| Government of India | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| भारत सरकार In Scheduled languages:
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 Government of India's Logo with wordmark crested with the emblem of India on the left. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Established | Current form: 26 January 1950; 75 years ago (1950-01-26) (see:Constitution of India) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| State |  Republic of India | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader | President of India(Droupadi Murmu  ) (de jure)Prime Minister of India (Narendra Modi) (de facto) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Main organ | Union Council of Ministers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ministries | 54 ministries and 93 subordinate departments | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Responsible to | Lok Sabha[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Annual budget | ₹45.03 trillion (equivalent to₹53 trillion or US$630 billion in 2023) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Headquarters | Secretariat Building, New Delhi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheGovernment of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally theUnion Government orUnion of India[2] or theCentral Government) is the national authority of theRepublic of India, located inSouth Asia, consisting of36 states and union territories. The government is led by thepresident of India (currentlyDroupadi Murmu since 25 July 2022) who largely exercises the executive powers, and selects theprime minister of India and other ministers for aid and advice.[3] Government has been formed by theNational Democratic Alliance since 2014, as the dominant grouping in the Lok Sabha.[4] The prime minister and their senior ministers belong to theUnion Council of Ministers, its executive decision-making committee being thecabinet.[5][need quotation to verify]
The government, seated inNew Delhi, has three primary branches: the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, whose powers are vested in bicameralParliament of India,[6] Union Council of Ministers (headed by prime minister),[7] and theSupreme Court of India[8] respectively, with a president as head of state.[5] It is a derivation of the BritishWestminster system, and has afederal structure.[9]
The Union Council of Ministers is responsible to thelower house of parliament, as is the Cabinet in accordance with the principles ofresponsible government.[10][9] As is the case in most parliamentary systems, the government isdependent on Parliament to legislate, andgeneral elections are held every five years to elect a newLok Sabha. The most recent election was in2024.
After an election, the president generally selects as Prime Minister the leader of the party or alliance most likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Lok Sabha. In the event that the prime minister is not a member of either House of Parliament upon appointment, he/she is given six months to be elected or appointed to either House of Parliament.[a]
The first seeds of responsible government duringBritish colonial rule in India were sown by theIndian Councils Act 1909, commonly known as theMorley-Minto reforms. The Act introduced elections to theImperial Legislative Council (then the unicameral Legislature for British India). Before that, governance was carried by an all-EuropeanLegislative Council andViceroy's Executive Council. As such, no Indians were represented in government before 1909.[11]
India's current bicameralParliament has its roots in theGovernment of India Act 1919, commonly known as theMontagu-Chelmsford reforms, which introduced a greatly expandedImperial Legislative Council. It comprised a lower house, theCentral Legislative Assembly of 145 members (of which 104 were elected and 41 nominated) and an upper house, theCouncil of State of 60 members (of which 34 were elected and 26 nominated).[12]
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The next structural modification to the governance ofBritish India, theGovernment of India Act 1935 (the longestAct of Parliament of the United Kingdom until surpassed by theGreater London Authority Act 1999) was aimed at devolution of powers by establishingprovincial governments and the creation ofcivil service institutions. However, it was unpopular amongst Indians and is considered a failure as it did not give Indians self-rule and permanentdominion status (the form of government followed inCanada,Australia andNew Zealand) as was previously promised.[13]
Between midnight on15 August 1947 and26 January 1950, India was an independent, self-governingdominion of theCommonwealth of Nations, aconstitutional monarchy with aPrime Minister and aGovernor-General as the viceregal representative of the head of state,George VI. Its unicameral legislature, theConstituent Assembly, was tasked with drafting the country's constitution.[14]
TheConstitution of India came into effect on26 January 1950, making India arepublic with apresident as head of state, replacing the monarch and his viceregal representative, thegovernor-general. It was based in large part on theGovernment of India Act 1935, which was itself based on theuncodified constitution of the United Kingdom. It also drew notable inspirations from the constitutions of several other Commonwealth dominions and theFrench,Soviet,Japanese,German andAmerican constitutions.[15]
India today prides itself in being the world's largestdemocracy, and the 4th largest economy in the world. Even though much remains to be done, especially in regard to eradicatingpoverty and securing effective structures of governance, India's achievements since independence in sustaining freedom and democracy have been singular among the world's new nations.[16]
