Thursday 18 March 2021

Policies, Governance, and Administration.

 

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Higher Education System

Policies, Governance, and Administration.

Constitution of India:

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles and the duties of citizens. It is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world. The nation is governed on the basis of this Constitution. B. R. Ambedkar is regarded as the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.

The Constituent Assembly took 2 years, 11 months and 18 days to frame the Constitution. Originally, the Constitution had 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 schedules. Presently, it consists of 450 articles (divided into 24 parts) and 12 schedules.

Various sources of our Constitution:

 1. Government of India Act of 1935 – Federal Scheme, Office of Governor, Judiciary, Public Service Commission, Emergency provisions and administrative details.

2. British Constitution – Parliamentary System, Rule of law, Lagislative Procedure, Single Citizenship, Cabinet System, Prerogative Writs, Parliamentary Privileges and Bicameralism.

3. US Constitution – Fundamental rights, independence of judiciary, judicial review, impeachment of president, removal of Supreme court and high court judges and post of vice president.

4. Irish Constitution– Directive Principles of State Policy, nomination of members of Rajya Sabha and method of election of president

5. Canadian Constitution– Federation with a strong centre, vesting of residuary power in the centre, appointment of state Governor by the centre and advisory jurisdiction of Supreme Court.

6. Australian Constitution– Concurrent list, joint sitting of two houses of Parliament.

7. Constitution of Germany– Suspension of fundamental rights during emergency.

 8. French Constitution– Republic and ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity in the Preamble.

9. South African Constitution- Procedure for amendment of the constitution and election of members of Rajya Sabha.

10. Japanese Constitution- Procedure established by Law.

11. Constitution of former USSR: Procedure of five-year plan, fundamental duties, ideals of justice in Preamble.

Fundamental rights:

Right to equality (Article 14-18)

Right to freedom (Article 19-22)

Right against exploitation (Article 23-24)

Right to freedom of religion (Articles 25-28)

Cultural & educational rights (Articles 29-30)

29: - Protection of interests of minorities Article

30: - Right of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions Article

31:- Omitted by the 44th Amendment Act

Right to constitutional remedies (Article 32).

Fundamental Duties in the Indian Constitution Fundamental duties in Indian constitution are based on Japanese model. Ten duties in the the Indian Constitution were included in the Indian Constitution by 42nd amendment act, 1976 on the basis of Swarn Singh Committee. Eleventh duty was added by 86th Amendment act, 2002.

 Fundamental rights and fundamental duties are co-relative. 11 Fundamental Duties of the citizens towards the State have been enumerated in Article 51-A in part-IV A of our Constitution.

 

List of fundamental duties for citizens:

·        To oblige with the Indian Constitution and respect the National Anthem and Flag

·        To cherish and follow the noble ideas that inspired the national struggle for freedom

·        To protect the integrity, sovereignty, and unity of India

·        To defend the country and perform national services if and when the country requires

·        To promote the spirit of harmony and brotherhood amongst all the people of India and renounce any practices that are derogatory to women

·        To cherish and preserve the rich national heritage of our composite culture

·        To protect and improve the natural environment including lakes, wildlife, rivers, forests, etc.

·        To develop scientific temper, humanism, and spirit of inquiry

·        To safeguard all public property

·        To strive towards excellence in all genres of individual and collective activities

The 11th fundamental duty which was added to this list is:

·        To provide opportunities for education to children between 6-14 years of age, and duty as parents to ensure that such opportunities are being awarded to their child.

 

President:

Articles 52 to 153 of the Constitution deal with the Union executive. The Union executive consists of the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the council of ministers and the attorney general of India.

The President is the head of the Indian State. He is the first citizen of India. Impeachment of President: The President can be removed from office by a process of impeachment for ‘violation of the Constitution’. The impeachment charges can be initiated by either House of Parliament. These charges should be signed by one-fourth members of the House (that framed the charges), and a 14 days’ notice should be given to the President.

 

 

 

 

The executive powers and functions of the President are:

All executive actions of the Government of India are formally taken in his name.

