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About Indian Ministries
India is a Democratic Republic headed by Federal parliamentary representative viz the Prime Minister. The Federal Union draws its powers from the Constitution of India which was established on the 26th Day of January 1950. The 28 states, one National Capital and 6 Union Territories are collectively called as Republic of India and is headed by Indian Government.
The three lions appearing on the Indian emblem represent the three major arms of functioning enlisted under the Constitution namely:
- the Legislative (comprising of Upper House - Rajya Sabha and the Lower House - Lok Sabha)
- The Executive (Comprising of the Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, President and the Vice-President)
- The Judiciary (all the Courts of law)
Members of Parliament and Ministries
The Parliamentary Laws are subject to review by the Judiciary and hence, parliamentary supremacy does not lie with the Parliament itself. As per the Constitution of India, the Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister must either be Members of Parliament (MPs) or be elected thereto within six months of assuming office. Both the Council of Ministers and the Prime Minister are responsible to Lower House, the Lok Sabha.
Cabinet Ministry
The Prime Minister heads the Cabinet which comprises of 35 other ministers. The Cabinet is advised by the Secretary who also heads the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The Cabinet Ministers are sub-divided into
- Heads of Ministries- Union Cabinet Ministers
- Ministers of State- directly under the Cabinet Ministers
- Ministries with Independent Charge- usually the Junior Ministers and are not placed under the Cabinet.
Council of Ministers
As per the Constitution of India, to be a Cabinet member, an individual is required to be a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.
As per the ranks and responsibilities attached, the Cabinet Ministers are categorised as follows:
- Senior Minister responsible for a Ministry is called the Union Cabinet Minister. Other than the allocated department, the said Minister may also be required to hold another position during vacancy thereof, till such vacancy is filled.
- Ministries with Independent Charge - Minister of State who is not under direct control of any of the Union Cabinet Ministries.
- Minister of State - With ultimate responsibility for a particular task in the State. He directly reports to one of the Union Cabinet Ministries. For example, Minister of State – taxation reports to the Finance Minister.
Cabinet Secretariat
In order to facilitate business in the Government Departments and the Ministries, the Cabinet Secretary is appointed who is placed on par with Central Government Ministers. The Office of Cabinet secretary is called as the Cabinet Secretariat which is responsible to co-ordinate amongst the Ministries, set-up standing committees/Adhoc Committees and enables decision making by the Government.
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