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CONSTITUTIONAL BODIES
The Constitutional bodies in India are
divided into
Finance Commission
Attorney General and Solicitor General
Comptroller and Auditor General of India
Union Public Service Commission
Election Commission
National Commission for Schedule Caste
National Commission for Schedule Tribe
State Public Service Commission
Advocate General of the State
Finance Commission
The Finance Commission is mentioned in
the article 280 of the Indian Constitution
and it is a Quasi Judicial body. It came
into existence in the year 1951.
The Finance Commission is appointed
every 5th year by the President of India.
The Finance Commission consists of the
Chairman and four other members
appointed by the President of India. The
members of the Finance Commission are
also eligible for reappointment.
The chairman of the Finance Commission
should be a person who has the special
knowledge of the public affairs and the
members should be
1. Judge of the High Court or have
the equivalent qualification
2. Should have special knowledge of
the finance and accounts.
3. Should have the knowledge of the
economics
4. Should have wide experience in
financial matters and in
administration.
Presently 15th Finance Commission is
working under the Chairmanship of Mr.
NK Singh
Functions of the Finance Commission
The main function of the Finance
Commission is the distribution of the
taxes between the Centre and the State
government.
To give recommendation to the centre
government to give grants to the state
government from the Consolidated Fund
of India
To give advice to the President of India
on the matter of the sound financial
interest
The advice given by the Finance
Commission is only advisory and is not
binding on the government.
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Attorney General and Solicitor
General
It is mentioned under article 76 of the
Constitution of India. The Attorney
General is the highest law officer of the
country.
The Attorney General is appointed by the
President of India for the indefinite term
means the Attorney General can be
removed by the President of India at any
time on any grounds or no grounds.
The Attorney General should posses the
qualification of the judge of the Supreme
Court.
The Attorney General is allowed to take
up the private practice that is why he
didn’t get any salary he gets the
remuneration as determined by the
President of India.
The Attorney General can resign by giving
the resignation in written to the President
of India.
The Attorney General is assisted by one
Solicitor General and four additional
Solicitor General.
Functions & Powers
The Attorney General appears in the
Supreme Court and the various High
Courts in the cases in which the
Government of India is concerned
The Attorney General has the right to
audience in any court of India.
To give advice to the Government of India
in all the legal matters which are referred
to him by the President of India.
He can take part in the proceedings of
both the houses of the parliament but he
is not allowed to vote.
Comptroller and Auditor General of
India
The Comptroller and the Auditor General
of India is mentioned under the article
148 of the Constitution of India. The
Comptroller and the Auditor General of
India is the head of the Indian Audit and
Accounts department.
The CAG is appointed by the President of
India under his hand and seal for the
period of 6 years or the upto the age of
65 years whichever is earlier.
The CAG can resign before the expiry of
6 years by writing to the president of
India. The CAG can be removed by the
President of India in the same manner as
the judge of the Supreme Court.
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The CAG gets the salary equivalent to the
judge of the Supreme Court.
Functions and Powers
He keeps a vigilant watch on the
expenses of the Centre and the State
government.
He audits the accounts related to all the
expenditure from the Consolidated Fund
of India, States and the Union Territory
having the Legislative Assembly
He audits the expenditure from the
Contingency Fund of India
He audits the book of records of the
government companies such as BHEL,
SAIL, and GAIL etc.
He audits the accounts of the local bodies
He submits the periodic reports of audit
of the centre government to the President
and of the State government to the
Governor
In short he is the guardian of the public
purse
ELECTION COMMISSION
The Election Commission is mentioned
under the article 324 of the Constitution
of India. The Election Commission is the
all India body as it is common to both the
central and the state government.
The Election Commission is not concerned
with the election of the Panchayats and
the municipalities in the state as they are
looked after by the State Election
Commission.
The Election Commission consists of the
Chief Election Commissioner and two
election commissioners they all enjoy the
equal powers.
The Election Commission is appointed by
the President of India for 6 years or till
the time the members attain the age of
65 years.
