Executive: President, Prime Minister and Bureaucracy, Class 11 Political Science

What Executive is about

Weightage: Indian Constitution at Work carries 40 of the 80 theory marks in the school annual exam, shared among its chapters; project work carries the other 20 marks.Source: CBSE Political Science (028) syllabus 2026-27, Class XI course structure

Key concepts

What is an executive?

NCERT section What is an Executive?

• In any organisation, some office holders take decisions and others implement them; this is administration or management. Companies have executives too (CEOs).
• In government, the executive is the organ that primarily looks after implementation and administration: the branch responsible for implementing laws and policies adopted by the legislature. It is also often involved in framing policy.
• Designations vary: presidents, chancellors, prime ministers.
• The executive is not just presidents, prime ministers and ministers; it also includes the administrative machinery (civil servants).
• Political executive: heads of government and ministers, with overall responsibility for policy.
• Permanent executive: those responsible for day-to-day administration (civil servants).

In a democracy the executive is accountable to the people, unlike the executives of private companies.

Worked example

Distinguish between the political executive and the permanent executive. (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Political executive: elected heads of government and their ministers, who carry overall responsibility for government policy and change with elections.
2. Permanent executive: trained civil servants who handle day-to-day administration and continue regardless of which party is in power.

Answer: Political executive makes and answers for policy; permanent executive administers it continuously.

Types of executive: presidential, parliamentary, semi-presidential

NCERT section What are the different types of executive?

Presidential system: the president is both head of state and head of government; the office is very powerful in theory and practice. Example: the USA.

Parliamentary system: the prime minister is head of government; a president or monarch is the nominal head of state with a mainly ceremonial role; the prime minister and cabinet hold effective power. Examples: Germany (ceremonial president, chancellor heads government), Italy, Japan (Emperor as head of state), the United Kingdom, Portugal; Canada is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as formal head.

Semi-presidential system: both a president and a prime minister, but the president may have significant day-to-day powers; they may belong to the same party or to opposing parties.

• France: the president appoints the prime minister and ministers but cannot dismiss them, as they are responsible to parliament.
• Russia: the president is head of state; the prime minister, appointed by the president, heads the government.
• Sri Lanka: an Executive Presidency since 1978: the president is directly elected for six years, is head of state, commander-in-chief and head of government, chooses the PM from the majority party and can remove the PM or ministers; removal needs a resolution of at least two-thirds of all MPs, with a Supreme Court inquiry if at least half support it and the Speaker agrees.

Key point: having a president does not make a system presidential: India has a President but a parliamentary executive.

Worked example

Germany and France both have a president and a head of government. Why does the chapter classify Germany as parliamentary and France as semi-presidential? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. In Germany the president is a ceremonial head of state, and the chancellor, who depends on parliament, heads the government and holds effective power.
2. In France the president has significant powers, appointing the prime minister and ministers (though not able to dismiss them, as they answer to parliament), so power is shared between president and prime minister.

Answer: Because the type of executive depends on where real power lies, not on the titles: Germany's president is ceremonial, France's shares real executive power.

Why India chose a parliamentary executive

NCERT section Parliamentary Executive in India

• India had experience of a parliamentary system under the Acts of 1919 and 1935, which showed that the executive could be effectively controlled by the people's representatives.
• The framers wanted a government sensitive to public expectations, responsible and accountable.
• The alternative, a presidential executive, concentrates power in the president as the source of all executive power, with the danger of a personality cult.
• The framers wanted a strong executive but with safeguards against a personality cult; the parliamentary form provides many mechanisms making the executive answerable to the legislature.
• So India adopted the parliamentary executive at both national and State levels: at the Centre, the President (formal head of state) and the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers; in the States, the Governor, Chief Minister and Council of Ministers.

The side-character asks whether strong Prime Ministers show that even a parliamentary system is not foolproof against a personality cult, a reminder that vigilance by people and legislatures still matters.

Worked example

Why did the makers of the Indian Constitution prefer a parliamentary executive to a presidential one? (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Experience under the 1919 and 1935 Acts showed that a parliamentary executive could be controlled by the people's representatives.
2. They wanted a government that is responsible and accountable and sensitive to public expectations.
3. A presidential executive concentrates power in one person and risks a personality cult.
4. The parliamentary form combines a strong executive with mechanisms (legislative control, collective responsibility) that keep it answerable.

Answer: For accountability to the legislature and to avoid a personality cult, while keeping the executive strong.

