1.
Republic of India
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India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
Republic of India
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Flag
Republic of India
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The granite
tower of
Brihadeeswarar Temple in
Thanjavur was completed in 1010 CE by
Raja Raja Chola I.
Republic of India
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Writing the will and testament of the Mughal king court in Persian, 1590–1595
2.
Government of India
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It is located in New Delhi, the capital of India. There is a bicameral Parliament with the Lok Sabha as a lower house, the judicial branch systematically contains an apex Supreme Court,24 high courts, and several district courts, all inferior to the Supreme Court. Similar to the government, individual state governments each consist of executive, legislative. The legal system as applicable to the federal and individual state governments is based on the English Common, the full name of the country is the Republic of India. No other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name appears on legal banknotes, in treaties. The Union Government, Central Government or Government of India are often used in an official and unofficial capacity to refer to the Government of India, because the seat of government is in New Delhi, New Delhi is commonly used as a metonym for the Central Government. Legislative branch in India is exercised by the Parliament and a legislature consisting of the Rajya Sabha. The latter is considered the house or the House of the people. The Parliament does not have control and sovereignty, as its laws are subject to judicial review by the Supreme Court of India. However, it does exercise some control over the executive branch, the members of the cabinet, including the prime minister and the Council of Ministers, are either chosen from parliament or elected there to within six months of assuming office. The cabinet as a whole is responsible to the Lok Sabha, the Lok Sabha is a temporary house and can only be dissolved when the party in power loses the support of the majority of the house. Whereas the Rajya Sabha is a permanent house which can never be dissolved though the members of the Rajya Sabha who are elected for a six-year term, the Executive Branch of government is the one that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers. The executive power is vested mainly in the President of India, the President has all constitutional powers and exercises them directly or through officers subordinate to him as per the aforesaid Article 53. The President is to act in accordance with aid and advice tendered by the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers remains in power during the pleasure of the President. However, in practice, the Council of Ministers must retain the support of the Lok Sabha, if a President were to dismiss the Council of Ministers on his or her own initiative, it might trigger a constitutional crisis. Thus, in practice, the Council of Ministers cannot be dismissed as long as it holds the support of a majority in the Lok Sabha, the President is responsible for making a wide variety of appointments. His/Her work is to facilitate smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments of the Government, the President is de jure the Commander in Chief of the Indian Armed Forces
Government of India
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The
Parliament of India in the background.
Government of India
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The
Rashtrapati Bhawan, residence of the
President of India.
Government of India
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The
Red Fort in
New Delhi. The
Prime Minister of India addresses the nation on the occasion of
Independence Day, from the
ramparts of this fort.
Government of India
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The
Cabinet Secretariat of India.
3.
Constitution of India
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The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It is the longest written constitution of any country in the world. The nation is governed by it, B. R. Ambedkar is regarded as its chief architect. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, with its adoption, the Union of India became the modern and contemporary Republic of India replacing the Government of India Act,1935 as the countrys fundamental governing document. To ensure constitutional autochthony, the framers of the repealed the prior Acts of the British Parliament via Article 395 of the constitution. India celebrates its coming into force on 26 January each year and it declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty, and endeavours to promote fraternity among them. The major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1857 to 1947, when the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, it repealed the Indian Independence Act. India ceased to be a dominion of the British Crown and became a democratic republic. The date of 26 January was chosen to commemorate the Purna Swaraj declaration of independence of 1930. Articles 5,6,7,8,9,60,324,366,367,379,380,388,391,392,393 and 394 of the Constitution came into force on 26 November 1949 and it is drawn from many sources. Keeping in mind the needs and conditions of India its framers borrowed different features freely from previous legislation viz and it was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected by elected members of the provincial assemblies. The 389 member Constituent Assembly took almost three years to complete its task of drafting the Constitution for independent India, during which. Of these,114 days were spent on the consideration of the draft Constitution, on 29 August 1947, the Constituent Assembly set up a Drafting Committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar to prepare a draft Constitution for India, while deliberating upon the draft Constitution, the assembly moved, discussed and disposed of as many as 2,473 amendments out of a total of 7,635 tabled. Ambedkar, Sanjay Phakey, Jawaharlal Nehru, C, there were more than 30 members of the scheduled classes. Frank Anthony represented the Anglo-Indian community, and the Parsis were represented by H. P. Modi, the Chairman of the Minorities Committee was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee, a distinguished Christian who represented all Christians other than Anglo-Indians. Ari Bahadur Gurung represented the Gorkha Community, prominent jurists like Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer, Benegal Narsing Rau and K. M. Munshi, Ganesh Mavlankar were also members of the Assembly. Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, the first temporary 2-day president of the Constituent Assembly was Dr Sachchidananda Sinha
Constitution of India
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The original text of the
Preamble and artwork of Beohar Rammanohar Sinha, before the
42nd Amendment of the Constitution
Constitution of India
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Jawaharlal Nehru signing the Constitution
Constitution of India
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Dr.
Ambedkar is hailed as the prime architect of the Indian Constitution
4.
Fundamental Rights in India
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Fundamental Rights is a charter of rights contained in Part III of Constitution of India. It guarantees civil liberties such that all Indians can lead their lives in peace, violation of these rights result in punishments as prescribed in the Indian Penal Code or other special laws, subject to discretion of the judiciary. The Fundamental Rights are defined as basic human freedoms that every Indian citizen has the right to enjoy for a proper and these rights universally apply to all citizens, irrespective of race, place of birth, religion, caste or gender. Aliens are also considered in matters like equality before law and they are enforceable by the courts, subject to certain restrictions. The Rights have their origins in many sources, including Englands Bill of Rights, Right to equality is provided from Article 14 to Article 18 of Indian constitution. Right to freedom is provided from Article 19 to 22 of constitution, Right against exploitation, Which prohibits all forms of forced labour, child labour and traffic of human beings. It is provided under Articles 23 and 24 of Indian constitution, Article 25 to 28 enumerates the right to freedom of religion. Article 29 and Article 30 of Indian constitution provides for cultural and educational rights, Right to constitutional remedies, Which is present for enforcement of Fundamental Rights. It is provided under Article 32 of Indian constitution, Fundamental rights for Indians have also been aimed at overturning the inequalities of pre-independence social practices. Specifically, they have also used to abolish untouchability and thus prohibit discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex. They also forbid trafficking of human beings and forced labour and they also protect cultural and educational rights of ethnic and religious minorities by allowing them to preserve their languages and also establish and administer their own education institutions. They are covered in Part III of Indian constitution, the public opposition to this act eventually led to mass campaigns of non-violent civil disobedience throughout the country demanding guaranteed civil freedoms, and limitations on government power. Indians, who were seeking independence and their own government, were influenced by the independence of Ireland. Task of developing a constitution for the nation was undertaken by the Constituent Assembly of India, the Constituent Assembly first met on December 9,1946 under the presidency of Dr. Sachidanand later Dr. Rajendra Prasad was made its President. While members of Congress composed of a majority, Congress leaders appointed persons from diverse political backgrounds to responsibilities of developing the constitution. The fundamental rights were included in the First Draft Constitution, the Second Draft Constitution and final Third Draft Constitution, the fundamental rights were included in the constitution because they were considered essential for the development of the personality of every individual and to preserve human dignity. The writers of the constitution regarded democracy of no avail if civil liberties, like freedom of speech and religion were not recognised and protected by the State. According to them, democracy is, in essence, a government by opinion and therefore, for this purpose, the constitution guaranteed to all the citizens of India the freedom of speech and expression and various other freedoms in the form of the fundamental rights
Fundamental Rights in India
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Child labour and
Begar is prohibited under Right against exploitation.