According to article 75 he appoints the Prime Minister of India and according to Article 77 with consent of the Prime Minister he appoints the other ministers. They hold office during his pleasure.

He appoints the Attorney-General of India, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, the chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission, the governors of states, the chairman and members of Finance Commission, and administrators of UTs and so on.

 

Legislative powers The President is an integral part of the Parliament of India, and enjoys the following legislative powers.

Ø He can summon or prorogue the Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha. [Art. 85]

Ø He can also summon a joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, which is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. [Art. 108]

Ø He can address the Parliament at the commencement of the first session after each general election and the first session of each year. [Art. 87]

Ø He can send messages to the Houses of Parliament, whether with respect to a bill pending in the Parliament or otherwise.

Ø He can appoint any member of the Lok Sabha to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker fall vacant. Similarly, he can also appoint any member of the Rajya Sabha to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman fall vacant.

Ø He nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service.[Art. 80(1)]

Note: His prior recommendation or permission is needed to introduce certain types of bill in the Parliament. For example, a bill involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, or a bill for the alteration of boundaries of states or creation of a new state.

According to Article 123, he can promulgate ordinances when the Parliament is not in session. An ordinance issued under Art. 123 must receive approval of Parliament (both the houses) within six weeks of reassembly of the parliament.

 

Veto power of the President: A bill passed by the Parliament can become an act only if it receives the assent of the President. However, the President has the veto power over the bills passed by the Parliament, i.e. he can withhold his assent to the bills.

Absolute Veto: It refers to the power of the President to withhold his assent to a bill passed by the Parliament. The bill then ends and does not become an act. Usually, this veto is exercised in the following two cases: With respect to private members’ bills; and with respect to the government bills when the cabinet resigns (after the passage of the bills but before the assent by the President) and the new cabinet advises the President not to give his assent to such bills.

Suspensive Veto: The President exercises this veto when he returns a bill for reconsideration of the Parliament. However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or without amendments and again presented to the President, it is obligatory for the President to give his assent to the bill. The President does not possess this veto in the case of money bills.

Vice-President :

The Vice-President occupies the second highest office in the country. He is accorded a rank next to the President in the official warrant of precedence. Election He is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament.

Thus, this electoral college is different from the electoral college for the election of the President in the following two respects:

Ø It consists of both elected and nominated members of the Parliament.

Ø It does not include the members of the state legislative assemblies.

Ø The executive powers and functions of the Vice-President are:

The functions of Vice-President are twofold:

Ø He acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of the Speaker of Lok Sabha.

Ø He acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of the President due to his resignation, removal, death or otherwise.

Ø He can act as President only for a maximum period of six months, within which a new President has to be elected.

Further, when the sitting President is unable to discharge his functions due to absence, illness or any other cause, the Vice-President discharges his functions until the President resumes his office.

While acting as President or discharging the functions of President, the Vice President does not perform the duties of the office of the chairman of Rajya Sabha. During this period, those duties are performed by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

If the offices of both the President and the Vice-President fall vacant by reason of death, resignation, removal etc the Chief Justice of India or in his absence the senior most judge of the Supreme Court acts as President.

Note: For the first time, during the 15-day visit of Dr. Rajendra Prasad to the Soviet Union in June 1960, the then Vice-President Dr. Radhakrishnan acted as the President. For the first time, in 1969, when the President Dr. Zakir Hussain died and the Vice President V.V. Giri resigned, the Chief Justice Md. Hidayatullah acted as President.

Prime Minister:

In the scheme of parliamentary system of government provided by the Constitution, the President is the nominal executive authority and Prime Minister is the real executive authority. The President is the head of the State while Prime Minister is the head of the government.

 Appointment of the Prime Minister Article 75 says that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President. The President appoints the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister. But, when no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, then the President may exercise his personal discretion in the selection and appointment of the Prime Minister.

