Prime Minister & the Union Council of Ministers (Articles 74-78): Collective Responsibility, Cabinet Committees (UPSC Polity)
Appointment of the Prime Minister & Presidential Discretion
🎯 Exam priority: Important. The real executive. Prelims mines this chapter for exact numbers — the 15 per cent cap (91st Amendment), the six-month membership rule, the eight Cabinet Committees — and for the council-versus-cabinet distinction. Mains returns repeatedly to collective responsibility and prime-ministerial dominance. Learn Articles 74, 75, 77, 78 and 88 with their contents attached.
The President is the nominal executive; the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers are the real executive. In the scheme of parliamentary government the President is the head of the State while the Prime Minister is the head of the government.
Appointment of the Prime Minister — and the three moments of discretion
The Constitution contains no specific procedure for selecting the Prime Minister. Article 75 says only that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President. That silence does not make the President free to appoint anyone: by the conventions of parliamentary government, the President must appoint the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha.
Discretion 1 — a hung House. When no party has a clear majority, the President may use personal discretion, usually appointing the leader of the largest party or coalition and asking them to seek a vote of confidence within a month. This was first exercised in 1979, when President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy appointed Charan Singh after the fall of the Morarji Desai government.
Discretion 2 — a sudden death with no obvious successor. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, President Zail Singh appointed Rajiv Gandhi, setting aside the precedent of a caretaker Prime Minister. But note the limit: if the ruling party does elect a new leader on the incumbent's death, the President has no choice but to appoint that person.
Majority need not be proved first. In 1980 the Delhi High Court held that the Constitution does not require a person to prove a Lok Sabha majority before appointment — the President may appoint first and ask for proof within a reasonable period. Charan Singh (1979), V.P. Singh (1989), Chandrasekhar (1990), P.V. Narasimha Rao (1991), Vajpayee (1996), Deve Gowda (1996), I.K. Gujral (1997) and Vajpayee again (1998) were all appointed this way.
A non-member can be PM for six months. In 1996 the Supreme Court held that a person who is not a member of either House can be appointed Prime Minister, but must become a member of either House within six months or cease to hold office.
Either House will do. Constitutionally the PM may sit in either House — Indira Gandhi (1966), Deve Gowda (1996) and Manmohan Singh (2004) were all members of the Rajya Sabha. Contrast Britain, where the Prime Minister must be a member of the House of Commons.
Powers & Functions of the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister's powers are studied under three relationships — with the Council, with the President and with Parliament — plus a cluster of other roles.
Powers & Functions of the Prime Minister
In relation to the Council of Ministers. The PM recommends who may be appointed minister — and the President can appoint only those the PM recommends. The PM allocates and reshuffles portfolios, can ask a minister to resign or advise the President to dismiss them, presides over Council meetings and influences their decisions, and guides, directs, controls and coordinates all ministers.
The asymmetry that gets asked. The PM can collapse the entire Council simply by resigning. Because the PM heads the Council, the resignation or death of the Prime Minister automatically dissolves the Council and creates a vacuum. The resignation or death of any other minister merely creates a vacancy, which the PM may or may not choose to fill.
In relation to the President. The PM is the principal channel of communication between the President and the Council — the Article 78 duties. The PM also advises the President on appointing the Attorney General, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the chairman and members of the UPSC, the Election Commissioners, and the chairman and members of the Finance Commission.
In relation to Parliament. As leader of the Lower House, the PM advises the President on summoning and proroguing sessions, can recommend dissolution of the Lok Sabha at any time, and announces government policies on the floor of the House.
Other roles. The PM chairs NITI Aayog (successor to the Planning Commission), the National Integration Council, the Inter-State Council and the National Water Resources Council; shapes foreign policy; is the chief spokesman of the Union government; is the crisis manager-in-chief at the political level; is leader of the party in power; and is the political head of the services.
Ambedkar's verdict: "If any functionary under our Constitution is to be compared with the US President, he is the Prime Minister and not the President of the Union."
