Executive Class 11 Notes Political Science Chapter 4 - CBSE

Chapter : 4

What Are Executive ?

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Executive

The organ of government that primarily looks after the function of implementation and administration is called the executive. This branch of government is responsible for the implementation of laws and policies
adopted by the legislature. The executive is often involved in framing of policy.
While the head of the government and their ministers have overall responsibility of framing government policy, are together known as the political executive.
Those responsible for day-to-day administration are called the permanent executives (civil servants).

Types Of Executives

System based on the principles of collective leadership

Parliamentary

Head of the government is usually known as the Prime Minister.
He is the leader of the majority party in Legislature.
He is accountable to the Legislature.
The head of the state may be Monarch or President; in case of Monarch it will be Constitutional Monarch and in case of President it will be Parliamentary Republic and both are ceremonial executives.

Semi-Presidential

In this system the President is the head of the state.
The Prime Minister is the head of the government.
Both Prime Minister and the President possess significant day to the powers.
Prime Minister and his Council are responsible to the Legislature.

System based on individual leadership

Presidential

President is the head of the state.
He is also the head of the government.
The President is usually directly elected by the people.
He is not accountable to the Legislature.

Parliamentary Executive In India

In the parliamentary form there are many mechanisms which ensure that the executive will be answerable to and controlled by the Legislature or people’s representatives.
According to this system, there is a President who is the formal head of the state of India and the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, which run the government at the national level. At the State level, the executive comprises the Governor, the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers.

President

Tenure: The President is elected for a period of five years.
Election: The President is not directly elected by the common man/ordinary citizens but by the elected MLAs
and MPs. This election takes place in accordance with the principle of proportional representation with single
transferable vote.
Removal of President: The President can be removed from office only by Parliament through the procedure
for impeachment which requires a special majority.

Discretionary Powers Of The President

The President can send back the advice given by the Council of Ministers and ask the Council to reconsider the decision. Although, the Council can still send back the same advice and the President would then be bound by that advice.
Secondly, the President also has veto power by which he can withhold or refuse to give assent to Bills (other
than Money Bill) passed by the Parliament and can send the bill back to the Parliament asking it to reconsider the bill. However, there is no mention in the Constitution about the time limit within which the President must send the bill back for reconsideration which means that the President can just keep the bill pending with him without any time limit. This is sometimes referred to as ‘pocket veto’.
The President appoints the Prime Minister. Normally, in the parliamentary system, a leader who has the
support of the majority in the Lok Sabha would be appointed as Prime Minister and the question of
discretion would not arise. If no leader has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha then in this case no single party
or coalition is not formed, the President has the power has to decide whom to appoint as the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister And The Council

In the parliamentary form of executive, it is essential that the Prime Minister has the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha. This support by the majority also makes the Prime Minister very powerful. The Council of Ministers is headed by the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister decides who will be the ministers in the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister allocates ranks and portfolios to the ministers. The Prime Minister and all the ministers have to be members of the Parliament.
The Council of Ministers cannot exist without the Prime Minister. The Council comes into existence only after the Prime Minister has taken the oath of office. The death or resignation of the Prime Minister automatically brings about the dissolution of the Council of Ministers.

Permanent Executive: Bureaucracy

Trained and skilled officers who work as permanent employees of the government are assigned the task of assisting the ministers in formulating policies and implementing these policies.