5.
President of India
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The President of the Republic of India is the Head of State of India and the Commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. The oath of the President is taken in the presence of the Chief Justice of India, the President resides in an estate known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan situated in Raisina Hill in New Delhi. The presidential retreats are The Retreat in Chharabra, Shimla and Rashtrapati Nilayam in Hyderabad, the 13th and current President is Pranab Mukherjee, who was elected on 22 July 2012, and sworn in on 25 July 2012. He is also the first Bengali to be elected as President, India achieved independence from the British on 15 August 1947, initially as a Dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations with George VI as king, represented in the country by a governor-general. Still, following this, the Constituent Assembly of India, under the leadership of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Constitution of India was eventually enacted on 26 November 1949 and came into force on 26 January 1950, making India a republic. The offices of monarch and governor-general were replaced by the new office of President of India, the constitution of the Republic of India gave the President the responsibility and authority to defend and protect the constitution of India and its rule of law. Invariably, any action taken by the executive or legislature entities of the constitution shall become law only after Presidents assent, the president shall not accept any actions of the executive or legislature which are unconstitutional. The president is the foremost, most empowered and prompt defender of the constitution, the primary duty of the President is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India as made part of his oath. The President is the head of all independent constitutional entities. All his actions, recommendations and supervisory powers over the executive and legislative entities of India shall be used in accordance to uphold the constitution, there is no bar on the actions of the President to contest in the court of law. Legislative power is vested by the Parliament of India of which the president is the head. The President of the Republic summons both the Houses of the Parliament and prorogues them and he can dissolve the Lok Sabha. The President inaugurates Parliament by addressing it after the general elections, the Presidential address on these occasions is generally meant to outline the new policies of the government. All bills passed by the Parliament can become laws only after receiving the assent of the President per Article 111, after a bill is presented to him, the President shall declare either that he assents to the Bill, or that he withholds his assent from it. As a third option, he can return a bill to Parliament, if it is not a money bill, when, after reconsideration, the bill is passed accordingly and presented to the President, with or without amendments, the President cannot withhold his assent from it. Article 143 gave power to the president to consult the Supreme Court about the validity of any issue. These are in the nature of interim or temporary legislation and their continuance is subject to parliamentary approval, ordinances remain valid for no more than six weeks from the date the Parliament is convened unless approved by it earlier. Re-promulgation of ordinances after failing to get approval within stipulated time of the houses of parliament is unconstitutional act by the President
President of India
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Incumbent
Pranab Mukherjee since 25 July 2012
President of India
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Presidential Standard of India (1950-1971)
President of India
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Rashtrapati Bhavan, official residence of the President, located at New Delhi.
President of India
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Rashtrapati Nilayam is the official retreat of the President located in Hyderabad.
6.
Vice-President of India
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The Vice-President of India is the second-highest constitutional office in India, after the President. Article 63 of Indian Constitution states that there shall be a Vice-President of India, the Vice-President acts as President in the absence of the President due to death, resignation, impeachment, or other situations. The Vice-President of India is also ex officio Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, when a bill is introduced in Rajya Sabha, vice-president decides whether it is a financial bill or not. If he is of the opinion, a bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is a money bill, Article 66 of the Indian Constitution states the manner of election of the Vice-President. The current Vice-President is Mohammad Hamid Ansari, since 11 August 2007 and this difference is because the Vice-President is to act as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The Vice-President is elected indirectly, by a college consisting of members of both houses of the Parliament. The nomination of a candidate for election to the office of the Vice-President must be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and 20 electors as seconders, every candidate has to make a security deposit of Rs.15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India. The Election Commission of India, which is an autonomous body. The election is to be no later than 60 days of the expiry of the term of office of the outgoing Vice-President. A Returning Officer is appointed for the election, usually the Secretary-General of either House of the Parliament, the Returning Officer issues a public notice of the intended election, inviting nomination of candidates. The nomination papers are scrutinized by the Returning Officer, and the names of all candidates are added to the ballot. The election is proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote by secret ballot, voters stack-rank the candidates, assigning 1 to their first preference,2 to their second preference, and so on. The number of votes required by a candidate to secure the election is calculated by dividing the number of votes by two, and adding one to the quotient by disregarding any remainder. If no candidate obtains the required number of votes, the candidate with the least number of first-preference votes is eliminated. The process is repeated until a candidate obtains the requisite number of votes, nominated members can also participate in the election. After the election has been held and the votes counted, the Returning Officer declares the result of the election to the electoral college, the Vice-President may resign his office by submitting his resignation to the President. The resignation becomes effective from the day it is accepted, all disputes arising in connection with the election of the Vice-President are petitioned to the Supreme Court of India, which inquires into the matter. The petition is heard by a bench of the Supreme Court
Vice-President of India
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Incumbent
Mohammad Hamid Ansari since 11 August 2007
7.
Prime Minister of India
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The Prime Minister of India is the Head of Government and leader of the executive branch of the Government of India. The Prime Minister is also the adviser to the President of India. He or she can be a member of any of the two houses of Parliament, but has to be the leader of the party, having a majority in the Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister is the member of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The Prime Minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, allocates posts to members within the Government, is the presiding member and chairman of the cabinet. The federal or union cabinet headed by the Prime Minister is appointed by the President of India to assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive, Union cabinet is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha as per Article 75. The Prime Minister shall always enjoy the confidence of Lok Sabha, India follows a parliamentary system in which the prime minister is the presiding, actual head of the government and chief of the executive branch. In such systems, the head of state or the head of states official representative usually holds a ceremonial position. The Prime Minister shall become a member of parliament within six months of beginning his/her tenure, he/She is expected to work with other central ministers to ensure the passage of bills by the Parliament. There shall be a Council of Ministers with the minister at the head to aid and advise the president who shall, in the exercise of his functions. The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. Like most parliamentary democracies, a Presidents duties are mostly ceremonial as long as the constitution and the rule of law is obeyed by the Union Cabinet, the Prime Minister of India is the head of union government and has the responsibility for executive power. The prime minister leads the functioning and exercise of authority of the government of India. President of India invites a person who is commanding support of majority members of Lok Sabha to form government at the federal level, in practice the prime minister nominates the members of their Council of Ministers to the president. They also work upon to decide a core group of Ministers as in-charge of the important functions, some specific ministries/department are not allocated to anyone in the cabinet but the prime minister himself. Per Article 78 of the constitution, the communication between the union cabinet and the president are through the prime minister. Other wise constitution recognises the prime minister as a member of the cabinet only outside the sphere of union cabinet. Be a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha
Prime Minister of India
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Incumbent
Narendra Modi
Prime Minister of India
8.
