Describe the composition and functions of the Union Council of Ministers.

Ans.

Introduction:

In India, the President is a constitutional head. According to the constitution, the President is all-powerful, but in practice, the power rests with the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers is responsible for the people's representative assembly.  

Composition:

The Council of Ministers is a large body. It includes cabinet ministers, ministers of state, parliamentary secretaries, deputy ministers, etc. The Cabinet is a part of the Council of Ministers and consists of ministers of cabinet rank. 

Ministers can be classified as:

• (i) Cabinet Ministers - These ministers head important ministries. They are members of the Cabinet.
• (ii) Ministers of State - These ministers are responsible for a department or sub-department. They rank below the Cabinet Ministers. They are generally not part of cabinet meetings.
• (iii) Deputy Ministers - Their role is to assist in the work of ministries. They are not independent heads of departments. 

Parliamentary Secretaries:

Their role is to assist ministers in parliamentary work. They are not part of cabinet meetings.

Prime Minister - 

The President appoints as Prime Minister the parliamentary leader of the party that has a majority in the Lok Sabha elected through general elections. The constitution gives the President the power to appoint the Prime Minister but he cannot appoint as per his wish. The Prime Minister and his cabinet are responsible to the Lok Sabha, so a person who is not a member of Lok Sabha cannot be made Prime Minister. 

When no party gets a clear majority in the Lok Sabha, the President invites the leader of the party with the highest number of seats compared to other parties and who he thinks is likely to have the support of other parties, to become the Prime Minister. If this is also not possible, the President can in his discretion invite any person to form the cabinet.

In Practice - 

In Indian politics, at the federal level, political parties got the opportunity to form a joint front or coalition cabinet in 1979 and 1989. From 1947 to 1977, the Congress had a majority at the center. As the Congress party kept getting a majority in the Lok Sabha, Congress' universally accepted leaders kept becoming Prime Ministers. The four Prime Ministers from Congress so far are: 

• 1. Late Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
• 2. Late Lal Bahadur Shastri 
• 3. Late Smt. Indira Gandhi
• 4. Late Rajiv Gandhi

In March 1977, there was a change in the central government. Congress was reduced to a minority and the Janata Party came to power. On 24 March 1977, Shri Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister. In July 1979, there was a major split in the ruling Janata party. Janata (S) leader Shri Chandra Shekhar formed a government with allied parties which lasted only 24 days. On 20 August 1979, it also fell. In 1980, the Congress (I) under Smt. Indira Gandhi again got a huge majority and her government was formed. After the brutal assassination of Smt. Indira Gandhi in 1984, Late Rajiv Gandhi became Prime Minister. In the November 1989 elections, once again no party got a clear majority and a hotchpotch National Front government was formed. In December 1989, Shri V.P. Singh became Prime Minister. But eleven months later his government was reduced to a minority and Shri Chandra Shekhar became Prime Minister in his place. On 6 March 1991, just about four months later, Shri Chandra Shekhar also resigned.

Distribution of Portfolios - 

The Prime Minister can appoint as many ministers as he wants according to his wish and allot one or more departments to them. In this, the Prime Minister keeps many things in mind, such as: 

• (i) His cabinet represents the entire nation, i.e. he includes ministers from different states and regions in his cabinet.
• (ii) The Prime Minister also has to keep influential and senior MPs of his party satisfied. 
• (iii) Representatives of minority communities, scheduled castes, and workers must also be included in the cabinet.

Thus, the formation of the cabinet by the Prime Minister is a difficult and complex process in which more political and less constitutional and administrative considerations are taken into account.

Members of the Council of Ministers should be members of either house of Parliament, otherwise within six months of being appointed ministers they have to become members of Parliament or Rajya Sabha. Additionally, both houses of Parliament should be represented in the Council of Ministers.

Functions of the Cabinet:

The function of the Council of Ministers is to advise and assist the President in his administrative work. In practice, it is now an established convention that the Council of Ministers is the actual executive and the central power of the Council of Ministers lies in the Cabinet. If a minister of a department is not a member of the Cabinet, then when a matter relating to his department comes up for decision, the Cabinet invites him.  

Main Functions:

The main functions of the Council of Ministers are:

1. Policy Making: The Council of Ministers decides the nature of the country's domestic and foreign policies, takes appropriate steps for them, proposes bills, and gets them enacted.

2. Control Over the Executive: The entire executive is responsible to the Council of Ministers. It divides the executive into departments and different parts are put under the control of various ministers. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible for all administrative and executive functions, not just the concerned minister. Because of ordinances and delegated legislation, the powers and jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers are increasing. At the same time, executive functions are also becoming complex.

3. Financial Functions: The Cabinet is responsible for all federal expenditures and financial management is its job. It controls the annual income and expenditure (budget) of the Union. The Finance Minister presents the income and expenditure in Parliament. Even after the budget prepared by the Finance Minister is presented in Parliament, the Cabinet can amend it or reject it.

4. Appointments: Appointments of senior federal officials on behalf of the President are made by the Prime Minister (Council of Ministers). For example, appointments of all Governors, Comptroller and Auditor General, Ambassadors, Commission Members, etc. on advice.

5. Legislation: The introduction and enactment of bills in Parliament is the work of the Cabinet. Even private member bills do not get passed until approved by the Cabinet because the Cabinet's party has a majority in the Lok Sabha.

6. Control Over the States: In some matters, the Cabinet exercises control over state governments as well. Through the distribution of revenues, grants, concurrent list legislation, etc. it influences the policies of states.

7. Conduct of Foreign Affairs: Making treaties with foreign nations, war, and other diplomatic relations, the appointment of ambassadors, and acceptance of foreign ambassadors, etc. is done by the Cabinet.

8. Coordination: The Cabinet establishes coordination between the policies, works, and activities of the various departments of the government. Each department's minister serves as the link and medium of coordination between departmental administration and the Cabinet. The administrative head of the department (who is the Secretary or Director) is subordinate to the political head of the department (Minister).

9. Miscellaneous Functions: When Parliament is not in session, the Cabinet can enact ordinance law on behalf of the President.