Solutions-Class 8-Civics-Chapter-3-The Union Executive-Maharashtra Board

In India, the executive power is vested with the President

The tenure of the President is of Five years.

The Council of Ministers is led by the Prime Minister

Executive

Zero Hour

The responsibility oi protecting the Constitution is shouldered by the President. But, it any act of the President violates the Constitution, the Parliament has the authority to remove him. This process known as process of Impeachment.

The procedure for impeachment is as follows :

• Any one House can lay the charge of violation of the Constitution.
• The investigation of the charge is carried out by the other House.
• The resolution has to be passed by special (2/3rd) majority of both the Houses of Parliament, then the President can be removed from his post.

• In the Parliamentary system of government, the Legislature tries to keep control over the Executive.
• The Executive stays in power till it enjoys the support of the majority in Lok Sabha.
• If the members of Parliament withdraw the support, it may lead to loss of majority and the government cannot stay in power.
• The members of the Lok Sabha can move a No-confidence motion by simply expressing "We do not have confidence in the government".
• If the motion is passed with majority support, the Council of Ministers (the Executive) has to resign.
• Thus, No-confidence motion is the most effective way to keep a check on the Council of Ministers.

• A huge Council of Ministers with more than necessary ministers is referred to as Jumbo Ministry.
• There was a trend to keep large Council of Ministers in our country.
• Later, a constitutional amendment was made to limit the size of the Council of Ministers.
• As per this amendment, the number of ministers in the Council should not be more than 15% of the total number of members in the Lok Sabha.

The functions of the Council of Ministers are as follows :

• The Council of Ministers takes initiative in the process of Law-making by drafting the bills/proposals.
• It introduces and discusses the bills/proposals in the House.
• It introduces bills on various subjects like education, agriculture, industry, health, foreign relations, etc. in the Parliament, conducts discussions on them and tries to get them approved by the Parliament.
• It also takes the responsibility of implementing the policies approved by the Parliament.

The Parliament keeps a check on the Executive in the following ways :

• The bills/proposals presented by the Council of Ministers are discussed in the Parliament.
• These discussions and debates help the members to scrutinise the bills/proposals and point out the short comings, and help in creation of healthy laws.
• During Parliamentary sessions, the proceedings of the House begins with questions asked by the members of the House. The concerned Ministers are expected to give satisfactory answers to these questions.
• During the Parliamentary sessions, the period around 12 noon is called as 'Zero House’. During this period, any question of public importance can be raised and discussed.
• The Parliament can pass a Noconfidence motion on the Executive. If the motion is passed with majority support, then it has to resign.

Functions of the President in India :

• Dissolves the Parliament after the tenure is over or even before the tenure gets over.
• Sign the bills approved by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
• Appoints the Prime Minister and other ministers on the recommendation of Prime Minister.
• Appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
• Appoints the Governors of States, Chief Election Commissioner, Chiefs of Defence Forces and other important officers.
• Take decisions regarding war and peace.
• Declare emergency in case of a crisis situation arising in the country.