Union Council of Ministers of India
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The Union Council of Ministers or federal cabinet exercises executive authority in the Republic of India. It consists of ministers, called Cabinet Ministers, junior ministers, called Ministers of State. It is led by the Prime Minister, a smaller executive body, called the Union Cabinet is the decision-making body in India. Only the Prime Minister and ministers of the rank of Cabinet Minister are members of Union Cabinet per Article 352, per Article 75, the Council of Ministers is responsible collectively to the lower house of the Indian Parliament, called the Lok Sabha. When a bill introduced by a minister in the Lok sabha is not approved by it, entire council of ministers is responsible, the council of ministers upon losing confidence of Lok Sabha shall resign to facilitate new government formation. A minister shall not take any decision with out being considered by the council of ministers per Article 78, all union cabinet members shall submit in writing to the President to propose proclamation of emergency by the president per Article 352. According to the Constitution of India, the number of ministers in the Council of Ministers must not exceed 15% of the total number of members of the House of the People. Ministers must be members of parliament, any minister who is not a member of either the lower or upper houses of parliament for six consecutive months is automatically stripped off his or her ministerial post. Upon self resignation Upon dismissal by the President for ministers unconstitutional acts per Article 75, upon direction from the Judiciary for committing violation of law. Upon ceasing eligibility to be a member of Parliament and it is nowhere stated in the constitution, a minister can be removed by the Prime Minister at his will. Every state in India is governed by its council of ministers with rules, there is no concept of cabinet rank minister in the council of ministers. As a collective, each successive Council of Ministers is referred to as a cabinet, the current cabinet is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took office on 26 May 2014. Politics of India National Democratic Alliance Council of Ministers of Narendra Modi Template, Modi ministry Union Council of Ministers at the National Portal of India
Union Council of Ministers of India
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Republic of India
9.
Cabinet Secretary of India
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The Cabinet Secretary is a post and a rank in the Government of India. Cabinet Secretary is the top most executive official and senior-most civil servant in India, the Cabinet Secretary is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. Though there is no fixed tenure, the tenure of the Cabinet Secretary has been less than 3 years. His or her tenure however, can be extended. He doesnt belong to any particular ministry, during British colonial rule in India, the agency that carried out governmental business was called the Governor-General-in Council. In 1946, the Council was renamed the Cabinet Secretariat, after Independence in 1947, the functions of the Secretariat underwent major changes. A series of committees on economic, defence and intelligence matters were constituted under the Cabinet Secretariat, most of the departments created after Independence functioned under the Cabinet Secretariat, and were later on shifted to the respective ministries. The subjects allotted to this Secretariat are, firstly, secretarial assistance to Cabinet and Cabinet Committees, and secondly, through this mechanism new policy initiatives are also promoted. Management of major crisis situations in the country and coordinating activities of the various Ministries in such a situation is one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat. The Cabinet Secretariat has 3 wings, Civil, Military and Intelligence, the Civil wing is the main wing and provides aid, advice and assistance to the Union Cabinet. The Military wing is represented by Major General who is designated as Joint Secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, the Intelligence wing deals with matters pertaining to the Joint Intelligence Committee of the Union Cabinet. The chief of Research and Analysis Wing R&AW also officially first reports to the Cabinet Secretary, the Cabinet Secretary is arguably Indias most powerful bureaucrat and right hand of Prime Minister of India
Cabinet Secretary of India
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The
Cabinet Secretariat of India is official office of Cabinet Secretary of India.
10.
Civil Services of India
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The Civil Services refer to the civil services, the permanent executive branch of the Republic of India. The civil service system is the backbone of the machinery of the country. In the parliamentary democracy of India, the responsibility for running the administration rests with the elected representatives of the people which are the ministers. But the handful of ministers cannot be expected to deal personally with the problems of modern administration. Thus the ministers lay down the policy and it is for the servants to carry out this policy. The executive decisions are implemented by the Indian civil servants, the members of civil service serve at the pleasure of the President of India and Article 311 of the constitution protects them from politically motivated or vindictive action. Civil servants are employees of the Government of India, however, Civil servants in a personal capacity are paid from the Civil List. Senior civil servants may be called to account by Parliament, as of year 2010, there are total 6.4 million government employees in India, and less than 50,000 civil servants to administer them. The civil service system in India is rank-based and does not follow the tenets of the civil services. In 2015, the Government of India approved the formation of Indian Skill Development Service, further, in 2016, the Government of India approved the formation of Indian Enterprise Development Service. Lord Warren Hastings laid the foundations of civil service and Charles Cornwallis reformed, modernised and rationalised it, hence, Charles Cornwallis is known as the Father of Civil Service in India. He introduced Covenanted Civil Services and Uncovenanted Civil Services, the present civil services of India is mainly based on the pattern of the former Indian Civil Service of British India. The civil services were divided into two categories - covenanted and uncovenanted, the covenanted civil service consisted of only Europeans occupying the higher posts in the government. The uncovenanted civil service was introduced to facilitate the entry of Indians at the lower rung of the administration. With the passing of the Government of India Act 1919, the Imperial Services headed by the Secretary of State for India, were split into two – All India Services and Central Services. The All India and class 1 Central Services were designated as Central Superior Services as early as 1924, the present modern civil service was formed after the partition of India in 1947. It was Sardar Patels vision that the Civil Service should strengthen cohesion, the values of integrity, impartiality and merit remain the guiding principles of Indian civil services. Since the early 20th century, Indian civil servants have been colloquially called babus, while Indian bureaucracy is called babudom, as in the rule of babus, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions located in New Delhi is unofficially the Ministry of Civil Services in India
Civil Services of India
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Republic of India
11.
Parliament of India
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The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. The Parliament is composed of the President of India and the houses and it is bicameral with two houses, the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President in his role as head of legislature has powers to summon. The president can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister and those elected or nominated to either house of Parliament are referred to as members of parliament. The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi, the Sansad Bhavan is located in New Delhi. It was designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, who were responsible for planning, the construction of buildings took six years and the opening ceremony was performed on 18 January 1927 by the then Governor-General of India, Irwin. The construction costs for the building were ₹8.3 million, the parliament is 560 feet in diameter and covers an area of 6 acres. The Central hall consists of the chambers of Lok sabha, Rajya Sabha, surrounding these three chambers is the four storied circular structure providing accommodations for members and houses Parliamentary committees, offices and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. A new Parliament building may replace the existing complex, the new building is being considered on account of the stability concerns regarding the current complex. A committee to suggest alternatives to the current building has been set up by the Ex, the present building, an 85-year-old structure suffers from inadequacy of space to house members and their staff and is thought to suffer from structural issues. The building also needs to be protected because of its heritage tag, the Indian Parliament consists of two houses called the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha with the President of India acting as their head. The President of India, the Head of state is a component of Parliament, the President of India is elected by the members of Parliament of India and the state legislatures and serves for a term of five years. Lok Sabha or the house has 545 members. It has a term of five years, Rajya Sabha or the upper house is a permanent body not subject to dissolution. One third of the members every second year, and are replaced by newly elected members. Each member is elected for a term of six years and its members are indirectly elected by members of legislative bodies of the states. The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum of 250 members and it currently has a sanctioned strength of 245 members, of which 233 are elected from States and Union Territories and 12 are nominated by the President. The number of members from a state depends on its population, the minimum age for a person to become a member of Rajya Sabha is 30 years
Parliament of India
Parliament of India
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Indian Parliament Bhāratīya Sansada भारतीय संसद
Parliament of India
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Parliament of India
Parliament of India
12.