The Government of India is modelled after the Westminster system.[17] The Union government is mainly composed of theexecutive, thelegislature, and thejudiciary, and powers are vested by theconstitution in thecouncil of ministers,parliament, and thesupreme court, respectively. Thepresident of India is thehead of state and thecommander-in-chief of theIndian Armed Forces, while theelectedprime minister acts as the head of the executive and is responsible for running the Union government.[18] Parliament isbicameral in nature, with theLok Sabha being thelower house, and theRajya Sabha theupper house. The judiciary systematically contains an apexsupreme court, 25high courts, and hundreds ofdistrict courts, all subordinate to the supreme court.[19]
The basiccivil and criminal laws governing the citizens of India are set down in major parliamentary legislation, such as thecivil procedure code, thepenal code, and thecriminal procedure code.[20] Similar to the Union government, individual state governments each consist of executive, legislative and judiciary branches. The legal system as applicable to the Union and individual state governments is based on theEnglish common andStatutory Law.[21] The full name of the country is theRepublic of India. India and Bharat are equally official shortnames for the Republic of India in the Constitution,[22] and both names appears on legal banknotes, in treaties and in legal cases. The terms "Union government", "central government" and "bhārat sarkār" are often used officially and unofficially to refer to the government of India.[citation needed] The termNew Delhi is commonly used as ametonym for the Union government,[23] as the seat of the central government is inNew Delhi.
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The powers of the legislature in India are exercised bythe Parliament, a bicameral legislature consisting of theRajya Sabha and theLok Sabha. Of the two houses of parliament, the Rajya Sabha (or the 'Council of States') is considered to be theupper house and consists of members appointed by the president andelected by thestate and territorial legislatures. The Lok Sabha (or the 'House of the People') is considered thelower house.[24]
The parliament does not have complete control andsovereignty, as its laws are subject tojudicial review by theSupreme Court.[25] However, it does exercise some control over theexecutive. The members of theCouncil of Ministers, includingthe prime minister, are either chosen from parliament or elected there within six months of assuming office.[26] The council as a whole isresponsible to the Lok Sabha.[27] The Lok Sabha is a temporary house and can be dissolved only when the party in power loses the support of the majority of the house. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent house and can never be dissolved. The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected for a six-year term.[28]
Theexecutive 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 republican idea of theseparation of powers.[29]
The executive power is vested mainly in thepresident of India, as per Article 53(1) of the constitution. The president has allconstitutional powers and exercises them directly or through subordinate officers as per the aforesaid Article 53(1). The president is to act following aid and advice tendered by the prime minister, who leads the Council of Ministers as described inArticle 74 of the Constitution.
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 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 theLok Sabha.
The president is responsible for appointing many high officials in India. These high officials include thegovernors of the 28states; thechief justice; other judges of thesupreme court andhigh courts on the advice of other judges; theattorney general; thecomptroller and auditor general; thechief election commissioner and otherelection commissioners; the chairman and members of theUnion Public Service Commission; the officers of theAll India Services (IAS,IFoS andIPS) andCentral Civil Services in group 'A'; officers of theIndian Armed Forces; and theambassadors andhigh commissioners to other countries on the recommendations of the Council of Ministers, among others.[30][31]
The president, as thehead of state, also receives the credentials ofambassadors from other countries, while theprime minister, ashead of government, receives credentials ofhigh commissioners from othermembers of the Commonwealth, in line with historical tradition.
The president is thede jurecommander-in-chief of theIndian Armed Forces.[32]
Thepresident of India can grant a pardon to or reduce the sentence of a convicted person once, particularly in cases involving the punishment of death. The decisions involving pardoning and other rights by the president are independent of the opinion of the prime minister or the Lok Sabha majority. In most other cases, however, the president exercises his or her executive powers on the advice of the prime minister.[33]
The vice president is the second-highest constitutional position in India after the president. The vice president represents the nation in the absence of thepresident and takes charge as acting president in the incident of resignation impeachment or removal of the president. The vice president also has the legislative function of acting as the chairman of theRajya Sabha.[34] The vice president is elected indirectly by members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both the houses of the parliament following the system ofproportional representation employing thesingle transferable vote and the voting is by secret ballot conducted by theelection commission.
Theprime minister of India, as addressed in theConstitution of India, is the chief executive of the government and the leader of the majority party that holds a majority in the Lok Sabha. The prime minister leads the executive of the Government of India.
