emergency in the state. During an emergency, the Governor varries out the administration in the name of the President. He can also reserve some bills for the President.

The state governments are dependent upon the central government for funds and grants. These are allocated by the Planning Commission and the Finance Commission which are central bodies.

The members of the All Indian Services are appointed by the Union Public Service Commission which is a central body. Though the officers are posted in the states, they continue to owe their loyalty to the government.

Parliamentary government

India has adopted a parliamentary system of governemnt which she has borrowed from the United Kingdom. It is based on the fusion of powers between the executive and the legislature.

The Parliament is supreme as it is an elected body. There is a presence of two executives - the nominal executive and the real executive. The noiminal executive, in the case of India, is the President of India. He enjoys all the powers constitutionally but exercises them only on the advice of the real executive. The real executive, that is the Prime Minister of India and the Council of Ministers, enjoy all the real powers and make all the important policy decisions.

All the members of the Council of Ministers as well as the Prime Minister have to be members of either house of the Parliament. If they are not, they must get elected within a period of six monthe time. The executive, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers are responsible to the Lok Sabha both individually as well as collectively.

Individual responsibility

Every individual minister is in charge of a specific portfolio or department. He is responsible for any act of failure in all the policies relating to his department. In case of any lapse, he himself is individually responsible to the Parliament. If a vote of no - confidence is passes against the individual minister, he has to resign. Individual responsibility can amount to collective responsibility. Therefore, the Prime Minister, in order to save his government, can ask for the resignation of such a minister.

Collective responsibility

The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers are jointly accountable to the Lok Sabha. If there is a policy failure or lapse on the part of the government, all the members of the council are jointly responsible. If a vote of no - confidence is passed against the government, tehn all the ministers headed by the Prime Minister have to resign. If there is any difference amongst the members, they must be resolved in the party meetings. In the Parliament, they must present themselves as a united group.

Welfare State

A welfare state is a state in which the government provides for a wide range of social services and carries out a large number of welfare and developmental activities; like providing education, setting up of hospitals, protection of minorities, promoting agriculture and protecting the monuments along with the performance of police functions.

The Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of the Indian Constitution reflects that India is a welfare state. Seeats are reserved for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes in government jobs, educational institutions, Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha. The government has passed a number of laws for the abolition of untouchability, Begar and Zamindari. The government has opened fair - priced shops from where certain essential commodities are sold at very reasonable prices to the poor sections of the society.