THE BIG WHEEL OF THE GOVERNMENT

The Cabinet of India: the ultimate, collective decision-making authority comprised of the Prime Minister and 35 Cabinet Ministers

Officially termed as the Union Council of Ministers of India, the Cabinet of India is a body of high-ranking, senior-most Government ministers, typically belonging to the executive branch. The Cabinet includes the Prime Minister, followed by the Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and the Deputy Ministers. The Cabinet may be contracted or expanded. However, the number of members is stated by the Constitution of India. The council is supposed to report to the Indian Parliament.

Originally, Cabinets were born as small groups named as ‘Cabinet Counsel’ that referred to the advice given to the monarch in private.

THE MEMBERS

Cabinet Secretary: India’s most powerful bureaucrat and the right hand of the PM

• Heads the Cabinet after the President of India
• Comes under the direct charge of the Prime Minister
• Administrative head
• Also the ex-officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board, and thus the head of the Indian Administrative Service
• Generally, he is the senior most civil servant
• Provides assistance to the Ministers, PM and Cabinet Committees
• Lends an element of stability and continuity in the administration
• No fixed tenure, though the average is less than 3 years, can be extended
• Heads all the civil services under the constitution like IAS, IPS, IRS, IFS, PCS, PPS et al
• Ranks eleventh in the Table of Precedence of India

The Cabinet Secretariat has 3 wings: Civil, Military and Intelligence.

Civil: Provides help and advice to the Union Cabinet
Military: Provides secretarial assistance to the Defense Committee of the Cabinet, the Military Affairs Committee, the National Defense Council and other committees dealing with defense matters
Intelligence: Deals with matters pertaining to the Joint Intelligence Committee of the Union Cabinet

Council of Ministers:

In a Cabinet, apart from collective responsibilities, the members are also individually responsible for the functioning of their respective departments. They are given the title of ‘Minister’ and each holds a different portfolio of Government duties (E.g. ‘Minister for the Environment’). Also, the Constitution has made it mandatory for the Council Ministers to be the members of either House of the Parliament.
Apart from this, the Council

• Prepares and introduces bills in the Parliament
• Assists the President to execute his functions
• Determines policies and administers the same
• Implements all the decisions adopted by the Parliament of India

There are three categories of Ministers:

• Union Cabinet Minister: Senior Minister in-charge of any ministry
• Minister of State (Independent Charge): Handles a portfolio that no other Union Minister oversees
• Minister of State (MoS): Junior Minister, usually looks after a specific responsibility in any ministry

Together, the Cabinet forms the big wheel of the Government that runs the Republic of India.

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THE RIGHT TO SAY ‘NO’

• Vishwanath Pratap Singh (1990)
• H. D. Deve Gowda (1997)
• Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1999)

What is common amongst the three? These all were defeated Prime Ministers of India – defeated by a parliamentary motion of no confidence.

WHAT IS A MOTION OF NO CONFIDENCE?

It is alternatively known as vote of no confidence, censure motion or no-confidence motion. It is a parliamentary vote that represents the parliament’s lack of confidence in the ruling party’s ability to lead the country. The elected members of the parliament vote for this motion. A passed motion of no confidence usually results in the Government’s fall and the calling of a general election.

RESPONSE TO THE MOTION

In an existing Government, when a motion of no confidence is passed, the head of state replies in either of the two ways:
• Ask another individual, who he believes will command the confidence of parliament, to try to form a Government
• Dissolve the elected parliament and call a general election to elect a new parliament
To determine whether an individual can gain the confidence of the parliament or not, the head of state examines whether that individual has the backing of a parliamentary party or a coalition of parties and MPs. He may also be selected based on an agreement of support with enough parliamentary seats to withstand any confidence challenges against them. If this cannot be done, parliament is dissolved and a general election is called.

EXAMPLES

The first record of a motion of no confidence occurred in the United Kingdom in 1782 immediately after the British defeat in the American colonies at Yorktown. The then Prime Minister Lord North presented his resignation to King George III. In the United Kingdom, there have been 11 Prime Ministers defeated through a no-confidence motion. There has been only one (against James Callaghan) since 1925.