How the great commentators described the office
Who said it | The description | What it captures |
Lord Morley | 'Primus inter pares' — first among equals; and the 'keystone of the cabinet arch' | The classical, understated view of the office |
Sir William Vernon Harcourt | 'Inter stellas luna minores' — a moon among lesser stars | The PM outshines colleagues but is still of their kind |
Ivor Jennings | 'A sun around which planets revolve… all roads in the constitution lead to the Prime Minister' | A sharper claim than Morley's — the PM is different in kind |
H.J. Laski | 'Central to its formation, central to its life, and central to its death'; the pivot of the governmental machinery | The Council exists only while the PM does |
H.R.G. Greaves | 'The Government is the master of the country and he is the master of the Government' | The frankest statement of dominance |
Munro | The captain of the ship of the state | Contrast Ramsay Muir, who called the CABINET the steering wheel |
R.H. Crossman | 'The final transformation of cabinet government into Prime Ministerial government' | The modern thesis — quoted in Mains answers |
Exam trap. Ramsay Muir called the Cabinet the steering wheel of the ship of state and the Prime Minister the steersman. Munro called the PM the captain. Options routinely swap the subject of these quotations — check whether the sentence is about the Cabinet or the Prime Minister before answering.
Articles 74, 75, 77, 78, 88 & the 91st Amendment
Five Articles carry almost everything the exam asks about the Union executive's working. Learn them by number.
Articles 74, 75, 77, 78 and 88
Article | What it provides | The exact fact UPSC asks |
Art 74 | A Council of Ministers with the PM at the head to aid and advise the President, who shall act in accordance with that advice; the President may require one reconsideration | Advice made binding by the 42nd Amendment; reconsideration added by the 44th. Advice is NOT inquirable in any court |
Art 75 | PM appointed by the President; other ministers on the PM's advice; the ministerial oath, salary, tenure and responsibility | Carries the 15 per cent cap, the defection bar, the six-month rule and collective responsibility |
Art 77 | All executive action expressed to be taken in the President's name; authentication rules; allocation of business | An authenticated order cannot be questioned on the ground that it was not made by the President |
Art 78 | The duties of the Prime Minister towards the President | Communicate all Council decisions; furnish information the President calls for; refer a single minister's decision back to the Council if the President requires |
Art 88 | Every minister may speak and take part in either House, any joint sitting and any committee they are named to | But a minister may vote only in the House of which they are a member |
The 91st Amendment (2003) — the two caps
Size cap. The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, shall not exceed 15 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha. The words "including the Prime Minister" are the part candidates drop.
Defection bar. A member of either House who is disqualified on the ground of defection is also disqualified from being appointed a minister. Both provisions came in through the 91st Amendment Act of 2003.
The six-month rule. A minister who is not a member of either House for six consecutive months ceases to be a minister — the same rule as for the Prime Minister, and the same rule that applies in the states under Article 164(4).
Oath and salary. The President administers the oaths of office and secrecy to every minister. Salaries and allowances are determined by Parliament.
Collective, Individual & Legal Responsibility
Ministerial responsibility comes in three forms — and the third one is a difference from Britain that the exam likes.
Collective, Individual and Legal Responsibility
Collective responsibility is the fundamental principle of parliamentary government. Article 75 states that the council of ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha — all ministers own joint responsibility for every act of omission and commission; they work as a team and swim or sink together.
Two consequences follow. When the Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion, ALL ministers must resign — including those who sit in the Rajya Sabha. Alternatively the council may advise the President to dissolve the Lok Sabha and call fresh elections — though the President may decline a council that has already lost the House's confidence.
Collective responsibility also binds ministers to Cabinet decisions even if they dissented in the meeting. A minister who cannot defend a decision publicly must resign. Dr B.R. Ambedkar resigned in 1953 over the Hindu Code Bill; C.D. Deshmukh over the reorganisation of states; Arif Mohammed Khan over the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
Individual responsibility also sits in Article 75: ministers hold office during the pleasure of the President, so a minister may be removed even while the council enjoys the Lok Sabha's confidence. But the President removes a minister only on the Prime Minister's advice. Ambedkar's explanation: "Collective responsibility can be achieved only through the instrumentality of the Prime Minister."
No legal responsibility — the British contrast. In Britain every royal order for a public act is countersigned by a minister, who is then legally liable, because "the King can do no wrong". In India there is no such system: a presidential order needs no ministerial countersignature, and the courts are barred from inquiring into the advice ministers tendered.
