The document outlines the structure and functions of the Union Government of India, detailing its components, including the Parliament, the President, the Prime Minister, and the Supreme Court. It explains the legislative process, the roles and powers of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and the responsibilities of the executive, along with the judiciary's functions, particularly focusing on the Supreme Court and High Courts. Further, it discusses the electoral qualifications for parliament members, the law-making process, and the significance of the budget in controlling government expenditure.

1. WELCOME
Union Government

2. • The government at the Centre is called the union government. The
union government consists of the Parliament, the President, the
Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers, and the Supreme Court.
• In Parliamentary form of government there is interdependence
between legislature and the executive. It may be noted that in
presidential form of government like in U.S.A., there is of separation
of powers among legislature, executive and judiciary.

3. Legislature
• The legislature is the law-making body of the government. In India, the
legislature is called parliament. The President, the Lok Sabha and the
Rajya Sabha form the legislature in India. The Lok Sabha and Rajya
Sabha are the two houses or the chambers of the Parliament.
• Every law, when it is introduced in the Parliament is called a bill. After
discussing and passing the bill by both the Houses of Parliament, the
bill is sent to the President for his approval and signature. After the
President’s signature, the bill becomes a law. The Parliament can make
laws on subjects given in the union list (97 subjects) and concurrent list
(47 subjects). The state list consists of 66 subjects on which only state
governments can make laws normally.

4. Lok Sabha
• Lok Sabha is also called the House of People because its members are
elected directly by the people. Lok Sabha is also called lower house of
parliament. But it is more powerful than Rajya Sabha. Every five years
elections are held to elect members. The entire country is divided into
several constituencies. A constituency is a territorial area from which
a candidate is elected. Each constituency consists of several lakhs of
people. Only those who are 18 years of age, have a right to vote. India
has adult franchise which means that every adult citizen has a right to
vote

5. Qualification for Lok Sabha candidates
• Any citizen of India who is not less than 25 years of age can stand as a
candidate for election to the Lok Sabha. A government servant or an
insolvent or a mentally unsound person cannot contest for the membership
of Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha elections are fought by political parties.
Candidates belonging to different political parties contest in the election.
• Strength
• The present maximum strength of Lok Sabha is 545. The president can
nominate two members of the Anglo-Indian community to the Lok Sabha if
they are not adequately represented. In January 2020, seats reserved for
the Anglo-Indian community in Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies
were abolished the by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act.

6. • The members are elected for five years. The Lok Sabha also elects one
person to preside over its settings. He is called the Speaker. A deputy
speaker is also elected by the Lok Sabha.
• Every member has to take oath in the presence of speaker. The
speaker is the presiding officer of Lok Sabha.
• Most of the members are elected on party tickets. The political party
which has the support of majority of members in the Lok Sabha is
asked by the President to form the Government.

7. Raja Saba (Council of States)
• The Rajya Sabha is the upper house of parliament. The maximum
number of members of Rajya Sabha is 250. Out of this, 12 members
are nominated by the President. They are not elected. These
members are well known in the fields of literature, science, art, and
social science. The rest of the members are elected by the members
of the state legislative assemblies. The Rajya Sabha thus consists of
the representatives of the states. Therefore, it is called Council of
states. Fixed number of seats are allotted to the states according to
its population. Kerala has 9 seats in the Rajya Sabha.

8. • The Rajya Sabha is a permanent chamber. One third of its members
retire every two year. In this way, every member remains in Rajya
Sabha for six years. Any person who is an Indian citizen and is not less
than 30 years of age can become a member of Rajya Sabha.
• The vice president of India is the ex-officio chairperson of Rajya
Sabha. He presides over its sessions and conduct proceedings. A
deputy chairman is also elected. The speaker should be impartial.
That is why after election as a speaker, he or she stops attending
meetings of his political party.

9. Functions of Parliament
• The Parliament make laws for the whole country. Every year its first
session begins with an address by the President.
• There are two types of bills- money bills and bills other than money
bills. Any bill relating to income and expenditure is called a money bill.
• A money Bill cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha for the first
time. It must be first introduced in the Lok Sabha. After this been
passed in the Lok Sabha, money bill is sent to the Rajya Sabha.
• The bills which are not money bills can be introduced in either house
of Parliament.

10. • Every bill that is introduced in the Parliament has to go to go through
three readings. In the first reading copies of bills are given to the
members. The minister or any member who introduces the bill gives a
general speech explaining the purposes of the bill. In the second
reading, general close by close the discussion on the Bill takes place.
The members who support the bill argue why the bill is important and
necessary. The members who oppose the bill criticize the Bill. At this
stage, changes in the Bill may be suggested by the members. Some of
these changes may be accepted by the house.

11. • In the third reading, the Bill as a whole is finally discussed and put to
vote. If majority of members are in favour, the Bill is passed. This
procedure is followed in both the houses. When both Lok Sabha and
Rajya Sabha have passed the bill, it is sent to the President for his
signature. The Bills are passed in the legislature by simple majority. If
100 members are present in the house and 51 members are in favour
of the bill and 49 are against, the bill is said to have been passed by a
simple majority.