The President: election, removal and Article 74

NCERT section Power and position of President

Executive power of the Union is vested formally in the President, who in reality exercises it through the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

Election: for five years, indirectly, by elected MLAs and MPs, by proportional representation with single transferable vote.

Removal: only by Parliament through impeachment, requiring a special majority; the only ground is violation of the Constitution.

Article 74(1): a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister is to aid and advise the President, and the President shall act in accordance with that advice. 'Shall' means the advice is binding.

• Because of controversy over the President's powers, an amendment made the binding nature explicit.
• A later amendment allowed the President to ask the Council to reconsider its advice once, but the President must accept the reconsidered advice.

Formal powers: wide-ranging executive, legislative, judicial and emergency powers, but used on the advice of the Council of Ministers, which has the support of the Lok Sabha majority and is the real executive.

Nehru in the Constituent Assembly: the President was given no real power but a position of 'authority and dignity', 'a head that neither reigns nor governs'.

Worked example

How did amendments change the working of Article 74(1), and what is the President's position after reconsideration? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Because of controversy over the President's powers, an amendment made it explicit that the President shall act in accordance with the advice of the Council of Ministers.
2. A later amendment let the President return the advice once for reconsideration, but the President is bound to act on the reconsidered advice.

Answer: The advice was made explicitly binding; the President may seek reconsideration once, then must accept the reconsidered advice.

The President's discretionary powers

NCERT section Discretionary Powers of the President

It would be wrong to say the President has no discretion.

Right to information: the President is entitled to know about every important matter the Council of Ministers deliberates on, and the PM must supply any information the President asks for. The President often writes to the PM expressing views.

Three discretionary situations:
1. Reconsideration: the President can return the Council's advice for reconsideration if it has flaws, legal lacunae or is not in the national interest. Though bound by the reconsidered advice, the request carries weight.
2. Veto (pocket veto): the President can withhold assent or return a bill (other than a Money Bill) for reconsideration. If Parliament passes it again, the President must assent. But the Constitution sets no time limit, so the President can keep a bill pending indefinitely: the 'pocket veto'. Example: in 1986 Parliament passed the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, criticised for curbing press freedom; President Zail Singh took no decision; his successor Venkataraman sent it back; the new government elected in 1989 did not bring it again, so it never became law.
3. Appointing the Prime Minister when no party or coalition has a clear majority and several leaders claim support: the President must judge who can command a majority. After the March 1998 election (BJP and allies 251 seats, 21 short of a majority), President K.R. Narayanan asked Atal Bihari Vajpayee to furnish documents of support and to win a vote of confidence within ten days.

From 1989 to 1998, no party or coalition won a majority in four elections, increasing the President's importance in forming governments or deciding on dissolution. Presidential discretion depends on political conditions: more scope when governments are unstable and coalitions rule.

Why have a President? In a parliamentary system the Council of Ministers can fall at any time; a head of state with a fixed term who can appoint the PM and symbolise the nation provides continuity.

Vice President: elected for five years by a method like the President's, except that State legislators are not part of the electoral college; removed by a Rajya Sabha resolution passed by a majority and agreed to by the Lok Sabha; ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha; acts as President in a vacancy until a new President is elected (e.g. B.D. Jatti after President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's death).

Worked example

Explain the 'pocket veto' with the example given in the chapter. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The President can return a bill (other than a Money Bill) for reconsideration, but must assent if Parliament passes it again.
2. The Constitution sets no time limit for the President's decision, so the President can keep a bill pending indefinitely: this is the pocket veto.
3. In 1986, President Zail Singh took no decision on the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, criticised for curbing press freedom.
4. His successor returned it, and the new government of 1989 did not reintroduce it, so it never became law.

Answer: An informal, effective veto arising from the absence of a time limit, as with the 1986 Post Office Bill.

The Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

NCERT section Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

Why the PM matters most: the President acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers, which the Prime Minister heads, so the PM is the most important functionary of government.

Majority support: the PM must have the support of the Lok Sabha majority; this makes the PM powerful, and losing it means losing office. For many years the Congress had a majority; since 1989, coalitions have often governed, with a leader acceptable to most partners becoming PM.

Forming the Council: the President appoints as PM the leader with majority support; the PM selects ministers, allocates ranks (cabinet minister, minister of State, deputy minister) and portfolios. Chief Ministers do the same in States. All ministers must be MPs; a non-member must be elected within six months. Begum Aizaz Rasul in the Constituent Assembly had favoured a Swiss-style legislature-elected executive by single transferable vote.