Composition, Council vs Cabinet & the Kitchen Cabinet
"Council of Ministers" and "Cabinet" are not synonyms — and the difference is a standing Prelims item.
Composition, and Council versus Cabinet
The council of ministers has three categories: Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State and Deputy Ministers, differing in rank, emoluments and political importance. It may also include a Deputy Prime Minister, an office appointed mostly for political reasons and found nowhere in the Constitution.
Cabinet Ministers head the important ministries — home, defence, finance, external affairs — attend Cabinet meetings and decide policy. Ministers of State may hold independent charge, in which case they exercise the same powers over their ministry as a Cabinet Minister but are still not members of the Cabinet and do not attend its meetings unless specially invited; or they may be attached to a Cabinet Minister and work under their supervision.
Council of Ministers | Cabinet | |
Size | The wider body | The smaller body — a part of the council |
Membership | All three categories — Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State, Deputy Ministers | Cabinet Ministers only |
Does it meet? | Does NOT meet as a body; has no collective functions | Meets frequently, usually weekly; has collective functions |
Powers | Vested with all powers in theory | Exercises those powers in practice, acting for the council |
Role of the Cabinet, and the Kitchen Cabinet
The Cabinet is the highest decision-making authority, the chief policy-formulating body, the supreme executive authority and the chief coordinator of Central administration. It is an advisory body to the President whose advice is binding, the chief crisis manager, and it controls higher appointments and foreign policy.
The Kitchen Cabinet — also called the Inner Cabinet — is a still smaller, extra-constitutional body of the Prime Minister and a few trusted colleagues, and it may include outsiders such as friends and family members. It became the real centre of power, and was particularly powerful under Indira Gandhi. Its merits are efficiency, the ability to meet more often, and secrecy.
The famous descriptions — a reliable source of matching questions: Ramsay Muir, "the steering wheel of the ship of the state"; Lowell, "the keystone of the political arch"; Sir John Marriott, "the pivot around which the whole political machinery revolves"; Gladstone, "the solar orb around which the other bodies revolve"; Barker, "the magnet of policy"; Bagehot, "a hyphen that joins, the buckle that binds" the executive and legislative departments; Sir Ivor Jennings, "the core of the British Constitutional System"; L.S. Amery, "the central directing instrument of Government".
Cabinet Committees — Eight, All Extra-Constitutional
Below the Cabinet sit the committees that do most of the real sifting.
Cabinet Committees — eight, and all extra-constitutional
Cabinet Committees are extra-constitutional — not mentioned in the Constitution, though the Rules of Business provide for them. They are of two types: standing (permanent) and ad hoc (temporary, disbanded once the task is done).
They are set up by the Prime Minister according to the needs of the time, so their number, names and composition vary. Membership is usually Cabinet Ministers, but non-Cabinet ministers may be members or special invitees. They are mostly headed by the Prime Minister, and where the PM is a member they invariably preside.
They do more than prepare proposals — they take decisions, though the Cabinet can review those decisions. They exist to reduce the Cabinet's workload and to allow in-depth examination, resting on division of labour and effective delegation.
# | Cabinet Committee | Note |
1 | Political Affairs | Deals with all policy matters of domestic and foreign affairs |
2 | Economic Affairs | Directs and coordinates governmental activity in the economic sphere |
3 | Appointments Committee of the Cabinet | Decides senior appointments; the PM chairs it |
4 | Parliamentary Affairs | Handles the progress of government business in Parliament |
5 | Security | Defence, law and order, and strategic appointments |
6 | Accommodation | Allotment of government accommodation |
7 | Investment and Growth | Investment clearances and growth measures |
8 | Employment and Skill Development | Employment generation and skilling |
Exam trap. Cabinet Committees, the Kitchen Cabinet, Groups of Ministers and the office of Deputy Prime Minister are all extra-constitutional — none is mentioned in the Constitution. NITI Aayog belongs to the same category. Contrast the genuinely constitutional bodies: the Finance Commission (Art 280), the Election Commission (Art 324) and the GST Council (Art 279A).