12. • The Parliament can also make amendments to the Constitution. To
make amendments, a special majority is necessary. That is,
amendments require support of 2/3 of the members present and
voting which should not be less than half of the total membership of
the house. In addition, some amendments require ratification of half
of the states. Some of the constitutional amendments can be passed
the like ordinary laws. Examples are C.A.A., altering the boundary of
states of Jammu and Kashmir etc.
• If any member misbehaves in the Parliament, he or she can be
punished or can be expelled from the house. If one wants to watch
the proceedings of the Parliament as a visitor, he or she has to seek
permission. One can get this permission in the form of a pass with the
help of any MP.

13. • Thus, the Parliament performs very important function.
• It makes laws on variety of subjects.
• It controls the income and expenditure of the government.
• It exercises control over ministers through various means such as asking
questions. The members of Parliament express their views on major public
issues. They can move calling attention motion, adjournment motion etc., to
bring the attention of the government to various issues and grievances of the
people. The members can ask questions, seeking information. This
information is published in newspapers.
• The people are educated on many matters of public importance. The people
also come to know about the defects of the government

14. • The Parliament can impeach or remove the President of India, Vice
President of India and other higher officials such as the Election
commissioners etc. It can recommend removal of the judges of
Supreme Court and High Court.
• The Union government receives money through various taxes. It
spends money for the welfare of the people. The income and
expenditure are shown in the budget prepared every year by the
Government. The budget is approved by the Parliament. Without
Parliament’s approval, the government cannot impose any tax or spend
any money. The Parliament controls the income and expenditure of the
government.

15. • The most important function of Parliament is to exercise control over
the ministers and their work. A member of Parliament can ask
questions to any Minister about his department. Through this
question, the members can control the functioning of various
departments. The Prime Minister and his ministers are responsible to
the Parliament for their work. The Lok Sabha can remove the
government by passing a no-confidence motion against the
government.

16. Executive in India
• Laws are made in our country at the union level and the state level. Our
Constitution has given a separate list of subjects for the union
government and state government. There are 97 items in the union
list. The Parliament of India alone can pass laws on the above subjects.
Laws related to the defence of the country, railways, shipping, currency,
Post and telegraph, foreign affairs, diplomatic missions etc are enacted
by the union Parliament.
• There are 66 subjects in the state list. The state government can make
laws on all the subjects in this list. The important items in this list are
agriculture, housing, irrigation, law and order, police, health, electricity
etc.

17. • There is also a concurrent list consisting of 47 items on which both
Parliament and state legislatures have the power to make laws. But a law
passed by the Union government will have a preference on any matter
given in the concurrent list. The important items under the list are criminal
law, detention, labour welfare, marriage, divorce, adoption, forest,
protection of wildlife, economic and social planning etc.
• The chief executive of the Indian union is the President. The president of
India is the head of the state. All powers of the union executive or vested in
him. It is his duty to enforce the laws passed by the Parliament. All orders of
the union government are issued in the name of the President. But the
Constitution under article 74 provides that there shall be a Council of
Ministers to aid and advise the President in the discharge of his functions.
The president has an obligation to act according to this advice after the 42nd
amendment. The President of India has the right to be informed of all
decisions of Council of Ministers.

18. • The President of India has the power to appoint and remove all the
high officials of union government. The administration of union
territories is directly under his control. As the head of the state, he
appoints ambassadors and receives ambassadors and other
diplomatic representatives from foreign countries. He also has the
power to grant pardon or relax punishment of convicts.
• No money bill can be introduced in Parliament without President’s
recommendation. He can give advances out of the contingency fund
of India to meet unforeseen expenditure.

19. The President and Council of Ministers
• The President exercises all the powers on the advice of the Prime
Minister and Council of Ministers. On the advice of the Prime Minister,
the president appoints other ministers. There are three categories of
ministers – the cabinet ministers, ministers of state and deputy
ministers. All important decisions are taken by the cabinet ministers.
The decisions of the cabinet are binding on all other ministers. A person
to be appointed as a minister should be a member of either house of
Parliament. But an outsider can also be appointed as the Minister for
six months. During this period, he or she must become a member of
Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha. The prime minister is usually from Lok
Sabha. Most of the other ministers are also usually from Lok Sabha.

20. The working of council of ministers
• The council of ministers works in very close cooperation under the
leadership of the Prime Minister. It works as a team. All ministers
including the Prime Minister are responsible to the Lok Sabha.
• The position of the Prime Minister
• the Prime Minister is the leader of Lok Sabha. The members of Lok
Sabha are directly elected by the people. So, the president has to
agree to the wishes of this house. The Prime Minister is the leader of
the government. It is the Prime Minister on whose advice other
ministers are appointed on dismissed by the President. So, the burden
of success or failure of government lies on the Prime Minister.

