Exam-useful questions from this chapter, grouped by marks, each with a full model answer. Try writing the answer yourself first, then check it against this one.
1 1-Mark Questions
Q. What is meant by the executive?
Answer: The organ of government that primarily implements the laws and policies made by the legislature and runs the administration.
Q. Give one difference between the political executive and the permanent executive.
Answer: The political executive (head of government and ministers) changes with elections, while the permanent executive (bureaucracy) stays in place even when the government changes.
Q. What is a pocket veto?
Answer: The informal power of the President to keep a Bill pending indefinitely without deciding on it, since the Constitution sets no time limit for returning it.
Q. What did the 91st Amendment Act (2003) fix?
Answer: It fixed that the Council of Ministers cannot exceed 15 percent of the total membership of the Lok Sabha or State Assembly.
Q. What does collective responsibility mean?
Answer: The entire Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha; a no-confidence motion against even one minister brings down the whole Council.
Q. What is the only ground on which the President of India can be impeached?
Answer: Violation of the Constitution is the sole ground for impeachment.
Q. What does the UPSC do?
Answer: The Union Public Service Commission conducts the recruitment process for civil servants of the Union government.
Q. What did Nehru call the Prime Minister?
Answer: Nehru described the Prime Minister as ‘the linchpin of Government’.
2 2-Mark Questions
Q. Distinguish between a presidential and a parliamentary executive.
Answer: In a presidential system, the President is both Head of State and Head of Government, as in the USA. In a parliamentary system, the President or monarch is only the formal head, while real power lies with the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, as in India.
Q. How is the President of India elected?
Answer: The President’s election is indirect, the people do not vote directly. Elected MPs and MLAs elect the President through proportional representation using the single transferable vote.
Q. What does Article 74 say about the relationship between the President and the Council of Ministers?
Answer: Article 74(1) says there shall be a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the President, and the President shall act in accordance with that advice. The President may ask for reconsideration once, but must accept the advice given after reconsideration.
Q. Explain the pocket veto using the 1986 Postal Bill example.
Answer: In 1986 Parliament passed the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill, which restricted press freedom. President Gyani Zail Singh took no decision on it. His successor Venkataraman later returned it, but by then the government had changed, and the new government never reintroduced it, so it never became law.
Q. Give two aspects of the Vice President’s role.
Answer: 1. The Vice President is ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
2. If the President’s office falls vacant due to death, resignation or removal, the Vice President acts as President until a new one is elected.
Q. State two conditions for becoming a minister.
Answer: 1. The Prime Minister and every minister must be a Member of Parliament.
2. Anyone who becomes a minister or PM without being an MP must win a parliamentary election within six months.
Q. Explain Begum Aizaz Rasul’s suggestion, and state whether it was adopted.
Answer: Begum Aizaz Rasul suggested the Swiss system, where the legislature elects the executive using the single transferable vote, so every party would feel represented. This suggestion was never adopted, in India the Prime Minister alone selects the ministers.
Q. How does the Union government’s control over IAS-IPS officers work?
Answer: IAS and IPS officers are recruited by the UPSC and appointed by the Union government. They are posted to a particular State and may be sent on deputation to the centre, but only the Union government can take disciplinary action against them.
3 4-Mark Questions
Q. Explain the three types of executive with examples.
Answer: 1. Presidential system: the President is both Head of State and Head of Government, as in the USA and Brazil.
2. Parliamentary system: the President or monarch is only the formal head, real power lies with the Prime Minister and Cabinet, as in India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Japan.
3. Semi-presidential system: both the President and the Prime Minister hold real day-to-day power, as in France, Russia and Sri Lanka.
Q. Why did India choose a parliamentary executive instead of a presidential one?
Answer: 1. India already had experience running a parliamentary system under the Acts of 1919 and 1935, which showed that people’s representatives can effectively control the executive this way.
2. A presidential system makes the president the sole source of all executive power, creating a danger of personality cult.
3. The Constitution-makers wanted a strong executive, but with enough safeguards against personality cult.
4. A parliamentary system keeps the executive routinely answerable to the legislature, so this system was adopted at both the Union and State level.
Q. Explain the President’s three discretionary powers.
Answer: 1. Asking for reconsideration: the President can send the Council of Ministers’ advice back once for reconsideration, but must accept it if the same advice is sent back again.
2. Veto and pocket veto: the President can withhold assent to any Bill except a Money Bill, and since no time limit is fixed, can keep it pending indefinitely (a pocket veto).
3. Discretion in appointing the Prime Minister: when no leader has a clear majority after an election, the President must use discretion in deciding whom to appoint.
Q. Explain the President’s discretion using the 1986 Postal Bill and the March 1998 examples.
Answer: 1. Postal Bill (1986): this Bill, which curtailed press freedom, was passed by Parliament, but President Gyani Zail Singh took no decision on it. His successor Venkataraman later returned it, but by then the government had changed and the new coalition government never reintroduced it, so it never became law, a real example of a pocket veto.
2. March 1998 example: no party or coalition secured a majority; the BJP and allies won 251 seats, 21 short of a majority. President Narayanan asked Vajpayee for support documents from the concerned parties, and advised him to secure a confidence vote within 10 days, a real example of discretion in appointing the PM.