Groups of Ministers (GoMs)
Alongside Cabinet Committees, Groups of Ministers are constituted to examine particular issues. Some are empowered to take decisions on behalf of the Cabinet; others only make recommendations to it. They are ad hoc bodies, formed for emergent issues and critical problem areas, staffed by the ministers heading the relevant ministries, and disbanded once their advice has crystallised.
GoMs have become an effective instrument of inter-ministerial coordination, and the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2005-2009) examined their working and made recommendations on it. Like Cabinet Committees, they are extra-constitutional.
Caretaker Government
The Constitution contains no provision whatsoever for a caretaker government — it is purely a situational arrangement and a functional necessity. One is created after the dissolution of the popular chamber and terminates when a new ministry is inducted after the general election, and its central obligation is to hold free and fair polls.
The term also describes a council that has resigned after losing the confidence of the Lok Sabha but is asked by the President to continue until alternative arrangements are made. If no alternative government can be formed and elections must be held, the outgoing council carries on until the new government takes charge.
Its role is deliberately limited. A caretaker government manages only routine activities. It is not expected to make significant policy decisions or launch new measures and schemes — except those relating to national security or the national interest. That exception is the part questions test.
Further Reading
Standard NCERT-level texts and reference books on modern Indian history (any UPSC reading list).
Test Yourself: Practice Questions & PYQs
Test yourself on the real executive — the appointment of the Prime Minister and the three moments of presidential discretion, Articles 74, 75, 77, 78 and 88, the 91st Amendment's two caps, the three kinds of ministerial responsibility, and the council-versus-cabinet distinction. Work through all thirteen MCQs before revealing the answers.
Practice Questions
Q1. Under the 91st Amendment Act of 2003, the total number of ministers in the Union Council of Ministers shall not exceed:
(a) 10 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha, excluding the Prime Minister
(b) 20 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha
(c) 15 per cent of the total strength of both Houses
(d) 15 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha, including the Prime Minister
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Fifteen per cent of the Lok Sabha's total strength, and the cap INCLUDES the Prime Minister. The same amendment also barred anyone disqualified for defection from being appointed a minister.
Q2. A person who is not a member of either House of Parliament can remain Prime Minister for a maximum of:
(a) The full term of the Lok Sabha
(b) Six months
(c) Three months
(d) One year
Show answer
Answer: (b) — The Supreme Court held in 1996 that such a person must become a member of either House within six months or cease to be Prime Minister. The same six-month rule applies to every other minister.
Q3. Which statement about the Prime Minister's House membership is correct?
(a) The PM need never become a member of either House
(b) The PM must be a member of the Rajya Sabha only
(c) The PM may be a member of either House of Parliament
(d) The PM must be a member of the Lok Sabha only
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Either House will do — Indira Gandhi (1966), Deve Gowda (1996) and Manmohan Singh (2004) were all Rajya Sabha members. In Britain, by contrast, the Prime Minister must sit in the House of Commons.
Q4. When the Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion, who must resign?
(a) Only the ministers who are members of the Lok Sabha
(b) Only the Cabinet Ministers
(c) The entire council of ministers, including ministers from the Rajya Sabha
(d) Only the Prime Minister
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Collective responsibility means all ministers swim or sink together — including those sitting in the Rajya Sabha, even though that House cannot itself pass a no-confidence motion.
Q5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the Constitution?
(a) The Prime Minister
(b) The Council of Ministers
(c) The Attorney General
(d) Cabinet Committees
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Cabinet Committees are extra-constitutional, established under the Rules of Business. The Kitchen Cabinet, Groups of Ministers and the office of Deputy Prime Minister are equally absent from the Constitution.
Q6. The distinction between the Council of Ministers and the Cabinet is that the Council:
(a) Exercises the powers in practice while the Cabinet holds them in theory
(b) Contains only Cabinet Ministers
(c) Is the smaller body and meets weekly
(d) Is the wider body and does not meet as a body to transact business
Show answer
Answer: (d) — The Council is wider — all three categories of minister — and never meets as a body; it holds the powers in theory. The Cabinet is smaller, meets roughly weekly, and exercises those powers in practice.