21. Civil Service
• The cabinet decides major policies and issues. But the execution part is left to
the concerned minister. The minister in charge formulate certain guidelines and
policies. The rest is left to the civil servants. It is the civil servants who actually
executes the laws. They are not members of any political party. They are
impartial in the implementation of policy or law.
• A large number of civil servants are recruited for the execution of laws. Most of
the civil servants for Central services are selected by Union Public Service
Commission through competitive examinations.
• An ordinary citizen does not know the minister and secretary of the department.
But he often comes in contact with local police, the tax officials, postman,
teachers, doctors and so on. So, the success of government depends upon the
work and efficiency of the civil servants.

22. Judiciary
• All of us like to live peacefully. But conflicts occur. Each party blames
the other. No one is ready to accept himself as the wrong door. This
gives rise to disputes. Such disputes are settled by courts. The cases
tried in our courts are mainly of two kinds – cases of threat, robbery,
physical injury or murder are called criminal cases. Cases that concern
property, contracts etc. are civil cases.

23. Supreme Court of India
• The highest court of justice in our country is the Supreme Court. The Supreme
Court is located in New Delhi which consists of Chief Justice and not more
than 33 judges. At present there are 32 judges including Chief Justice. The
number of judges can be changed by an act of parliament. The Chief Justice is
appointed by the President of India. Other judges are also appointed by the
President in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
• Qualification
• A judge of Supreme Court must be a citizen of India. He must be either an
advocate with at least 10 years of experience in the Supreme Court or High
Court, or must have been a judge of state High Court for at least five years or
he must be distinguished jurist in the opinion of the President of India.

24. • Removal
• The judges of Supreme Court retire at the age of 65 years. Once
appointed and they cannot be removed easily from service. Their
salary and terms of service cannot be changed to their disadvantage.
They can be removed by the President on grounds of proved
misbehaviour or incapacity. For this, the Parliament must pass the
resolution by 2/3 majority. No judge of the Supreme Court has so far
been removed from service

25. Powers of the Supreme Court
• The Supreme Court can hear and decide civil and criminal cases. Besides
this the Supreme Court also decides cases related to Indian constitution.
• The Supreme Court has original as well as appellate jurisdiction. Original
jurisdiction means the authority to hear cases for the first time. This
happens when there is a dispute between union government and state
government or between the states. One can also move the Supreme
Court in case the fundamental rights are violated or have been
encroached upon by the government at any level.
• The Supreme Court mostly hears cases and appeals from state High
Courts. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal.

26. • Sometimes an advice on some legal question or any matter of public
importance may be sought by the President of India from the Supreme
Court. The present is free to accept or not to accept the advice of the
supreme Court. This is called advisory Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
• The Supreme Court is also a court of record. All its judgements are
recorded and printed. They are cited in the lower court in various cases.
The judgements of Supreme Court are treated as law by the lower courts all
over the country.
• India has a single unified judicial system. The Supreme Court stands at the
top. All other courts in the country are subordinate to the Supreme Court.

27. High Courts
• India has 28 states and eight union territories. The Constitution
provides for a High Court in each of the states. But there can be
common High Court for two or more states or union territories. At
present there are 25 high courts in India.
• The High Court consists of a Chief justice and some other judges. The
number of judges depends upon the size of the state. All judges of the
state High Court are appointed by the President of India in
consultation with the chief justice of India, governor and the chief
justice of the concerned state.

28. • The High Court is the highest court of Justice in the state. Other
courts are subordinate courts. Appeals in civil and criminal cases are
made before it against the decisions of the district courts. There are
some kinds of cases which can directly come before the High Court.
Such cases are those which are related to fundamental rights. The
High Court can issue writs under article 226 of the Constitution. The
High Courts are also given power to decide on election petition also.
(High court has original jurisdiction in election petition and appeals lie
in Supreme Court.) Every High Court has power of supervision over all
subordinate courts and tribunals throughout the territories where the
High Court has jurisdiction

29. • Judicial Review
• The Supreme Court and High Court has the power of judicial review.
That is, the Supreme Court and High Court can examine whether the
laws passed by the legislature and the executive actions are according
to the provisions of the constitution and declare them null and void if
they are against the provisions of the Constitution

30. Writs
• A writ means an order. The Supreme Court under article 32 and High
Court under article 226 can issue the following writs for the
enforcement of fundamental rights.
• Habeas corpus
• Habeas corpus is in the nature of an order calling upon the person
who has detained another to produce the latter before the court in
order to let the court know on what ground he has been confined,
and to set him free if there is no legal justification for the
imprisonment.

31. • Mandamus
• Mandamus means, ‘We command’. It is a command asking a public official or
department or lower court to perform official duties.
• Prohibition
• It means to forbid. It is issued by a higher court to lower court if it exceeded
jurisdiction.
• Certiorari
• It a means to be informed. It is issued by a higher court to a lower court to
transfer a pending case to the higher court. Thus, all cases related to CAA are
heard by the Supreme Court.
•

32. • Quo-warranto
• It a means, ‘by what authority?’. It is issued by a court to find out the
legality of claim of a person to a public office
• The Supreme Court can issue writs only for the enforcement of
fundamental rights. But the High Court can issue writs for the
enforcement of fundamental rights and also for other purposes. So,
the High Court’s power wider in this regard.