The members of the Commission can
resign before the expiry of 6 years by
writing to the President of India
The salaries and allowances of the
members of the Election Commission is
equivalent to the judge of the Supreme
Court
The Chief Election Commissioner can be
removed in the same manner as the
judge of the Supreme Court. The other
two commissioners can be removed by
the President only after the
recommendations of the Chief Election
Commissioner
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Powers and Functions
To conduct the fare elections
To prepare the electoral rolls and the
keep the voters list updated by adding
the names of the persons who have
turned up 18 years of age.
Declaring the code of conduct for all the
political parties at the time of notification
of the elections
To appoint the election officers to look
into the disputes during the elections
Recognition of the political parties and
the allotment of symbols to the political
parties
To examine the election expenses of the
candidate after the elections are done
To cancel the polls in case of violence and
other irregularities
Union Public Service Commission
The Union Public Service Commission is
mentioned under part XIV of the
Constitution and articles 315 to 323 deals
with it.
The Union Public Service Commission is
appointed by the President of India for
the period of 6 years or till the members
attain the age of 65 years.
The Union Public Service Commission
consists of the Chairman and 10
members and there is no any qualification
mentioned in the Constitution of India for
the UPSC.
The chairman and the members of the
UPSC before the expiry of the term can
resign by writing to the President of India.
The chairman and the members of the
UPSC can be removed by the President of
India after the recommendation of the
Supreme Court of India.
Functions and Powers of UPSC
To conduct the examinations of the All
India Services and other central services
The UPSC serves all the demand of the
state on the request of the Governor of
the concerned state after approval of the
President of India
The UPSC advices the President of India
in the matter relating to the promotion,
transfer and appointment of the civil
servant from one service to another
It looks into the disciplinary matters
affecting the person serving under the
government of India
It looks into the matter relating to the
award of pension in case of the civil
servant sustained injury serving under
the government of India
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It looks into the matter of extension and
re employment of civil servant after the
retirement.
National Commission for Schedule
Caste
The Commission for the Schedule Caste
and Schedule Tribe was started in the
year 1978 and after the 65th Amendment
Act 1990 it was renamed as the National
Commission for Schedule Caste and
Schedule Tribe.
The National Commission for Schedule
Caste is mentioned under the article 338
of the Constitution of India
Mr. P.L. Punia is the current chairman of
National Commission for Schedule Caste
Powers and Functions
• To investigate and monitor all
matters relating to the safeguards
provided for the Scheduled Castes
under this Constitution
• To inquire into specific complaints
with respect to the deprivation of
rights and safeguards of the
Scheduled Castes;
• To participate and advise on the
planning process of socio-
economic development of the
Scheduled Castes
• To present to the President,
annually and at such other times
as the Commission may deem fit,
reports upon the working of those
safeguards;
• To make in such reports
recommendations as to the
measures that should be taken by
the Union or any State for the
effective implementation of those
safeguards and other measures
for the protection, welfare and
socio-economic development of
the Scheduled Castes; and
• To discharge such other functions
in relation to the protection,
welfare and development and
advancement of the Scheduled
Castes
National Commission for Schedule
Tribe
The National Commission for the
Schedule Tribes came into being in the
year 1990 after the 65th Amendment Act
1990.
The National Commission for Schedule
Tribe is mentioned under the article 338-
A of the Constitution of India
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Mr. Rameshwar Oaron is the present
chairman of the National Commission for
Schedule Tribes
Powers and Functions
• To investigate and monitor all
matters relating to the safeguards
provided for the Scheduled Tribes
under the Constitution
• To inquire into specific complaints
with respect to the deprivation of
rights and safeguards of the
Scheduled Tribes;
• To participate and advise in the
planning process of socio-
economic development of the
Scheduled Tribes and to evaluate
the progress of their development
under the Union and any State;
• To present to the President,
annually and at such other times
as the Commission may deem fit,
reports upon the working of those
safeguards;
• To make in such reports,
recommendations as to the
measures that should be taken by
the Union or any State for
effective implementation of those
safeguards and other measures
for the protection, welfare and
socio-economic development of
the Scheduled Tribes, and
• To discharge such other functions
in relation to the protection,
welfare and development and
advancement of the Scheduled
Tribes as the President may,
subject to the provisions of any
law made by Parliament, by rule
specify.