Q7. Article 78 of the Constitution deals with:
(a) The appointment of ministers
(b) The conduct of government business
(c) The duties of the Prime Minister towards the President
(d) The rights of ministers in the Houses
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Article 78 lists the PM's duties: to communicate all Council decisions to the President, to furnish information the President calls for, and to place before the Council any matter decided by a single minister if the President so requires.
Q8. Under Article 88, a minister may:
(a) Speak in either House but vote only in the House of which they are a member
(b) Speak and vote in both Houses
(c) Neither speak nor vote in the House of which they are not a member
(d) Speak only in the House of which they are a member
Show answer
Answer: (a) — A minister may speak and take part in the proceedings of either House, any joint sitting and any committee they are named to — but the right to VOTE is confined to their own House.
Q9. The President exercised personal discretion in appointing a Prime Minister for the first time in:
(a) 1996, when Shankar Dayal Sharma appointed Vajpayee
(b) 1979, when Neelam Sanjiva Reddy appointed Charan Singh
(c) 1989, when R. Venkataraman appointed V.P. Singh
(d) 1984, when Zail Singh appointed Rajiv Gandhi
Show answer
Answer: (b) — The first exercise was in 1979, after the fall of the Morarji Desai government, when President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy appointed the coalition leader Charan Singh.
Q10. The oaths of office and secrecy to a Union minister are administered by:
(a) The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
(b) The Chief Justice of India
(c) The Prime Minister
(d) The President
Show answer
Answer: (d) — The President administers both oaths to every minister. Note the contrast with the President's own oath, which is administered by the Chief Justice of India.
Q11. Which minister exercises the same powers over their ministry as a Cabinet Minister yet is NOT a member of the Cabinet?
(a) A Deputy Minister
(b) A Minister of State with independent charge
(c) A Parliamentary Secretary
(d) A Minister of State attached to a Cabinet Minister
Show answer
Answer: (b) — A Minister of State with independent charge performs the same functions and exercises the same powers over their ministry as a Cabinet Minister, but is not a Cabinet member and attends its meetings only when specially invited.
Q12. 'The Cabinet is a hyphen that joins, the buckle that binds the executive and legislative departments together.' This was said by:
(a) Ramsay Muir
(b) Bagehot
(c) Sir Ivor Jennings
(d) Lowell
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Bagehot. For contrast: Ramsay Muir called it the steering wheel of the ship of state, Lowell the keystone of the political arch, and Jennings the core of the British constitutional system.
Q13. Under Article 74, the advice tendered by ministers to the President:
(a) May be reviewed by the Supreme Court
(b) Shall not be inquired into in any court
(c) Must be published within thirty days
(d) Requires ministerial countersignature
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Article 74(2) bars any court from inquiring into ministerial advice. This is also why India has no system of LEGAL responsibility of ministers, unlike Britain where a countersigning minister can be held liable.
UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Ten questions UPSC has actually asked on the Union executive. Two patterns dominate: exact numbers — 15 per cent, six months, eight committees — and whether a given body is CONSTITUTIONAL or extra-constitutional.
Q14. The Parliament of India exercises control over the functions of the Council of Ministers through: 1. Adjournment motion 2. Question hour 3. Supplementary questions (UPSC Prelims 2017)
(a) 1 only
(b) 1, 2 and 3
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1 and 3 only
Show answer
Answer: (b) — All three. 'Control' here means the power to demand answerability, and Parliament does that through question hour, supplementary questions, adjournment motions, discussions and ultimately the no-confidence motion. An adjournment motion is an emergency motion of censure on the government.
Q15. With reference to the Parliament of India, consider the following: 1. Prorogation of a House by the President does not require the advice of the Council of Ministers. 2. Prorogation is generally done after the House is adjourned sine die, but there is no bar on the President prorogating a House that is in session. 3. Dissolution of the Lok Sabha is done by the President who, save in exceptional circumstances, does so on the advice of the Council of Ministers. Which are correct? (UPSC Prelims PYQ)
(a) 2 and 3
(b) 3 only
(c) 1 and 2
(d) 1 only
Show answer
Answer: (a) — Statement 1 is wrong — prorogation under Article 85(2) DOES require ministerial advice. Statement 2 is right: prorogation normally follows adjournment sine die, but the President may prorogue a sitting House. Statement 3 is right, the exception being where the government cannot prove a majority and the President looks for an alternative.