The prime minister is the senior member of the cabinet in the executive 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 and is responsible for bringing a proposal of legislation. The resignation or death of the prime minister dissolves the cabinet.
The prime minister is appointed by the president to assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive.
TheUnion Council of Ministers includes the prime minister,Cabinet Ministers andMinisters of State (MoS).[35] Each minister must be a member of one of the houses of the parliament. The cabinet is headed by theprime minister, and is advised by thecabinet secretary, who also acts as the head of theIndian Administrative Service and other civil services. Other members of the council are either union cabinet ministers, who are heads of various ministries; or ministers of state, who are junior members who report directly to one of the cabinet ministers, often overseeing a specific aspect of government; or ministers of state (independent charges), who do not report to a cabinet minister. As per article 88 of the constitution, every minister shall have the right to speak in, and to take part in the proceedings of, either house, any joint sitting of the houses, and any committee of parliament of which he may be named a member, but shallnot be entitled to a vote in the house where he is not a member.
Asecretary to the Government of India, acivil servant, generally anIndian Administrative Service (IAS) officer,[36][37][38][39] is the administrative head of the ministry or department, and is the principal adviser to the minister on all matters of policy and administration within the ministry/department.[40][41] Secretaries to the Government of India rank 23rd onIndian order of precedence.[42][43][44][45] Secretaries at the higher level are assisted by one or manyadditional secretaries, who are further assisted byjoint secretaries.[41] At the middle they are assisted by directors/deputy secretaries and under secretaries.[41] At the lower level, there are section officers, assistant section officers, upper division clerks, lower division clerks and other secretarial staff.[41]
The Civil Services of India are the civil services and the permanentbureaucracy of India. Theexecutive decisions are implemented by the Indian civil servants.
In theparliamentary democracy of India, the ultimate responsibility for running the administration rests with the elected representatives of the people which are the ministers. These ministers are accountable to the legislatures which are also elected by the people based onuniversal adult suffrage. The ministers are indirectly responsible to the people themselves. But the handful of ministers is not expected to deal personally with the various problems of modern administration. Thus the ministers lay down the policy and it is for the civil servants to enforce it.
The cabinet secretary (IAST:Maṃtrimaṇḍala Saciva) is the top-most executive official andsenior-most civil servant of the Government of India. The cabinet secretary is theex-officio head of the Civil Services Board, theCabinet Secretariat, theIndian Administrative Service (IAS) and the head of all civil services under the rules of business of the government.
The cabinet secretary is generally the senior-most officer of theIndian Administrative Service. The cabinet secretary ranks 11th on theIndian order of precedence.[42][43][44][45] The cabinet secretary is under the direct charge of theprime minister. Presently, theCabinet Secretary of India isRajiv Gauba,IAS.
India's independent union judicial system began under the British, and its concepts and procedures resemble those ofAnglo-Saxon countries. TheSupreme Court of India consists of thechief justice and 33 associate justices, all appointed by the president on the advice of theChief Justice of India. Thejury trials were abolished in India in the early 1960s, after the famous caseKM Nanavati v. the State of Maharashtra, for reasons of being vulnerable to media and public pressure, as well as to being misled.
Unlike its United States counterpart, the Indian justice system consists of a unitary system at both state and union levels. The judiciary consists of theSupreme Court of India,high courts at the state level, anddistrict courts andSessions Courts at thedistrict level.
TheSupreme Court of India is situated inNew Delhi, the capital region ofIndia.
The Supreme Court is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal under theConstitution of India, the highest constitutional court, with the power ofconstitutional review. Consisting of theChief Justice of India and 33 sanctioned other judges, it has extensive powers in the form oforiginal,appellate andadvisory jurisdictions.[46]
As thefinal court of appeal of the country, it takes up appeals primarily against verdicts of thehigh courts of various states of the Union and other courts and tribunals. It safeguardsfundamental rights of citizens and settles disputes between various governments in the country. As an advisory court, it hears matters which may specifically be referred to it under theconstitution by the president. It also may take cognisance of matters on its own (or 'suo moto'), without anyone drawing its attention to them. The law declared by the supreme court becomes binding on all courts within India and also by the union and state governments.[47] PerArticle 142, it is the duty of thepresident to enforce the decrees of the supreme court.