Size: 91st Amendment (2003): earlier there was no limit, leading to very large councils, partly to win support in hung legislatures; now the Council of Ministers may not exceed 15 per cent of the total members of the Lok Sabha (or Assembly).

Collective responsibility: the Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. A government that loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha must resign. A no-confidence vote even against one minister leads to the resignation of the entire Council. A minister who disagrees must accept the decision or resign. This rests on cabinet solidarity.

Pre-eminence of the PM: the Council comes into existence only after the PM takes oath; the PM's death or resignation dissolves the Council, while a minister's exit only creates a vacancy. The PM links the Council with the President and Parliament (Nehru called the PM 'the linchpin of Government') and must communicate Council decisions and legislative proposals to the President.

Sources of the PM's power: control over the Council; leadership of the Lok Sabha; command over the bureaucracy; access to media; projection in elections; role as national leader at international summits and on foreign visits.

Worked example

What is collective responsibility, and what does it imply? (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha: if it loses the House's confidence, the whole ministry must resign.
2. A vote of no confidence even against one minister leads to the resignation of the entire Council.
3. A minister who disagrees with a cabinet decision must either accept and defend it or resign.
4. It reflects cabinet solidarity: the ministry acts as an executive committee governing on behalf of Parliament.

Answer: The ministry stands or falls together before the Lok Sabha, and ministers must publicly support collective decisions.

Coalition politics and the State executive

NCERT section Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (coalition era)

The power a PM actually uses depends on political conditions. With a single-party majority, the PM and Council have been unassailable. Since 1989, many coalition governments have formed, several unable to complete their terms. Effects on the parliamentary executive:
1. A growing discretionary role of the President in selecting Prime Ministers.
2. More consultation among partners, eroding prime-ministerial authority.
3. Restrictions on the PM's prerogatives of choosing ministers and allotting ranks and portfolios.
4. Policies framed through negotiation and compromise among allies of different ideologies (pre-poll and post-poll), so the PM acts more as a negotiator than a leader.

State level: a similar parliamentary executive, with the main variation that the Governor is appointed by the President (on the Union government's advice) and has more discretionary powers than the President; the Chief Minister, like the PM, leads the majority in the Assembly.

Check-your-progress scenario: if the PM wants President's rule in a State and the President disagrees, the constitutionally correct course is to discuss and try to dissuade the PM, but sign if the PM insists (after reconsideration).

Worked example

How has the rise of coalition governments since 1989 affected the position of the Prime Minister? (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The President's discretion in choosing a Prime Minister has grown, as no party had a clear majority.
2. The PM must consult coalition partners extensively, eroding prime-ministerial authority.
3. The PM's freedom to choose ministers and allot ranks and portfolios is restricted by allies' demands.
4. Policies are negotiated among allies of different ideologies, so the PM acts more as a negotiator than a commanding leader.

Answer: Coalitions strengthened presidential discretion and weakened the PM's control over ministers and policy.

The permanent executive: bureaucracy

NCERT section Permanent Executive: Bureaucracy

Role: the bureaucracy (civil service, distinguished from military service) consists of trained, skilled permanent employees who assist ministers in formulating and implementing policies. In a democracy, elected representatives and ministers control the administration; the legislature also controls it; officers cannot act against the legislature's policies.

Political neutrality: the bureaucracy takes no political position on policy; when a new government changes policy, it must faithfully and efficiently help draft and implement the new one.

Structure: All India Services, State services, local government employees, and technical and managerial staff of public sector undertakings.

Recruitment by merit: the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) recruits civil servants for the Government of India; State Public Service Commissions do so for States. Members have a fixed term; their removal or suspension needs a thorough enquiry by a Supreme Court judge.

Representativeness: the Constitution provides reservation in jobs for SCs and STs; reservation was later extended to women, OBCs and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), so social inequality does not block entry.

IAS and IPS: selected by the UPSC, they form the backbone of State-level higher bureaucracy (the district collector is normally an IAS officer). They are assigned to a State and work under its supervision, but are appointed by the Centre, can return to central service, and only the Centre can take disciplinary action against them: this strengthens central control over State administration.

Problems: people are often afraid of officials and find the bureaucracy insensitive; democratic control is the remedy, but too much political interference turns it into a politician's instrument. Safeguards against interference and accountability to citizens are seen as inadequate; the Right to Information is expected to make it more responsive.