Q16. Which of the following is an exclusive power of the Lok Sabha? 1. To ratify a declaration of Emergency 2. To pass a motion of no-confidence against the Council of Ministers 3. To impeach the President (UPSC Prelims 2022)
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 1 and 3
(c) 3 only
(d) 2 only
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Only the no-confidence motion, because Article 75 makes the council collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha alone. An Emergency proclamation needs both Houses, and impeachment can start in either House.
Q17. The 91st Amendment Act of 2003 introduced which of the following? 1. A ceiling on the size of the Council of Ministers 2. A bar on a defector being appointed a minister (UPSC PYQ)
(a) 1 only
(b) Neither 1 nor 2
(c) 2 only
(d) Both 1 and 2
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Both. The amendment capped the Council at 15 per cent of the Lok Sabha's strength including the Prime Minister, and disqualified anyone disqualified on the ground of defection from ministerial office. It also deleted the Tenth Schedule provision that had exempted splits.
Q18. Consider the following statements about the Union Council of Ministers: 1. It is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. 2. Ministers hold office during the pleasure of the President. Which is/are correct? (UPSC PYQ)
(a) 1 only
(b) Neither 1 nor 2
(c) 2 only
(d) Both 1 and 2
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Both are in Article 75. Collective responsibility binds the council to the Lok Sabha; individual responsibility means the President may remove a single minister — though only on the Prime Minister's advice — even while the council retains the House's confidence.
Q19. Which one of the following is NOT a constitutional body? (UPSC PYQ)
(a) Goods and Services Tax Council
(b) Finance Commission
(c) Cabinet Committee on Security
(d) Election Commission of India
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Cabinet Committees are extra-constitutional, created under the Rules of Business. The Finance Commission (Art 280), the Election Commission (Art 324) and the GST Council (Art 279A) are all constitutional bodies.
Q20. Under Article 75, a minister who is not a member of either House of Parliament ceases to hold office after: (UPSC PYQ)
(a) The end of the current session
(b) Twelve consecutive months
(c) Six consecutive months
(d) Three consecutive months
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Six consecutive months. The identical rule applies to state ministers under Article 164(4), and to the Prime Minister as held by the Supreme Court in 1996.
Q21. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister of India: (UPSC PYQ)
(a) Finds no mention in the Constitution and is filled mainly for political reasons
(b) Is a constitutional office ranking above Cabinet Ministers
(c) Must always be filled after a general election
(d) Is provided for under Article 75
Show answer
Answer: (a) — The Deputy Prime Minister is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution. The holder is constitutionally just another Cabinet Minister, and the post is created for political reasons.
Q22. All executive action of the Government of India is expressed to be taken in the name of the President under which Article? (UPSC PYQ)
(a) Article 78
(b) Article 74
(c) Article 53
(d) Article 77
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Article 77. It also provides that an order authenticated in the prescribed manner cannot be questioned on the ground that it was not actually made or executed by the President — a protection for administrative continuity.
Q23. In India, unlike Britain, a minister is NOT legally responsible for a presidential order because: (UPSC PYQ)
(a) Ministers can only be tried by Parliament
(b) No ministerial countersignature is required and courts cannot inquire into ministerial advice
(c) The Constitution expressly grants ministers immunity from all suits
(d) The President alone is liable for every executive act
Show answer
Answer: (b) — India has no system of legal responsibility of ministers. A presidential order needs no ministerial countersignature, and Article 74(2) bars courts from inquiring into the advice tendered. In Britain the countersigning minister is liable, since the King can do no wrong.
Mains Practice Questions
Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.
'The Prime Minister is the keystone of the Cabinet arch.' Examine the powers and position of the Prime Minister in the Indian parliamentary system.
Discuss the principle of collective responsibility and the devices through which Parliament enforces it.
Distinguish the Council of Ministers from the Cabinet, and explain why the distinction matters in practice.
Examine the constitutional and political significance of the 91st Amendment Act, 2003.
'Cabinet Committees and the Kitchen Cabinet are extra-constitutional yet central to governance.' Critically evaluate.