In addition, Article 32 of the constitution gives an extensive original jurisdiction to the supreme court concerning enforcing fundamental rights. It is empowered to issue directions, orders or writs, includingwrits in the nature ofhabeas corpus,mandamus,prohibition,quo warranto andcertiorari to enforce them. The supreme court has been conferred with power to direct the transfer of any civil or criminal case from one state high court to another state high court, or from a Court subordinate to another state high court and the supreme court. Although the proceedings in the supreme court arise out of the judgment or orders made by the subordinate courts, of late[when?] the supreme court has started entertaining matters in which the interest of the public at large is involved. This may be done by any individual or group of persons either by filing awrit petition at the filing counter of the court or by addressing a letter to theChief Justice of India, highlighting the question of public importance for redress. These are known aspublic interest litigations.[48]
India has aquasi-federal form of government, called "union" or "central" government,[49] with elected officials at the union, state and local levels. At the national level, thehead of government, theprime minister, is appointed by thepresident of India from the party or coalition that has the majority of seats in theLok Sabha. The members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected for a term of five years byuniversal adult suffrage through afirst-past-the-post voting system. Members of theRajya Sabha, which represents thestates, are elected by the members of State legislative assemblies byproportional representation, except for 12 members who are nominated by the president.
India is currently the largest democracy in the world, with around 900 million eligible voters, as of 2019.[50]
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In India, power is divided between the governments of the union and thestates of India,[51] the latter being ruled by thechiefs ministers.[52] The state legislature isbicameral insix states andunicameral in the rest.[53] The lower house is elected with a five-year term, while in the upper house one-third of the members in the house gets elected every two years with six-year terms.
Local governments function at the basic level. It is the third level of government apart from union and state governments. It consists ofpanchayats in rural areas andmunicipalities in urban areas. They are elected directly or indirectly by the people.
India has a three-tier tax structure, wherein theconstitution empowers the union government to levyincome tax, tax on capital transactions (wealth tax,inheritance tax),sales tax, service tax, customs andexcise duties and thestate governments to levy sales tax on intrastate sale of goods, taxonentertainment andprofessions, excise duties on manufacture ofalcohol,stamp duties on transfer of property and collect land revenue (levy on land owned). Thelocal governments are empowered by the state government to levyproperty tax and charge users forpublic utilities likewater supply,sewage etc.[54] More than half of the revenues of the union and state governments come from taxes, of which 3/4 come fromdirect taxes. More than a quarter of the union government's tax revenues are shared with the state governments.[55]
The tax reforms, initiated in 1991, have sought to rationalise the tax structure and increase compliance by taking steps in the following directions:
The non-tax revenues of the central government come fromfiscal services, interest receipts, public sector dividends, etc., while the non-tax revenues of the States are grants from the central government, interest receipts, dividends and income from general, economic and social services.[57]
Inter-state share in the union tax pool is decided by the recommendations of theFinance Commission to the president.
Total tax receipts of Centre and State amount to approximately 18% of national GDP. This compares to a figure of 37–45% in the OECD.
The Finance minister of India usually presents the annualunion budget in theparliament on the lastworking day of February. However, for the F.Y. 2017–18, this tradition had been changed. Now the budget will be presented on the 1st day of February. The budget has to be passed by theLok Sabha before it can come into effect on 1 April, the start of India'sfiscal year. The Union budget is preceded by aneconomic survey which outlines the broad direction of the budget and the economic performance of the country for the outgoing financial year[58]
India's non-development revenue expenditure had increased nearly five-fold in 2003–04 since 1990–91 and more than tenfold from 1985 to 1986. Interest payments are the single largest item of expenditure and accounted for more than 40% of the total non-development expenditure in the 2003–04 budget. Defence expenditure increased fourfold during the same period and has been increasing to defend from a difficult neighbourhood and external terror threats. In 2020–21, India's defence budget stood at₹4.71 trillion (equivalent to₹5.5 trillion or US$66 billion in 2023).
In 2009, several ministers are accused of corruption and nearly a quarter of the 543 elected members of parliament had been charged with crimes, including murder.[59] Many of the biggest scandals since 2010 have involved high-level government officials, including cabinet ministers and chief ministers, such as the2010 Commonwealth Games scam (₹700 billion (equivalent to₹1.6 trillion or US$19 billion in 2023)), theAdarsh Housing Society scam, theCoal Mining Scam (₹1.86 trillion (equivalent to₹4.2 trillion or US$49 billion in 2023)), themining scandal in Karnataka and thecash-for-votes scandal.
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