Conclusion: the modern executive is very powerful, so the framers chose a parliamentary executive under regular supervision; periodic elections, constitutional limits and democratic politics keep it responsive.

Worked example

How does the Constitution try to ensure that the bureaucracy is both efficient and representative? (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Recruitment is on merit through independent bodies: the UPSC for the Union and State Public Service Commissions.
2. Commission members have fixed terms and can be removed only after an enquiry by a Supreme Court judge, protecting their independence.
3. Reservation in jobs for SCs and STs, later extended to women, OBCs and EWS, makes the bureaucracy more representative.
4. The bureaucracy is expected to be politically neutral and to implement the policies of any elected government faithfully.

Answer: Independent merit-based recruitment with reservations for disadvantaged groups, plus an expectation of neutrality.

Executive in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• The Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Coalitions, the Governor and the Permanent Executive
• Types of Executive, Why India Chose a Parliamentary System and the President's Powers

Executive: key facts

Three types of executive

• •Presidential (USA): president = head of state + government
• •Parliamentary (UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, India): PM governs, nominal head of state
• •Semi-presidential (France, Russia, Sri Lanka): president with real powers + PM

Titles do not decide the type; location of real power does.

President

Term	5 years
Election	indirect, by elected MPs and MLAs (PR-STV)
Impeachment	by Parliament, special majority
Only ground	violation of the Constitution

Article 74(1): advice of the Council of Ministers is binding.

Discretion

Reconsideration once + pocket veto (no time limit; not Money Bills) + choice of PM in a hung House

Greater scope in unstable, coalition periods.

Vice President

Term	5 years
Election	by MPs only (no State legislators)
Removal	Rajya Sabha majority resolution agreed by Lok Sabha
Role	Chairman of Rajya Sabha

Acts as President in a vacancy.

Council of Ministers

Max 15% of Lok Sabha (or Assembly) strength (91st Amendment, 2003); non-MP minister must be elected within 6 months

Ranks: cabinet, State, deputy.

Collective responsibility

1. 1.No confidence in one minister
2. 2.entire Council resigns; PM's death or resignation
3. 3.Council dissolved

Minister's exit only creates a vacancy.

Bureaucracy

Recruitment	UPSC (Union), State PSCs
Removal of members	after enquiry by a Supreme Court judge
Reservations	SC, ST, then women, OBC, EWS

IAS/IPS: appointed and disciplined by the Centre, serve in States.

How the school exam asks Executive

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember Executive

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Three systems

  P-P-S: Presidential = one powerful person; Parliamentary = PM plus Parliament; Semi = Shared powers.

  Use it when: Types of executive.

• President's discretion: R-P-P

  Reconsideration, Pocket veto, PM choice in a hung House.

  Use it when: Discretionary powers.

• PM's power sources

  C-L-B-M-E-I: Council, Lok Sabha, Bureaucracy, Media, Elections, International stage.

  Use it when: PM answers.

• Coalition effects: D-E-R-N

  Discretion of President up, Erosion of PM authority, Restrictions on choosing ministers, Negotiated policies.

  Use it when: Coalition era questions.

• Numbers 74-91-15-6

  Article 74 binding advice; 91st Amendment; 15 per cent cap; 6 months for a non-MP minister.

  Use it when: MCQs.

Executive: exam-level solved questions

Ordered from exam level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section E style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In a school exam set on the board pattern this is a 4-mark question split into 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in Executive

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Calling India's executive presidential because it has a President

  Titles are confused with systems.

  Wrong working

  India has a presidential system with a President as head.

  Right working

  India has a parliamentary executive: the President is the formal head; the PM and Council hold real power.

  ✓Do this: Ask who holds real power and to whom it answers.

  Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Saying the President can dismiss the Prime Minister at will

  Appointment is assumed to imply removal.

  Wrong working

  The President appoints and can dismiss the PM.

  Right working

  The PM remains in office while he or she has Lok Sabha majority support.

  ✓Do this: PM's tenure depends on the Lok Sabha, not the President.

  Usually costs: 1 mark in dialogue questions.

• ✗Mistake: Saying the President can veto a bill permanently by returning it

  'Veto' suggests a final block.

  Wrong working

  If the President returns a bill, it cannot become law.

  Right working

  If Parliament passes it again, the President must assent; the effective delay comes from the absence of a time limit (pocket veto).