Rajya Sabha
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The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Membership of Rajya Sabha is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of 250 members, Members sit for staggered six-year terms, with one third of the members retiring every two years. The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous sessions, and unlike the Lok Sabha, however, the Rajya Sabha, like the Lok Sabha can be prorogued by the President. The Rajya Sabha has equal footing in all areas of legislation with Lok Sabha, except in the area of supply, in the case of conflicting legislation, a joint sitting of the two houses can be held. However, since the Lok Sabha has twice as many members as the Rajya Sabha, the Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, who presides over its sessions. The Deputy Chairman, who is elected from amongst the houses members, the Rajya Sabha held its first sitting on 13 May 1952. The salary and other benefits for a member of Rajya Sabha are same as for a member of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha members are elected by state legislatures rather than directly through the electorate by single transferable vote method. Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament, must be elected by the Legislative Assembly of States and Union territories by means of Single transferable vote through Proportional representation. Must have their name present on the voters list, cannot be an insolvent, i. e. he/she should not be in debt that he/she is not capable of repaying in a current manner and should have the ability to meet his/her financial expenses. Should not hold any office of profit under the Government of India. Should not be of unsound mind, must possess such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament. In addition, twelve members are nominated by the President of India having special knowledge in areas like arts. However, they are not entitled to vote in Presidential elections as per Article 55 of the Constitution, the Constitution of India places some restrictions on Rajya Sabha which makes Lok Sabha more powerful in certain areas in comparison. Money bills, as defined in the Constitution of India Act 110, when Lok Sabha passes a money bill, and transmits it to Rajya Sabha, Rajya Sabha has only fourteen days to return the bill to Lok Sabha. If Rajya Sabha fails to return the bill in fourteen days, also, if Lok Sabha rejects any of the amendments proposed by Rajya Sabha, the bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses of Parliament in the form Lok Sabha finally passes it. Hence, Rajya Sabha cannot stall, or amend, a bill without Lok Sabhas concurrence on the same. Article 108 provides for a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament in certain cases, considering that the numerical strength of Lok Sabha is more than twice that of Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha tends to have a greater influence in a joint sitting of Parliament. A joint session is chaired by the Speaker of Lok Sabha, in Indian federal structure, Rajya Sabha is a representative of the States in the Union legislature
Rajya Sabha
13.
Lok Sabha
–
The Lok Sabha is the Lower house of Indias bicameral Parliament, with the Upper house being the Rajya Sabha. The house meets in the Lok Sabha Chambers of the Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi, under the current laws, the strength of Lok Sabha is 545, including the two seats reserved for members of the Anglo-Indian community. The total elective membership is distributed among the states in proportion to their population, a total of 131 seats are reserved for representatives of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The quorum for the House is 10% of the total membership, term of the House The Lok Sabha, unless sooner dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting and the expiration of the period of five years. An exercise to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies boundaries has been carried out by the Delimitation Commission based on the Indian census of 2001, the 16th Lok Sabha was elected in May 2014 and is the latest to date. The Lok Sabha has its own channel, Lok Sabha TV. A major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1858 to 1947, the Indian Councils Act 1861 provided for a Legislative Council consisting of the members of the Executive Council and non-official members. The Indian Councils Act 1892 established legislatures in each of the provinces of British India, although these Acts increased the representation of Indians in the government, their power still remained limited, and the electorate very small. The Indian Councils Act 1909 and the Government of India Act 1919 further expanded the participation of Indians in the administration, the Constituent Assembly was divided into two for the separate nations, with each new Assembly having sovereign powers transferred to it for the respective dominion. The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January 1950, proclaiming India to be a sovereign, democratic republic. This contained the principles of the law of the land which would govern India in its new form. The Lok Sabha was duly constituted for the first time on 17 April 1952 after the first General Elections held from 25 October 1951 to 21 February 1952 and he / She should not be less than 25 years of age. He / She possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament, a seat in the Lok Sabha will become vacant in the following circumstances, When the holder of the seat, by writing to the speaker, resigns. When the holder of the seat is absent from 60 consecutive days of proceedings of the House, when the holder of the seat is subject to any disqualifications mentioned in the Constitution or any law enacted by Parliament. A seat may also be vacated when the holder stands disqualified under the Anti-Defection Law, a member both of Parliament and of a House of the Legislature of a State. System of elections in Lok Sabha Members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the people of India, for the purpose of holding direct elections to Lok Sabha, each state is divided into territorial constituencies. This provision does not apply for states having a population of less than 6 million, note, The expression population here refers to the population ascertained at the preceding census of which relevant figure have been published. Lok Sabha has certain powers that make it more powerful than the Rajya Sabha, motions of no confidence against the government can be introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
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Lok Sabha लोक सभा House of the People
14.
Chairman of Rajya Sabha
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The Vice-President of India is the second-highest constitutional office in India, after the President. Article 63 of Indian Constitution states that there shall be a Vice-President of India, the Vice-President acts as President in the absence of the President due to death, resignation, impeachment, or other situations. The Vice-President of India is also ex officio Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, when a bill is introduced in Rajya Sabha, vice-president decides whether it is a financial bill or not. If he is of the opinion, a bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is a money bill, Article 66 of the Indian Constitution states the manner of election of the Vice-President. The current Vice-President is Mohammad Hamid Ansari, since 11 August 2007 and this difference is because the Vice-President is to act as the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. The Vice-President is elected indirectly, by a college consisting of members of both houses of the Parliament. The nomination of a candidate for election to the office of the Vice-President must be subscribed by at least 20 electors as proposers and 20 electors as seconders, every candidate has to make a security deposit of Rs.15,000 in the Reserve Bank of India. The Election Commission of India, which is an autonomous body. The election is to be no later than 60 days of the expiry of the term of office of the outgoing Vice-President. A Returning Officer is appointed for the election, usually the Secretary-General of either House of the Parliament, the Returning Officer issues a public notice of the intended election, inviting nomination of candidates. The nomination papers are scrutinized by the Returning Officer, and the names of all candidates are added to the ballot. The election is proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote by secret ballot, voters stack-rank the candidates, assigning 1 to their first preference,2 to their second preference, and so on. The number of votes required by a candidate to secure the election is calculated by dividing the number of votes by two, and adding one to the quotient by disregarding any remainder. If no candidate obtains the required number of votes, the candidate with the least number of first-preference votes is eliminated. The process is repeated until a candidate obtains the requisite number of votes, nominated members can also participate in the election. After the election has been held and the votes counted, the Returning Officer declares the result of the election to the electoral college, the Vice-President may resign his office by submitting his resignation to the President. The resignation becomes effective from the day it is accepted, all disputes arising in connection with the election of the Vice-President are petitioned to the Supreme Court of India, which inquires into the matter. The petition is heard by a bench of the Supreme Court
Chairman of Rajya Sabha
–
Incumbent
Mohammad Hamid Ansari since 11 August 2007
15.
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
–
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. Their role is similar to that of speakers elsewhere in countries that use the government. The speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha following general elections, serving for a term of five years, they are chosen from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha, and is by convention a member of the ruling party or alliance. The current speaker is Sumitra Mahajan of the Bharatiya Janata Party and she is the second woman to hold the office, after her immediate predecessor Meira Kumar. The Speaker of the Lok Sabha conducts the business in house and they maintain discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for their unruly behaviour by suspending them. They also permit the moving of various kinds of motions and resolutions such as a motion of no confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure, the Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for discussion during the meeting. The date of election of speaker is fixed by the President, further, all comments and speeches made by members of the House are addressed to the speaker. The speaker also presides over the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament, the counterpart of the Speaker in the Rajya Sabha is the Chairman, who is the Vice President of India. In the warrant of precedence, the speaker of Lok Sabha comes next only to The Deputy Prime Minister of India, Speaker has the sixth rank in the political executive of India. Speaker can be removed by the Lok Sabha by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the House per Articles 94 and 96. Speaker is also removed on getting disqualified for being Lok Sabha member under sections 7 &8 of Representation of the People Act,1951 and this would arise out of speakers wrong certification of a bill as money bill inconsistent with the definition given in Articles 110 of the constitution. The appointment has to be approved by the president, the first meeting after the election when the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are selected by members of the Parliament is held under the pro tem Speaker. In absence of the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker acts as Speaker, the names, terms of office and Lok Sabhas were taken from, Former Speakers. The Office of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Office of the Lok Sabha Speaker
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
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Emblem of India
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
Speaker of the Lok Sabha
16.