Unlike the British system, in Germany the Chancellor is not required to resign if he or she receives a motion of no confidence.

MOTION OF NO CONFIDENCE IS NOT IMPEACHMENT

Many people mistakenly associate a motion of no confidence with the term ‘impeachment’. The two words mean different things. Impeachment implies that a crime has been committed by a Government official. It is a rare political process. However, politicians may receive motion of no confidence. And that doesn’t imply that the person under the vote has committed a crime.
It should be noted that in modern times, votes of no confidence are relatively rare occurrences in democracies. Parties typically handle tiffs among their members without resorting to the motion of no confidence.

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THE FOUNDATION OF A GOOD FINANCIAL PLAN

UNDERSTANDING THE UNION BUDGET OF INDIA

‘Budget 2011-12 to focus on inflation and growth’
‘Budget 2011: The bullish view stays’
‘Budget 2011: India’s subsidy bill up by over 100% in 4 years’
‘Budget 2011: Concerns of power sector’

Budget is something that has dominated the headlines of all the newspapers and other media channels in India, since a couple of months. But, unfortunately, many of us do not know the actual meaning of budget and how did it start.

MEANING

In simple terms, budget is the systematic plan for the inflows and outflows of money during a given period. And the one that ruled the headlines is the Union Budget of India which is the annual budget of the Republic of India.

The term is derived from the French word ‘Bougette’ meaning ‘Sack or Pouch’. It was a bag used by the British Chancellor to keep his papers to be presented to the Parliament. The present sense of the term was used for the first time in 1873.

The Union Budget is preceded by an Economic Survey which outlines the broad direction of the budget and the economic performance of the country. The budget is the most extensive account of the Government`s finances, in which revenues from all sources and expenses of all activities undertaken are aggregated.

The Union Budget is presented each year on the last working day of February by the Finance Minister in the Parliament. The budget has to be passed by the Lower House before it can come into effect on April 1, the start of India’s financial year. It is the most important economical and financial event of the country.

OVER THE YEARS

The first budget of Independent India was presented on 26th November, 1947 by the then Finance Minister, Sir RK Shanmukham Chetty. Also, the former Finance Minister Morarji Desai presented the budget eight times, the most by any. On February 29 in 1964 and 1968, he became the only Finance Minister to present the Union Budget on his birthday.

After Desai’s resignation, the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi became the only woman to hold the post of the Finance Minister.

The current budget was presented by the Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 28th February, 2011 and the budgetary proposals would be applicable from 1st April, 2011 to 31st March, 2012.

TIME OF ANNOUNCEMENT

The British Parliament would pass the budget in the noon followed by India in the evening of the day – This was the practice of the Colonial Era, that continued until the year 2000. It was then, in 2001, that the then Finance Minister of India, Yashwant Sinha changed the announcement time from 5 pm to 11 am.

The Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission, Administrative Ministries and the Comptroller & Auditor General are the main players in the declaration of the Union Budget.

THE PROCESS OF APPROVAL

– The Finance Minister introduces the budget in the Lower House of the Parliament or the Lok Sabha and makes a short speech, giving an overall view of the budget.
– After the presentation of the budget, Parliament allots some time for a general discussion on the budget.
– After the Finance Minister’s reply, Lok Sabha takes up a discussion for each ministry’s expenditure proposals, that are known as demand for grants.
– After the prescribed period is done with, the Speaker puts all the demands to vote and only the Lok Sabha is entitled to vote for the same.
– Appropriation Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha after it has passed all demands for grants related to all ministries. This bill authorizes the Government to withdraw funds and eventually transforms to a Money Bill.
– After this bill, the Finance Bill is introduced and it incorporates all taxation proposals. After the passing of this bill, it enters the statute as the Finance Act. Thus, the final budget gets approved.