  ✓Do this: Return = suspensive; pocket veto = delay without limit.

  Usually costs: 1-2 marks.

• ✗Mistake: Including State legislators in the Vice President's electoral college

  The method resembles the President's election.

  Wrong working

  MPs and MLAs elect the Vice President.

  Right working

  Only members of Parliament elect the Vice President.

  ✓Do this: President: MPs + MLAs; Vice President: MPs only.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Thinking a minister's resignation dissolves the Council

  Collective responsibility is over-applied.

  Wrong working

  If any minister resigns, the whole Council falls.

  Right working

  A minister's exit creates a vacancy; the PM's death or resignation dissolves the Council; a no-confidence vote against one minister forces all to resign.

  ✓Do this: Distinguish resignation of a minister from a no-confidence vote.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Assuming IAS officers are fully controlled by States

  They work in State administrations.

  Wrong working

  State governments appoint and discipline IAS officers.

  Right working

  The Centre appoints them and alone can take disciplinary action; States supervise their work.

  ✓Do this: Remember the federalism link: central control via All India Services.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

NCERT exercise guide: Executive

What each exercise in the NCERT chapter tests, how to approach it, and a question of the same kind solved step by step. Questions here are written in our own words.

Practice questions on Executive

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   The President of India is elected by:
   (a) all adult citizens
   (b) elected members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies
   (c) members of the Lok Sabha only
   (d) the Council of Ministers

   Hint

   Indirect election by PR-STV.

   Answer

   (b).

2. Q2 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   The only ground for impeaching the President is:
   (a) loss of majority
   (b) violation of the Constitution
   (c) ill health
   (d) disagreement with the PM

   Hint

   One ground only.

   Answer

   (b).

3. Q3 · 1 mark · MCQHarder exam level

   Consider the statements:
   1. The Vice President is the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
   2. State legislators are part of the electoral college for the Vice President.
   3. The Vice President acts as President until a new President is elected.
   Which are correct?
   (a) 1 and 2
   (b) 1 and 3
   (c) 2 and 3
   (d) 1, 2 and 3

   Hint

   Who elects the Vice President?

   Answer

   (b) 1 and 3.

4. Q4 · 1 mark · MCQHarder exam level

   Match:
   A. USA 1. Semi-presidential with Executive Presidency (1978)
   B. Germany 2. Presidential
   C. Sri Lanka 3. Parliamentary with a chancellor
   D. France 4. Semi-presidential; president appoints but cannot dismiss PM
   (a) A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4
   (b) A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4
   (c) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
   (d) A-2, B-3, C-4, D-1

   Hint

   Chancellor = Germany.

   Answer

   (a).

5. Q5 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder exam level

   Assertion (A): The President's discretion has greater scope when coalitions are in power.
   Reason (R): When no party has a clear majority, the President must judge who can form a stable government.
   Choose the correct option as in the standard A-R format.

   Hint

   Political conditions.

   Answer

   (a) Both true; R explains A.

6. Q6 · 1 mark · MCQExam level

   Which of these bills cannot be returned by the President for reconsideration?
   (a) An ordinary bill
   (b) A Money Bill
   (c) A bill on press freedom
   (d) A bill creating a new commission

   Hint

   Veto applies to other bills.

   Answer

   (b) A Money Bill.

7. Q7 · 4 marks · Short answerExam level

   What are the sources of the Prime Minister's power? (4 marks)

   Hint

   Council, Lok Sabha, bureaucracy, media, elections, international role.

   Answer

   Control over the Council of Ministers (choosing ministers, ranks, portfolios); leadership of the Lok Sabha majority; command over the bureaucratic machinery; access to media; projection as leader during elections; and the role of national leader at international summits and on foreign visits. The PM also links the Council with the President and Parliament.

8. Q8 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

   Describe four ways in which the Indian executive is kept accountable, as discussed in this chapter. (4 marks)

   Hint

   Lok Sabha, Parliament, elections, information.

   Answer

   (1) Collective responsibility: the Council of Ministers must keep the confidence of the Lok Sabha, and a no-confidence vote forces the whole Council to resign. (2) Ministers must be members of Parliament, or be elected within six months, so they answer to the legislature. (3) The President can be removed by impeachment for violating the Constitution, and the bureaucracy works under the control of ministers and the legislature. (4) Periodic elections, constitutional limits and tools such as the Right to Information keep the executive responsive to citizens.