Indian Law
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Law of India refers to the system of law in modern India. India maintains a common law system inherited from the colonial era. During the drafting of the Indian Constitution, Indian laws also adhere to the United Nations guidelines on human rights law, certain international trade laws, such as those on intellectual property, are also enforced in India. Indian personal law is complex, with each religion adhering to its own specific laws. In most states, registering of marriages and divorces is not compulsory, separate laws govern Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and followers of other religions. The exception to rule is in the state of Goa, where a uniform civil code is in place, in which all religions have a common law regarding marriages, divorces. As of January 2017, there were about 1,248 laws, ancient India represented a distinct tradition of law, and had a historically independent school of legal theory and practice. The Arthashastra, dating from 400 BC and the Manusmriti, from 100 AD, were influential treatises in India, manus central philosophy was tolerance and pluralism, and was cited across Southeast Asia. Early in this period, which culminated in the creation of the Gupta Empire, relations with ancient Greece, the appearance of similar fundamental institutions of international law in various parts of the world show that they are inherent in international society, irrespective of culture and tradition. With the advent of the British Raj, there was a break in tradition, as a result, the present judicial system of the country derives largely from the British system and has few, if any, connections to Indian legal institutions of the pre-British era. The Constitution of India, which came into effect on 26 January 1950 is the lengthiest written constitution in the world and it provides details of the administration of both the Union and the States, and codifies the relations between the Federal Government and the State Governments. Also incorporated into the text are a chapter on the rights of citizens. The constitution prescribes a federal structure of government, with a defined separation of legislative and executive powers between the Federation and the States. Each State Government has the freedom to draft its own laws on subjects classified as state subjects, laws passed by the Parliament of India and other pre-existing central laws on subjects classified as central subjects are binding on all citizens. The Indian Penal Code formulated by the British during the British Raj in 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure,1973 governs the procedural aspects of the criminal law. Jury trials were abolished by the government in 1960 on the grounds they would be susceptible to media and this decision was based on an 8-1 acquittal of Kawas Nanavati in K. M. Nanavati vs. State of Maharashtra, which was overturned by higher courts, in February 2011, the Supreme Court of India ruled that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to counsel. Capital punishment in India is legal, the last execution was conducted on July 30,2015, when the mastermind of 1993 Bombay serial blast, the terrorist Yakub Memon, was hanged in Nagpur
Indian Law
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The
Constitution of India is the longest written constitution for a country, containing 450 articles, 12 schedules, 94 amendments and 117,369 words.
17.
Supreme Court of India
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The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal under the Constitution of India, the highest constitutional court, with the power of constitutional review. Consisting of the Chief Justice of India and 30 other judges, it has extensive powers in the form of original, appellate and advisory jurisdictions. As the final court of appeal of the country, it takes up appeals primarily against verdicts of the High Courts of various states of the Union and other courts and it safeguards fundamental rights of citizens and settles disputes between various governments in the country. As an advisory court, it matters which may specifically be referred to it under the Constitution by the President of India. It also may take cognisance of matters on its own, without anyone drawing its attention to them, the law declared by the Supreme Court becomes binding on all courts within India. These new High Courts had the distinction of being the highest Courts for all cases till the creation of Federal Court of India under the Government of India Act 1935. The Federal Court had jurisdiction to solve disputes between provinces and federal states and hear appeal against judgements of the High Courts, the Supreme Court of India came into being on 28 January 1950. It replaced both the Federal Court of India and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council which were then at the apex of the Indian court system. Supreme Court initially had its seat at Chamber of Princes in the Parliament building where the previous Federal Court of India sat from 1937 to 1950, the first Chief Justice of India was Sir H J Kania. In 1958, the Supreme Court moved to its present premises, originally, Constitution of India envisaged a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and seven Judges, leaving it to Parliament to increase this number. In formative years, the Supreme Court met from 10 to 12 in the morning, the Right Wing of the structure has the bar - room, the offices of the Attorney General of India and other law officers and the library of the court. The Left Wing has the offices of the court, in all there are 15 court rooms in the various wings of the building. The foundation stone of the courts building was laid on 29 October 1954 by Rajendra Prasad. The Court moved into the building in 1958, in 1979, two new wings - the East Wing and the West Wing - were added to the complex. On 20 February 1980, a bronze sculpture of 210 centimeter height was installed in lawn of the Supreme Court. On the book, a balance is shown, which represents dispensation of justice to all. The sculpture was made by the renowned artist Chintamoni Kar The design of the Courts seal is reproduced from the wheel that appears on the abacus of the Sarnath Lion capital of Asoka with 24 spokes, the inscription in Sanskrit yatodharmastato jayah means whence law, thence victory. It is also referred to - as the wheel of righteousness, encompassing truth, goodness, Supreme Court Rules,2013 entitle only those advocates who are registered with the supreme court, called Advocates-on-Record to appear, act and plead for a party in the court
Supreme Court of India
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Central Wing of the Court where the Chief Justice's courtroom is located
Supreme Court of India
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Seal of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of India
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Supreme Court building with the sculpture in the foreground
18.
Chief Justice of India
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The Chief Justice of India is the head of the judiciary of India and the Supreme Court of India. The CJI also heads their administrative functions, as head of the supreme court, the chief justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law. It has been a convention for decades now, to appoint the senior-most judge of the supreme court as the CJI. The present CJI is Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar and is the 44th CJI since January 1950, the year the constitution came into effect and the supreme court came into being. He succeeded Justice T. S. Thakur on 4 January 2017 and will remain in office till 28 August 2017, article 124 of the Constitution of India provides for the manner of appointing judges to the Supreme Court. However, this convention has been breached on a few occasions, ray appointed as CJI, superseding three judges senior to him allegedly because he had favoured her government, and when Justice H. R. The Oath of Office is presided by the President, article 124 of Constitution of India lays down the procedure for removal of a Judge of Supreme Court which is applicable to Chief Justice as well. Once appointed, the Chief Justice remains in office until the age of 65 years, when President Zakir Hussain died in office, the Vice President V. V. Giri, acted as the President. Later, Mr. Giri resigned as the Vice President, the CJI, Justice Mohammad Hidayatullah then became the acting President of India. The senior-most judge of the Supreme Court became the acting CJI, accordingly, such provisions have been laid down in The Supreme Court Judges Act,1958. This remuneration was revised in 2006-2008, after the sixth central pay commissions recommendation, list of Chief Justices of India Official website of Supreme Court of India Photo Gallery of Former Chief Justices of India
Chief Justice of India
–
Incumbent Justice
H. L. Dattu (28 September 2014 - 1 December 2015)
19.