Advocate General of the State
The Advocate General is mentioned in the
article 165 of the Constitution of India
and he is the highest legal officer of the
state government like the Attorney
General in the centre government.
The Advocate General is appointed by the
Governor of the state for the indefinite
term means the Advocate General can be
removed by the Governor of the state at
any time on any grounds or no grounds.
The Advocate General should posses the
qualification of the judge of the High
Court.
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The Advocate General like the Attorney
General is allowed to take up the private
practice that is why he didn’t get any
salary he gets the remuneration as
determined by the Governor of the state
The Advocate General can resign by
giving the resignation in written to the
President of India.
Powers and Functions
To give advice to the State Government
in legal matters which are referred to him
by the Governor
To perform other legal duties assigned to
him by the Governor
He appears before the court of law within
the state in the cases related to the State
government
He can take part in the proceedings of
both the houses of State legislature and
he can also be the member of any
committee of the State legislature but he
doesn’t have the right to vote
State Public Service Commission
The State Public Service Commission is
mentioned under part XIV of the
Constitution and articles 315 to 323 deals
with it.
The State Public Service Commission is
appointed by the Governor of the state
for the period of 6 years or till the
members attain the age of 62 years.
The State Public Service Commission
consists of the Chairman and other
members appointed by the Governor
The Chairman and the members of the
State Public Service Commission before
the expiry of their term can give their
resignation to the Governor of the State
The State Public Service Commission is
appointed by the Governor of the state
but the Chairman and the members of the
State Public Service Commission can only
be removed by the President of India in
the same manner as in the case of the
Union Public Service Commission.
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Functions of the SPSC
The SPSC conducts the exams for the
appointment to the services of the State
government
The SPSC advices the Governor of the
State in the matter relating to the
promotion, transfer and appointment of
the civil servant from one service to
another
It looks into the disciplinary matters
affecting the person serving under the
State government
It looks into the matter relating to the
award of pension in case of the civil
servant sustained injury serving under
the State government
Any other matter relating to the personal
management
Non Constitutional Bodies
National Commission for Women- 1992
Chairman- Smt Lalita Kumarmagalam
National Commission for Minorities- 1993
Chairman- Shri Ghorul Hasan
National Commission for backward
classes- 1993 Chairman- Justice Vangala
Eshwarya
National Human Rights Commission-
1993 Chairman- Shri HL Dattu
National Commission for protection of
Child Rights- 2007 Chairman- Shri Stuti
Narain Kocher
Planning Commission- 1950-2014
Chairman- PM
National Development Council- 1952
Chairman- PM
NITI Aayog -2015 Chairman- PM
Central Vigilance Commission- 1964
Chairman- Shri KV Chaudhary
Central Information Commission- 2005
Chairman- Vijai Sharma
Staff Selection Commission-1975
Chairman- Shri Ashim Khurana
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Non Constitutional Bodies

National Commission for Women- 1992 Chairman- Smt Lalita Kumarmagalam

National Commission for Minorities- 1993 Chairman- Shri Ghorul Hasan
National Commission for backward classes- 1993 Chairman- Justice Vangala Eshwarya
National Human Rights Commission- 1993 Chairman- Shri HL Dattu
National Commission for protection of Child Rights- 2007 Chairman- Shri Stuti Narain
Kocher
Planning Commission- 1950-2014 Chairman- PM
National Development Council- 1952 Chairman- PM
NITI Aayog -2015 Chairman- PM
Central Vigilance Commission- 1964 Chairman- Shri KV Chaudhary
Central Information Commission- 2005 Chairman- Vijai Sharma
Staff Selection Commission-1975 Chairman- Shri Ashim Khurana

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