9. Q9 · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

   The chapter suggests that both too little and too much political control can harm the bureaucracy. Explain this dilemma and suggest how a balance can be achieved. (6 marks)

   Hint

   Insensitivity versus becoming a politician's instrument.

   Answer

   Too little control: in a democracy, elected representatives must control administration, because people are often afraid of officials and find the bureaucracy insensitive; officials who answer to no one may ignore public needs. Too much control: excessive political interference can turn the bureaucracy into an instrument of politicians, undermining the neutrality that lets it serve every government faithfully. Existing safeguards: merit recruitment through the UPSC and State Public Service Commissions, fixed terms for Commission members removable only after an enquiry by a Supreme Court judge, and reservations that make the services representative. A balance: ministers and the legislature should set policy and supervise results; officers should be protected from partisan pressure in day-to-day decisions; and accountability to citizens should be strengthened through measures such as the Right to Information. The chapter itself notes that current safeguards against interference and accountability to citizens are seen as inadequate, so this remains a live debate.

10. Q10 · 2 marks · Short answerExam level

    What changes did the 91st Amendment (2003) make, and why? (2 marks)

    Hint

    15 per cent.

    Answer

    It capped the Council of Ministers at 15 per cent of the total members of the Lok Sabha (or State Assembly), because councils had become very large, often to win support in hung legislatures.

11. Q11 · 2 marks · Short answerHarder exam level

    In what ways is the Governor's position different from the President's? (2 marks)

    Hint

    Appointment and discretion.

    Answer

    The Governor is appointed by the President on the Union government's advice, not elected, and has more discretionary powers than the President, though the parliamentary principles still apply in the States.

12. Q12 · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

    Write a short essay on the proposal to have a directly elected executive in India. (6 marks)

    Hint

    Presidential versus parliamentary trade-offs.

    Answer

    For: a directly elected chief executive would have a fixed term and a direct mandate, avoiding unstable coalitions and the bargaining that has eroded prime-ministerial authority since 1989; ministers could be chosen for expertise. Against: the framers rejected a presidential executive because it concentrates power and risks a personality cult; the parliamentary system keeps the executive answerable to the legislature through collective responsibility; India's experience under the 1919 and 1935 Acts favoured legislative control; Sri Lanka's executive presidency shows how powerful such an office can become. Conclusion: a reasoned view either way, noting accountability versus stability.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.What term does the chapter use for civil servants who handle day-to-day administration?Show answer

   The permanent executive.

2. 2.Which countries have semi-presidential systems in the chapter?Show answer

   France, Russia and Sri Lanka.

3. 3.Which Acts gave India early experience of a parliamentary system?Show answer

   The Acts of 1919 and 1935.

4. 4.Who called the Prime Minister 'the linchpin of Government'?Show answer

   Jawaharlal Nehru.

5. 5.Which President delayed the 1986 Post Office Bill?Show answer

   Gyani Zail Singh.

6. 6.Who acted as President after Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's death?Show answer

   Vice President B.D. Jatti.

7. 7.Which body recruits civil servants for the Government of India?Show answer

   The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

8. 8.Who can remove members of a Public Service Commission?Show answer

   Removal requires a thorough enquiry by a Supreme Court judge.

9. 9.Who favoured a Swiss-style legislature-elected executive in the Constituent Assembly?Show answer

   Begum Aizaz Rasul.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Executive implements laws and policies; political executive (ministers) and permanent executive (civil servants).
• ☐Presidential (USA), parliamentary (UK, Germany, Japan, Italy, India), semi-presidential (France, Russia, Sri Lanka).
• ☐India chose a parliamentary executive for accountability and to avoid a personality cult.
• ☐President: 5 years, elected indirectly by MPs and MLAs (PR-STV), impeached only for violating the Constitution.
• ☐Article 74(1): advice binding; can seek reconsideration once.
• ☐Discretion: reconsideration, pocket veto (1986 Post Office Bill), PM choice in a hung House (1998).
• ☐Vice President: elected by MPs, Chairman of Rajya Sabha, acting President in a vacancy.
• ☐PM heads the Council; ministers must be MPs within six months; cap of 15 per cent (91st Amendment).
• ☐Collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha; PM's exit dissolves the Council.
• ☐Coalitions since 1989: more presidential discretion, less PM authority, negotiated policies.
• ☐Bureaucracy: neutral, merit-based (UPSC), reservations; IAS/IPS under central control; RTI for accountability.

Executive: frequently asked questions