High Courts of India
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There are 24 High Courts at the state and union territory level of India which, together with the Supreme Court of India at the national level, comprise the countrys judicial system. Each High Court has jurisdiction over a state, a territory or a group of states. Below the High Courts is a hierarchy of subordinate courts such as the courts, family courts, criminal courts. High Courts are instituted as constitutional courts under Part VI, Chapter V, the High Courts are the principal civil courts of original jurisdiction in each state and union territory. High courts may also enjoy original jurisdiction in certain matters if so designated specifically in a state or federal law, however, the work of most High Courts primarily consists of appeals from lower courts and writ petitions in terms of Article 226 of the constitution. Writ jurisdiction is also original jurisdiction of High Court, the precise territorial jurisdiction of each High Court varies. The appeal order is the following, tehsil-kotwali-criminal/civil courts - district - high court - supreme court, each state is divided into judicial districts presided over by a District and Sessions Judge. He is known as a District Judge when he presides over a case. He is the highest judicial authority below a High Court judge, below him, there are courts of civil jurisdiction, known by different names in different states. Under Article 141 of the Constitution, all courts in India are bound by the judgments, judges in a High Court are appointed by the President of India in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the governor of the state. High Courts are headed by a Chief Justice, the Chief Justices are ranked fourteenth and seventeenth in the Indian order of precedence. The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in the country, High Courts that handle a large number of cases of a particular region have permanent benches established there. Benches are also present in states which come under the jurisdiction of a court outside its territorial limits, smaller states with few cases may have circuit benches established. Circuit benches are temporary courts which hold proceedings for a few selected months in a year, thus cases built up during this interim period are judged when the circuit court is in session. A systematic implementation of E-courts In India is the way to speed up the process, reduce if not eliminate the ills of the judicial system - corruption, inefficiency. The Madras High Court in Chennai, Bombay High Court in Mumbai, Calcutta High Court in Kolkata, Judge Strength in High Courts Increased. Soon, High Courts in 3 Northeastern States, new Chief Justice of Delhi High Court to Assume Charge on Wednesday. Media related to High Courts in India at Wikimedia Commons
High Courts of India
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The
Bombay High Court in
Mumbai, one of the first four High Courts of India
High Courts of India
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The
Calcutta High Court in
Kolkata, one of the first four High Courts of India
High Courts of India
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The
Allahabad High Court in
Allahabad, one of the first four High Courts of India
High Courts of India
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The
Karnataka High Court in
Bengaluru
20.
District Courts of India
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They administer justice in India at a district level. Salary of civil Judge at Entry Level Civil Judge/Addl. Munsiff gets Rs. 135000/-per Month at Entry Level and it includes- Electricity Bill Phone Bill Car Fuel either Petrol/Diesel Car Maintenance Free Food for him and family Education Expenses of their children are paid by government itself automatically. Water tax Insurance Premium of their vehicle is paid by government, Civil Judge 【F/R】/ Munsiff Magistrate First stage get Rs. 148000/-. After completing 2 years of services. Civil Judge get Rs.174000 /-per Month, addl. Chief Judicial Magistrate gets Rs. 182000/- per month. The highest court in each district is that of the District and this is the principal court of original civil jurisdiction besides High Court of the State and which derives its jurisdiction in civil matters primarily from the code of civil procedure. The district court is also a court of Sessions when it exercises its jurisdiction on criminal matters under Code of Criminal procedure, the district court is presided over by one District Judge appointed by the state Government. In addition to the judge there may be number of Additional District Judges. The Additional District Judge and the court presided have equivalent jurisdiction as the District Judge, however, the district judge has supervisory control over Additional and Assistant District Judges, including decisions on allocation of work among them. The District and Sessions judge is referred to as district judge when he presides over civil matters. Being the highest judge at district level, the District Judge also enjoys the power to manage the funds allocated for the development of judiciary in the district. The district judge is also called Metropolitan session judge when he is presiding over a court in a city which is designated Metropolitan area by the state Government. Other courts subordinated to district court in the Metropolitan area are referred to with metropolitan prefixed to the usual designation. An area is designated an area by the concerned state Government if population of the area exceeds one million or more than that. The judges of courts are appointed by the Governor in consultation with the chief justice of the High Court of the concerned State. This is referred to as direct recruitment, the next level of ascendancy for a district judge who served sufficient number of years is the post of High court judge. High court Judges are usually appointed from a pool of advocates practicing at the Bar of the High court, a district judge or Additional judge may be removed from his office by the state Government in consultation with the High court. The District Court or Additional District court exercises jurisdiction both on original side and appellate side in civil and criminal matters arising in the District, the territorial and pecuniary jurisdiction in civil matters is usually set in concerned state enactments on the subject of civil courts. On the criminal side, jurisdiction is derived from the criminal procedure code
District Courts of India
–
A court complex at
Guntur.
21.
Elections in India
–
India has an asymmetric federal government, with elected officials at the federal, state and local levels. At the national level, the head of government, Prime Minister, is elected by members of the Lok Sabha, the elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India. The 2014 general election involved an electorate of 863,500,000 people, declared expenditure has trebled since 1989 to almost $300 million, using more than one million electronic voting machines. The size of the huge electorate mandates that elections be conducted in a number of phases and it involves a number of step-by-step processes from announcement of election dates to the announcement of results paving the way for the formation of the new government. The House of the People represents citizens of India, the 543 members are elected under the plurality electoral system. The Council of States has 250 members,238 members elected for a six-year term, the members are indirectly elected, this being achieved by the votes of legislators in the state and union territories. The elected members are chosen under the system of representation by means of the single transferable vote. The twelve nominated members are usually a mix of eminent artists, scientists, jurists, sportspersons, businessmen and journalists. Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the chosen by direct election on the basis of the adult suffrage. In 1952 Lok Sabha Elections there were 1874 candidates, which rose to 13952 candidates in 1996, however, in 2009 Lok Sabha Elections only 8070 candidates contested. Historical share of seats and votes of major parties are ranked by the number of seats won. *,12 seats in Assam and 1 in Meghalaya did not vote, the party continued its dominance under the leadership of K Kamaraj and Lal Bahadur Shastri. The Congress party was split into two in the 1970s and Indira Gandhi led Congress to election victory, but, Indira Gandhi regained power soon after and her son Rajiv Gandhi led the party after her assassination. A coalition led by VP Singh swept to power in 1989 in the wake of allegations of corruption against then Prime Minister. But the coalition lost steam in 1990 necessitating new elections with the party again emerging victorious under the leadership of P V Narasimha Rao. This has been a consequence of strong regional parties which ride on the back of regional aspirations, there were multiple governments within a span of few years led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, I K Gujral and H D Deve Gowda. In 1999, National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power, for the next decade, congress led coalition United Progressive Alliance formed the government under Manmohan Singh. Narendra Modi, the BJPs Prime Ministerial candidate, is now serving his first term as the Prime Minister of India, the Election Commission of India is an autonomous, constitutionally established federal authority responsible for administering all the electoral processes in the Republic of India
Elections in India
–
Balloting Unit(left), control unit (right)
22.
Election Commission of India
–
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering election processes in India. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, state legislatures, the Election Commission operates under the authority of Constitution per Article 324, and subsequently enacted Representation of the People Act. The Commission has the powers under the Constitution, to act in an appropriate manner when the enacted laws make insufficient provisions to deal with a situation in the conduct of an election. Originally in 1950, the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner, two additional Commissioners were appointed to the commission for the first time on October 16,1989 but they had a very short tenure, ending on January 1,1990. The Election Commissioner Amendment Act,1989 made the Commission a multi-member body, the concept of a 3-member Commission has been in operation since then, with the decisions being made by a majority vote. Other Election Commissioners can be removed by the President of India on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner, a Chief Election Commissioner has never been impeached in India. In 2009, just before the 2009 Lok Sabha Elections, CEC N, the President opined that such a recommendation is not binding on the President, and hence rejected it. Subsequently, after Gopalaswamis retirement the next month, Chawla became the Chief Election Commissioner, one of the most important features of the democratic polity is elections at regular intervals. In every election, it issues a Model code of Conduct for political parties and candidates to elections in a free. The Commission issued the code for the first time in 1971 for the 5th Lok Sabha elections and it lays down guidelines for the conduct of political parties and candidates during an election period. It contains the rules of electoral morality. However, this lack of statutory backing does not prevent the Commission from enforcing it, a law regarding the registration process for political parties was enacted in 1989 and a number of parties got registered with the Commission. The registration helps avoid confusion ensures that the parties are brought under the purview of the commission. To curb the influence of money during elections, the Election Commission has made many suggestions. These limits have been revised over time, the Election Commission, by appointing observers from the Indian Revenue Service, keeps an eye on the individual account of election expenditure. The campaign period has also reduced by the Commission from 21 to 14 days for Lok Sabha. The Commission can issue an order for prohibition of publication and disseminating of results of opinion polls or exit polls to prevent influencing the voting trends in the electorate. In an attempt to decriminalise politics, the Election Commission has approached the Supreme Court to put a ban on convicted politicians from contesting elections. The Constitutional Act, passed in 1992 by the Narasimha Rao government, the Election Commission had tried to bring improvements in election procedures by the introduction of Electronic voting machines or EVMs
Election Commission of India
23.
