EXECUTIVE

The Political Executive is elected for a specific period by the people. This article
talks about the Executive process in Political Science. In this, we will learn about
the Executive, the importance of Executive in government, Political Executive or
example of the Political Executive, etc. These notes will help in understanding
the concept of Political Executive for Civics and Political Science students.

Meaning of Executive
The Executive is one of the important branches of the government without which
a government can not function. It implements all the laws or policies framed by
the Parliament or the Legislative Assemblies. It also implements various
programmes or schemes launched by the government. For example, the Prime
Minister and the President, the Chief Minister and the Governor, IAS, IPS, IFS,
etc.

Importance of Executive in Government

 The formation of laws and policies is useless if the Executive does not
implement them.
 They work on all levels, i.e. National, State, District and Local levels.
 They find out the problems and the solutions to them.
 They also keep checking on the legislatures.

Political Executive
Political Executives are those Executives which are representatives of the people
and are elected by the people through an electoral process. They are elected for a
certain period i.e five years.

Example of Political Executive

Following are the examples of the Political Executives:
 Head of the country, mostly the monarch or the supreme leader or the
President, etc. In India, the Head of the country is the President.
 Head of the government, mostly the Prime Minister of the country, is the
actual head.
 Other Ministers like Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State, Ministers of
States with independent charge, etc.

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Features of Political Executive

The features of the Political Executives are given below:
 They are the elected representatives of the people.
  They hold the positions of nominal and real heads of the country.
 They receive their powers from the citizens of the country through
elections.
 They are only elected for a certain period i.e five years. After five years,
they again need to fight elections.
 They are answerable to the people. Any decision of the Political Executives
can attract criticism from the people.
 They are considered very powerful.
 They implement the policies or laws, made by the Parliament of the nation.
 The Executive keeps checking on the legislatures as well.

Prime Minister
The Prime Minister is one of the most important political institutions in the
country. They are not directly elected but appointed by the President of the
country. The President cannot make any person of his choice as the Prime
Minister of the country. Any Political party or coalition of parties that hold a
majority in the Lok Sabha, becomes the ruling party of the country. The President
appoints the candidate of the ruling party as the Prime Minister.

After the appointment of the Prime Minister, other ministers are also appointed
by the President but on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is
free to choose the ministers, as long as they are members of the Parliament.

Powers of Prime Minister

Various powers of the Prime Minister are given below:
 The Prime Minister can recommend the names of the ministers for his
cabinet to the President. The President then appoints the Recommended
candidates.
 The Prime Minister also can choose any person who is not a member of the
Parliament but on one condition, i.e. he has to join one of the houses of the
Parliament within 6 months of his appointment.
 He can decide which ministry is to be given to which minister.
 He can change the ministry of any minister anytime.
 He is the chairman of the meetings of the Council of Ministers.
 He also acts as chairman or head of the various national bodies or
institutions or committees.

Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers includes all the ministers. It is a body that has around
60 to 80 ministers of different ranks.
  Cabinet Ministers are those top-level ministers who hold all the major
ministries of the country and assist the Prime Minister. It comprises 20
members.
 Ministers of State with Independent Charge are the ministers who hold
small ministries. They only attend meetings of the Council of Ministers
when specifically specified.
 Ministers of State are there to assist the Cabinet Ministers.

The President
The President is said to be the head of the country, who is also known as the
nominal head or de jure head of the Indian State. The Presidency is the highest
position of the nation and the President is called the first citizen of the country.
Article 52 to Article 62 of the Constitution of India deals with the President. He
is considered a part of the Union Executive. The President is not directly elected
by the people. To win the election, a candidate standing up for the post of the
President must receive a majority of votes from Members of Parliament (MPs)
and Members of the Legislative Assemblies (MLAs).

Powers of The President

The President has a lot of powers, which of them are written below:
 All the major appointments of the country are done by him.
 He is the Supreme Commander of the armed forces.
 He has the power to summon or prorogue the parliament and also can
dissolve the Lok Sabha.
 12 members of the Rajya Sabha are nominated by the President.
 He lays down various reports before the Parliament and also has emergency
powers.
 He also has the power to pardon someone.

The Judiciary
The Judiciary system of a country plays an important role in making laws, settling
disputes and controlling the behavior of citizens, so it becomes very essential to
understand the working of the system. The judicial system of India is a critical
part of the government. It is a sensitive department that provides justice to the
people.
Indian Judiciary comprises the following:
 A Supreme Court for the entire nation
 High Courts in the states
 District Courts
 The courts at the local level
In India, the Judiciary plays a major role in the entire political system. The
Judiciary is the ultimate authority of law in the country, and its power is almost
equal to that of the parliament. The constitution has provided for a three-tier
judicial system–at the district level, at the state level and finally at the Supreme
Court of India.

The independence of the Judiciary means that it is not subject to legislative or

Executive influence. The judges do not act on orders from the government or
under the wishes of the ruling party.

Power of Judiciary
The Judiciary has the following powers:
 The Supreme Court and the High Courts can interpret the Constitution of
the country.
 When challenged in court, they can evaluate the constitutional legality of
any law or Executive action in the country. It is referred to as judicial
review.
 The Supreme Court of India has also held that Parliament cannot change
the Constitution's basic principles.