The term of the Prime Minister is not fixed and he holds office during the pleasure of the President. So long as the Prime Minister enjoys the majority support in the Lok Sabha, he cannot be dismissed by the President. However, if he loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha, he must resign or the President can dismiss him.

Powers and functions of Prime Minister:

The powers and functions of Prime Minister can be studied under the following heads:

Ø He recommends persons who can be appointed as ministers by the President.

Ø He can recommend dissolution of the Lok Sabha to the President at any time.

Ø He is the chairman of the Planning Commission, National Development Council, National Integration Council, Inter-State Council and National Water Resources Council.

Council of Ministers:

Which articles in the Constitution deal with the Council of Ministers?

Two articles – Article 74 and Article 75 of the Indian Constitution deal with the Council of Ministers. Where article 74 mentions that the council will be headed by the Prime Minister of India and will aid and advise the President, article 75 mentions the following things:

  • They are appointed by the President on the advice of Prime Minister
  • They along with the Prime Minister of India form 15% of the total strength of the lower house i.e. Lok Sabha. (The number cannot exceed 15%)
  • 91st Amendment Act provided for the disqualification of the minister when he stands disqualified as a member of Parliament. (Difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha can be referred to in the linked article.)
  • A Minister ceased to exist as one if he is not a member of either house of Parliament for six consecutive months.
  • Parliament decides the salary and allowances of the council of ministers.

Collective Responsibility of the Council of Ministers

In England, the Cabinet system is based on conventions. The framers of our Constitution considered it fit to incorporate the system in the Constitution. The principle of collective responsibility finds a place in Art. 75(3) where it is stated that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. In other words, this provision means that a Ministry which loses confidence in the Lok Sabha is obliged to resign. The loss of confidence is expressed by rejecting a Money Bill or Finance Bill or any other important policy measure or by passing a motion of no-confidence or rejecting a motion expressing confidence in the Ministry. When a Ministry loses the confidence of the Lok Sabha the whole of the Ministry has to resign including those Ministers who are from the Rajya Sabha. The Ministers fall and stand together. In certain cases, the Ministry may advise the President to dissolve Lok Sabha and call for fresh elections.

Types of Ministers:

The Indian Constitution does not categorize ministers into ranks, however, in practice seen in India, ministers are basically 3 types:

1.    Cabinet Ministers—He is present and he participates in every meeting of the Cabinet.

2.    Minister of State with independent charge—He is a Minister of State who does not work under a Cabinet Minister. When any matter concerning his Department is on the agenda of the Cabinet, he is invited to attend the meeting.

3.    Minister of State—He is a Minister who does not have independent charge of any Department and works under a Cabinet Minister. The work to such Minister is allotted by his Cabinet Minister.

Governor:

The Governors of the states of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as those of the President of India at Union level. Governors exist in the states while lieutenant governors or administrator exist in union territories including National Capital Territory of Delhi. The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the Chief ministers of the states and his/her councils of ministers. Although, in union territories, the real power lies with the lieutenant governor or administrator, except in NCT of Delhi and Puducherry where he/she shares power with a council of ministers headed by a chief minister. Most, if not all governors are not local to the state that they are appointed to govern.

Qualifications:

Article 157 and Article 158 of the Constitution of India specify eligibility requirements for the post of governor. They are as follows:

A governor must:

·        be a citizen of India

·        be at least 35 years of age.

·        not be a member of the either house of the parliament or house of the state legislature.

·        not hold any office of profit.

·        not be a resident of the same state.


Powers and functions:

The primary function of the governor is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law as incorporated in his/her oath of office under Article 159 of the Indian constitution in the administration of the State affairs. All his/her actions, recommendations and supervisory powers (Article 167c, Article 200, Article 213, Article 355, etc.) over the executive and legislative entities of a State shall be used to implement the provisions of the Constitution. In this respect, the governor has many different types of powers:

·        Executive powers related to administration, appointments and removals,

·        Legislative powers related to law making and the state legislature, that is State Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) or State Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad),

·        Discretionary powers to be carried out according to the discretion of the governor

 

 

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