Chief Election Commissioner of India
–
The Chief Election Commissioner heads the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national and state legislatures. Chief Election Commissioner of India is usually a member of the Indian Civil Service, India was probably one of the first countries in the World to go for a completely electronic ballot in the last elections. While the office has always been an important one in the machinery of the Indian political process, mr. Seshan is widely credited with undertaking a zealous effort to end corruption and manipulation in Indian elections. Though he made significant progress, several attempted to derail these efforts. In particular, the expansion of the Election Commission to include the two Election Commissioners was seen as a move to curtail the ability to act aggressively. The President of India appoints the Chief Election Commissioner, conventionally, senior-most Election Commissioner is appointed as CEC. He has tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years and he enjoys the same official status, salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India and High court. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only through impeachment by the Parliament, subsequently, M Karunanidhi, the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party and five times Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu supported the suggestion. Advani made this demand to remove any impression of bias or lack of transparency and fairness because, according to him, the following have held the post of the Chief Election Commissioner of India
Chief Election Commissioner of India
–
Republic of India
24.
List of political parties in India
–
India has a multi-party system with recognition accorded to national and state and District level parties. The status is reviewed periodically by the Election Commission of India, other political parties that wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by the Election Commission of India. Registered parties are upgraded as recognized national or state level parties based upon objective criteria, in addition, national and state parties have to fulfill these conditions for all subsequent Lok Sabha or State elections, or else they lose their status. As of September 2016, the number of parties registered was 1761. All registered parties contesting elections need to choose a symbol from a list of available symbols offered by the EC. A registered party is recognised as a National Party only if it fulfils any one of the three conditions, The party wins 2% of seats in the Lok Sabha from at least 3 different States. At a General Election to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly, the party polls 6% of votes in four States, a party gets recognition as State Party in four or more States. A party should win at least one seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any fraction thereof allotted to that State. B In all States/U. T. s except in the State of Assam, C In addition to those included, the total is 1761. D - Current leaders are presidents of their parties and not necessarily the leaders of their legislative group in the Indian Parliament. Subrata K. Mitra and V. B, democracy and Social Change in India, A Cross-Sectional Analysis of the National Electorate. Subrata K. Mitra, Mike Enskat, Clemens Spiess
List of political parties in India
–
Republic of India
25.
National Democratic Alliance (India)
–
The National Democratic Alliance is a centre-right coalition of political parties in India. At the time of its formation in 1998, it was led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and had thirteen constituent parties and its honorary chairman is former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Also representing the alliance are L. K, the coalition was in power from 1998 to 2004. The alliance returned to power in the 2014 General election with a vote share of 38. 5%. Its leader, Narendra Modi, was sworn in as Prime Minister of India on 26 May 2014, the National Democratic Alliance was formed in May 1998 as a coalition to contest the general elections. With outside support provided by the Telugu Desam Party, the NDA was able to muster a majority in the elections of 1998. The government collapsed within a year because the withdrew its support, after the entry of a few more regional parties, the NDA proceeded to win the 1999 elections with a larger majority. Vajpayee became Prime Minister for a time, this time for a full five-year term. The NDA called elections in early 2004, six ahead of schedule. Its campaign was based around the slogan of India Shining which attempted to depict the NDA government as responsible for an economic transformation of the country. Some commentators have stated that the NDAs failure to reach out to the masses was the explanation for its defeat. The National Democratic Alliance does not have a governing structure in place. It has been up to the leaders of the parties to make decisions on issues such as sharing of seats in elections, allocation of ministries. Given the varied ideologies among the parties, there have been cases of disagreement. On 16 June 2013, the JD left the coalition and Sharad Yadav resigned from the role of the NDA convener, in 3 states - Goa, Maharashtra and Manipur, BJP shares power as Senior Partner with other politicial parties of NDA coalition. In 4 other states, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, the BJP has previously been the sole party in power in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, and National Capital Territory of Delhi. ^ BJP had fielded 427 candidates on 427 seats out of 543, ajit Singh led Rashtriya Lok Dal withdrew from the NDA. NDA nominated P. A. Sangma as its candidate who lost against UPAs Pranab Mukherjee
National Democratic Alliance (India)
26.
United Progressive Alliance
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The United Progressive Alliance is a coalition of centre-left political parties in India formed after the 2004 general election. One of the members of UPA is Indian National Congress, whose National President Sonia Gandhi is also the chairperson of the UPA, the UPA was formed soon after the 2004 general elections when it had become clear that no party had won an absolute majority. The hitherto ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance had won 169 seats in the 543-member 14th Lok Sabha, as opposed the UPAs tally of 222 seats. The Left Front with 59 MPs, the Samajwadi Party with 39 MPs, V. Narasimha Rao, and earlier governments of V. P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar. An informal alliance had existed prior to the elections as several of the current constituent parties had developed seat-sharing agreements in many states, however, it was only after the election that the results of negotiations between parties were announced. Hence, government policies were generally perceived as centre-left, reflecting the centrist policies of the INC, during the tenure of Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, the constituents of the UPA were, by mutual consent, supporting his government. On 22 July 2008, the UPA narrowly survived a vote of confidence in the parliament brought on by the Left Front withdrawing their support in protest at the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement. The Congress party and its leaders along with then SP leader Amar Singh were accused for cash for vote scam in which they were accused for buying votes in Lok Sabha to save the government, the enquiry is still going on for the same. In the Indian General Election in 2009, the UPA won 262 seats, initially, UPA was given external support from the Left Front which totalled 59 MPs. Nevertheless, these parties were not a part of the government, the UPA thus had at least 335 MPs out of 543 supporting it at the time of its formation. The Left parties, despite ideological differences with the Congress, supported the UPA to ensure a secular government, chandrashekar Rao, who resigned his Lok Sabha seat. On 21 June 2008, the Bahujan Samaj Party, or the BSP, with 18 seats and their leader Mayawati said that she wouldnt enter an electoral alliance with either the Congress or the BJP. She also accused both parties of misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation or the CBI and attempting to implicate her in the Taj Corridor Case and she also accused Congress of making false promises to help the people of Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal regions as they were suffering from drought. On 26 March 2009, PMK declared that it would join the AIADMK led front and withdrew from the UPA, addressing a news conference, Owaisi said his party was compelled to take the decision due to the communal behaviour of Kiran Kumar Reddys government in Andhra Pradesh. The MIMs decision came after the government allegedly allowed construction of a canopy over a temple abutting the historic Charminar in alleged violation of orders to maintain status quo. Owaisi criticised the chief minister for ignoring the court order to maintain status quo. On 1 October 2012 the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha, led by Babulal Marandi, the JVM was part of the UPA. Though this did not impact the stability of the government, the JVMs withdrawal of support came two weeks after a major UPA ally, the Trinamool Congress, pulled out of the alliance
United Progressive Alliance
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UPA chairperson
Sonia Gandhi.