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LOKSABHA: BORN THROUGH THE PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO VOTE

The House of People, aka Loksabha is the directly elected lower house of the Parliament. Loksabha is a representative of the people directly chosen through elections based on adult suffrage (right to vote). The Constitution decides the maximum strength of the lower house, which is 552, made up of 530 members who represent the States, up to 20 members for the Union Territories and not more than 2 Anglo-Indian Community members. These 2 are nominated by the President, if he feels that the community is not getting adequate representation in the House. The qualifying age for becoming a member of the Loksabha is 25 years.

The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950. The first general elections under the new Constitution were held during the year 1951-52 and the first elected Loksabha came into being in April 1952. Since then, India has witnessed the formation of 15 Loksabhas; the last election took place in April-May 2009. Each Loksabha functions for a term of maximum 5 years, after which it is dissolved automatically. However, in case of Proclamation of Emergency, the Parliament by law can extend the period by a year.

There is a pre-decided elective membership limit for each state. This limit is distributed among the states in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to each state and the population of the state is, as far as possible, the same for all states. Gujarat has been allotted 26 seats.

The Constitution insists on the Loksabha to meet at least twice a year, and no more than 6 months can pass between sessions. Generally, 3 sessions of Loksabha take place in a year:

• Budget session: February to May
• Monsoon session: July to September
• Winter session: November to December

Loksabha has the power to elect its Presiding Officer who is called the Speaker. He is responsible for the conduct of business in the Loksabha. The Speaker is assisted by the Deputy Speaker who is also elected by the members of the House.

The first hour of every Loksabha session is called the Question Hour. During this hour, the ministers can pose questions on different aspects of administration and Government policies in the national as well as international spheres. These questions may then be assigned to specific Government Ministries, which have to be answered on a fixed date in the future.

Questions are of three types – Starred, Unstarred and Short Notice.

• A Starred Question is one to which a member desires an oral answer in the House and which is distinguished by an asterisk mark.

• An Unstarred Question is one which is not called for an oral answer in the House and on which no supplementary questions can consequently be asked. An answer to such a question is given in writing. (Minimum period of notice for starred/unstarred questions is 10 clear days)

• Short notice Questions are the ones that relate to the matters of urgent public importance. They are taken up for answer immediately after the Question Hour.

The powers of the Loksabha and the Rajyasabha are almost similar except in the area of Money Bills, in which case the Loksabha has the ultimate authority. Apart from this, the lower house has some special powers (de facto and de jure) which makes it superior to the upper house.

The Loksabha has its own TV channel, Loksabha TV, headquartered within the Parliament premises.

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REINFORCING PEOPLE’S FAITH IN DEMOCRACY: RAJYASABHA

The upper house of the Indian Parliament is better known as Rajyasabha. It is called the ‘Council of States’ as the legislatures of the states and union territories elect 238 members, and the President appoints another 12. The seats are allotted in proportion to population. The members elected by the President are called ‘Nominated Members’ and are selected for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature, science and social services. Terms of office are for six years, with one third of the members retiring every two years.

The Government of India Act, 1919 provided for the creation of a ‘Council of State’ as a second chamber of the then legislature, with a restricted franchise which actually came into existence in 1921. The name Rajyasabha was announced by the chair in the House on the 23rd August 1954. The second chamber was created because a single directly elected House was considered inadequate to meet the challenges before a free India. The minimum age of thirty years was fixed and an element of dignity was added by making the Vice-President of India the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajyasabha who presides over its sittings. The first sitting was held on 13 May 1952. The Deputy Chairman of the Rajyasabha is elected from amongst its members. His role is to look after the day-to-day matters of the house in the absence of the Chairman.

The Rajyasabha meets in continuous sessions and is not subject to dissolution. It shares its legislative powers with the Loksabha – lower house and in case of conflicts, a joint sitting of the two houses is held. However, the Loksabha has the de facto veto power, as its members are double in number as compared to the Rajyasabha.

Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament whereas Article 102 is for the conditions on which a member of any of the houses can be disqualified. Apart from the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman, the Leader of the House is another functionary who plays important role in the efficient and smooth conduct of the business in the House. The Leader of the House in Rajyasabha is normally the Prime Minister. He coordinates all the sections of the House and the Chairman consults him for all major decisions. Also, there is a Leader of Opposition whose role is more difficult as he has to criticize, find faults and present alternative proposals/policies with no power to implement them.

The present strength of Rajya Sabha is 245, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and Puducherry and 12 are nominated by the President. The current Chairman of the Rajyasabha is Mohammad Hamid Ansari since 2007; Majority Leader of the House is PM Manmohan Singh since 2007 whereas the Leader of Opposition (BJP) is Arun Jaitley since 2009.

Rajya Sabha has played a constructive and valuable role in the Indian polity. Its performance in the legislative field and in influencing the Government policies has been quite pro-active. It has strengthened people’s faith in the democracy, and maintained unity and integrity of the nation.

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SUPREME LEGISLATIVE BODY OF INDIA: PARLIAMENT

The honorable President of India and two houses viz. Rajyasabha (Council of States) and Loksabha (House of People), together form The Parliament of the Republic of India. It is commonly referred to as the Indian Parliament. It is the supreme legislative authority that possesses the final authority over all other political bodies of the country. In a Parliament, the President has the power to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha.

The origin of Parliament can be traced back to many centuries. It is the central institution of many systems of Government. The word itself is derived from the Latin ‘parliamentum’ meaning ‘discussion’ and the French word ‘parler’ (to speak). The term came to use to name a body of people who would meet to discuss matters of the state.

The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950. The first general elections under the new Constitution were held during the year 1951-52 and the first elected Parliament came into being in April, 1952. Over the years, the Parliament of India has turned out to be multi-functional institution. It is the political nerve centre of the country, acting as a mirror of the society, accommodating the needs of the changing times, shouldering responsibilities and engaging itself fully in the process of running our parliamentary polity. Some of the cardinal roles and functions of the Parliament are: ensuring executive accountability, law making, control over the budget, constituent functions, representational role, educational role, informational functions, training and recruitment of leadership, besides other miscellaneous functions.

A parliamentary form of Government acknowledges the fact that in this system, Parliament derives its power directly from the consent of the people expressed through periodic elections and that it exists to implement the will of the people. The parliamentary system also ensures the best possible participatory democratic system and active interaction between the people and their representatives.

Apart from the basic authorities, the Parliament can, under certain circumstances, also assume legislative power with respect to a subject falling within the sphere, exclusively reserved for the states. The Parliament is also vested with powers to prosecute the President, remove judges of Supreme and High Courts, the Chief Election Commissioner, and Comptroller and Auditor General in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Constitution. All legislation requires the consent of both Houses of the Parliament. It is also vested with the power to initiate amendments in the Constitution.

Parliament – indeed the supreme legislative body of India – with all these major powers in its hands!

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United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Coalition Government is a cabinet of a Parliamentary Government in which several parties cooperate. They are usually formed as no party can individually achieve a majority in the parliament. However, a Coalition Government may also be created during the times of national difficulty or crisis. For e.g. during wartime, high level of political authority is desired and also there cannot be any room for internal political discord. So, in such times, examples of parties having formed all-party coalitions are observed.

To deal with a situation in which no clear majorities appear through general elections, parties either form coalition cabinets, supported by a parliamentary majority, or minority cabinets which may consist of one or more parties. Generally, the majority based coalitions as well as majority Governments are more stable and long lived. Coalition cabinets are common in countries in which a parliament is proportionally representative, with several organized political parties represented.

India has had coalition governments at the Centre as well as in individual states since the last two decades. Due to the diversity in India, the benefit that a coalition has is that it leads to more agreement based politics and reflects the popular opinion of the electorate. The current UPA-Left arrangement had been formed after parliamentary elections in 2004. It consists of 13 separate parties. Though they have main adversaries in three states, this Government was still a stable one till Left withdrew support on matters of nuclear deal.

If a coalition collapses, a confidence vote is held or a motion of no confidence is taken.

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