27.
State governments of India
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State governments in India are the governments ruling States of India, and the head of the council of ministers in a state is chief minister. Power is divided between the government and state governments. While the central government handles military and external affairs etc. the state governments deal with internal security, income for the central government is from customs duty, excise tax, income tax etc. while state government income comes from sales tax, stamp duty. Each state has a legislative assembly, a state legislature that has one house, known as Vidhan Sabha or Legislative assembly, is a Unicameral legislature. A state legislature that has two known as Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad, is a bicameral legislature. The Vidhan Sabha is the lower house. The Vidhan Parishad is the house and corresponds to the Rajya Sabha. The Sarkaria Commission was set up to review the balance of power between states and the union, the central government can dissolve a state government in favour of Presidents rule if necessary. The state of Jammu and Kashmir has higher autonomy compared to states by virtue of Article 370. For every state, there is a legislature, which consists of Governor and one House or, in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, there are two Houses known as legislative council and legislative assembly. In the remaining states, there is only one House known as legislative assembly, Legislative Council of a state comprises not more than one-third of total number of members in legislative assembly of the state and in no case less than 40 members. Remaining members are nominated by Governor from among those who have distinguished themselves in literature, science, art, cooperative movement, Legislative councils are not subject to dissolution but one-third of their members retire every second year. Legislative Assembly of a state consists of not more than 500, term of an assembly is five years unless it is dissolved earlier. Powers and Functions State legislature has powers over subjects enumerated in List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution. Financial powers of legislature include authorisation of all expenditure, taxation, Legislative assembly alone has power to originate money bills. Legislative council can make recommendations in respect of changes it considers necessary within a period of fourteen days of the receipt of money bills from Assembly. Assembly can accept or reject these recommendations, reservation of Bills The Governor of a state may reserve any Bill for the consideration of the President. No Bills seeking to impose restrictions on inter-state trade can be introduced in a legislature without previous sanction of the President. They also have their committees on estimates and public accounts to ensure that grants sanctioned by legislature are properly utilised, there is overall 4120 Assembly seats in states and Union Territories in India
State governments of India
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Republic of India
28.
Local self-government in India
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Local Governance in India has been formalized under the Panchayati Raj System since 1992. The Panchayati Raj system is a system with elected bodies at the village, taluk. The result was intended to create greater participation in government by people. Local government is government at the village and district level, Local governments got a fillip after the 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendment Acts. Later in 1992, the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were passed by the Parliament, the 73rd Amendment is about Rural Local Governments and The 74th amendment made the provisions relating to Urban Local Governments. The 73rd and 74th amendments have created uniformity in the structures of Panchayati Raj, the 73rd and 74th Amendments came into force in 1993. With the passage of time, these bodies became panchayats, Panchayats were functional institutions of grassroots governance in almost every village. The Village Panchayat or elected council had powers, both executive and judicial. Land was distributed by this panchayat which also collected taxes out of the produce, above a number of these village councils there was a larger panchayat or council to supervise and interfere if necessary. Casteism and feudalistic system of governance under Mughal rule in the medieval period slowly eroded the self-government in villages, a new class of feudal chiefs and revenue collectors emerged between the ruler and the people. And, so began the stagnation and decline of self-government in villages, the panchayati had never been the priority of the British rulers. The rulers were interested in the creation of controlled local bodies, however, the thrust of this compelled decentralization was with respect to municipal administration. The panchayat was destroyed by the East India Company when it was granted the office of Diwan in 1765 in Bengal by the Mughal Emperor as part of reparation after his defeat at Buxar, as Diwan the Company took two decisions. The first was that it abolished the land record office. The Patwari became the record keeper for a number of villages. The second was the creation of the office of magistrate and the abolition of village police, the magistrate carried out policing functions through the Darogha who had always been a state functionary under the Faujdar. The primary purpose of these measures was the collection of revenue by fiat. The depredations of the Patwari and the Darogha are part of our folklore, the effects of the famine lingered right to the end of the 18th century
Local self-government in India
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Newly Elected Panchayat in
Punjab, India
29.
Chief Minister (India)
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In the Republic of India, a Chief Minister is the elected head of government of each of twenty-nine states and two union territories. According to the Constitution of India, the Governor is a de jure head. Following elections to the legislative assembly, the Governor usually invites the party with a majority of seats to form the government. The Governor appoints and swears in the Chief Minister, whose council of ministers are responsible to the assembly. Based on the Westminster system, given that he retains the confidence of the assembly, there are no limits to the number of terms that the Chief Minister can serve. The Constitution of India sets the qualifications one must meet to be eligible to the office of the Chief Minister. A Chief Minister must be, a citizen of India, should be a member of the state legislature. If a person is elected chief minister who is not a member of the legislature, failing which, he/she would cease to be the Chief Minister. The chief minister is elected through a majority in the legislative assembly. This is procedurally established by the vote of confidence in the legislative assembly, since, according to the constitution, the chief minister is appointed by the governor, the swearing in is done before the governor of the state. The oath of secrecy By Article 164 of the constitution of India, hence this varies from state to state
Chief Minister (India)
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Chief Ministers of India in December 2014, along with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister
Rajnath Singh and Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley.
30.
Vidhan Sabha
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The Vidhan Sabha or the Legislative Assembly is the lower house or the sole house of the state legislature in the different States of India. The same name is used for the lower house of the legislatures for two of the Union Territories, Delhi and Puducherry. The upper house in the seven states with a legislature is called the Legislative Council. Members of a Vidhan Sabha are direct representatives of the people of the state as they are directly elected by an electorate consisting of all citizens above the age of 18 of that state. Its maximum size as outlined in the Constitution of India is not more than 500 members and not less than 60 members. However, the size of the Vidhan Sabha can be less than 59 members through an Act of Parliament, such is the case in the states of Goa, Sikkim, Mizoram and the Union Territory of Puducherry. In some states Governor may appoint 1 member to represent minorities, e. g. the Anglo-Indian community, if he finds that minority inadequately represented in the House. Those elected or nominated to Vidhan Sabha are referred to as Members of Legislative Assembly or MLAsEach Vidhan Sabha assembles for a five-year term, during a State of Emergency, its term may be extended past five years or it may be dissolved. The term of the Legislative Assembly is five years, but it may be dissolved even earlier than five years by the Governor on the request of the Chief Minister. The term of a Legislative Assembly may be extended during an Emergency, a Vidhan Sabha can also be dissolved if a motion of no confidence is passed within it against the majority party or coalition. To become a member of a Vidhan Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India and he or she should be mentally sound and should not be bankrupt. He or she should also state an affidavit that there are no criminal procedures against him or her, Speaker of Vidhan Sabha who is responsible for the conduct of business of the body, and also a Deputy Speaker to preside during the Speakers absence. The Speaker acts as a judge and manages all debates. A motion of no confidence against the government in the state can only be introduced in the Vidhan Sabha, if it is passed by a majority vote, then the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers must collectively resign. A money bill can only be introduced in Vidhan Sabha, in bicameral jurisdictions, after it is passed in the Vidhan Sabha, it is sent to the Vidhan Parishad, where it can be kept for a maximum time of 14 days. Unless by the Finance Minister of the state in the name of the Governor of that state, in matters related to ordinary bills, the will of Legislative Assembly prevails and there is no provision of joint sitting. In such cases, Legislative council can delay the legislation by maximum 4 months
Vidhan Sabha
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Republic of India