3. Together, both examples show that presidential discretion is tied to political circumstances, and becomes more visible during periods of unstable governments and coalitions.
Q. How has the coalition era (since 1989) affected the office of the Prime Minister?
Answer: 1. The President’s discretionary role in choosing the Prime Minister has grown, since a clear majority is often absent.
2. Constant consultation with coalition partners has become necessary, eroding the Prime Minister’s authority.
3. The Prime Minister’s freedom to choose ministers and portfolios has been restricted, since coalition partners must be accommodated.
4. Even policies and programmes are no longer decided by the Prime Minister alone, they are settled through negotiation and compromise among allies, so the Prime Minister acts more as a negotiator than as a leader.
Q. Describe four features of the Indian bureaucracy.
Answer: 1. It includes the All-India Services, State Services, employees of local governments, and the technical/managerial staff of public sector undertakings.
2. The UPSC recruits for the Union government and State Public Service Commissions recruit for the States, both ensuring impartial, merit-based selection.
3. The bureaucracy is expected to remain politically neutral, faithfully implementing even a new government’s changed policies.
4. Reservation in civil service jobs, originally for SC and ST, has since been extended to women, Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS), to make the civil service more representative.
Q. Describe two problems with the bureaucracy, and the role expected of the Right to Information.
Answer: 1. First problem: the bureaucracy is so powerful that ordinary citizens are often afraid of approaching officials, and find it insensitive to their needs.
2. Second problem: too much political interference can turn the bureaucracy into a tool of politicians, while too little political control can make it unresponsive to the public.
3. Many believe there are not enough provisions to protect civil servants from political interference, or to make the bureaucracy accountable to citizens.
4. It is hoped that measures like the Right to Information (RTI) will make the bureaucracy somewhat more responsive and accountable.
4 6-Mark Questions
Q. Explain in detail the constitutional position of the President of India, covering both the formal and discretionary aspects.
Answer: 1. Formally, the executive power of the Union is vested in the President, who holds a wide range of executive, legislative, judicial and emergency powers.
2. Under Article 74(1), the President in practice exercises these powers only on the binding advice of the Council of Ministers.
3. The President is elected indirectly, for 5 years, through proportional representation with the single transferable vote, and can be removed only through impeachment for violating the Constitution.
4. Yet the President is not entirely without power, exercising discretion on at least three occasions: asking for reconsideration of advice, using the veto/pocket veto, and discretion in appointing the PM when there is no clear majority.
5. In Nehru’s words, the President was given a position of authority and dignity, not real power.
6. A President is still needed because the Council of Ministers can fall at any time, so a fixed-term Head of State is needed who can form a new government and symbolically represent the nation.
Q. Explain in detail the President’s discretionary powers using the 1986 Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill and the March 1998 examples.
Answer: 1. Pocket veto example (1986): this Bill, which curtailed press freedom, was passed by Parliament, but President Gyani Zail Singh took no decision throughout the rest of his term.
2. His successor, President Venkataraman, later returned the Bill to Parliament for reconsideration, but by then power had changed hands.
3. The new coalition government elected in 1989 never brought the Bill back before Parliament, so the Bill never became law, showing how the absence of a time limit gives the President an effective informal veto.
4. Discretion in appointing the PM (1998): in the March 1998 elections, the BJP and its allies won 251 seats, 21 short of a majority.
5. President Narayanan asked alliance leader Vajpayee to furnish documents of support from the concerned parties, and also advised him to secure a vote of confidence within 10 days of being sworn in.
6. Together these two examples show that presidential discretion, while bound by procedure, becomes real and consequential during periods of political instability.
Q. What are the sources of the Prime Minister’s power, and how has the coalition era affected that power?
Answer: 1. The Prime Minister’s power flows from several sources: control over the Council of Ministers, leadership of the Lok Sabha, command over the bureaucracy, access to the media, projection of personality during elections, and projection as a national leader at international summits.
2. For long after independence, the Congress party’s majority kept the Prime Minister’s position largely unassailable.
3. Since 1989, no single party has often secured a Lok Sabha majority, leading to an era of coalition governments, some of which could not complete a full term.
4. This has had four effects: the President’s role in selecting the PM has grown, consultation with coalition partners became necessary, eroding the PM’s authority, restrictions came on choosing ministers and portfolios, and policies now emerge through negotiation and compromise.
5. Through this process, the Prime Minister’s role has shifted from that of a leader to more of a negotiator.
6. Still, whenever a single party wins a clear majority, the position of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers again becomes very strong.
Q. Explain the role, structure, and problems of the Indian bureaucracy in detail.
Answer: 1. The bureaucracy (civil service) helps the Prime Minister and ministers frame policy and runs day-to-day administration; it cannot act against policies adopted by the legislature.
2. The Indian bureaucracy includes All-India Services, State Services, local government employees, and the technical/managerial staff of public sector undertakings.
3. The UPSC recruits for the Union on merit, and State Public Service Commissions do the same for the States, with reservation for SC, ST, women, OBC and EWS.
4. IAS and IPS officers form the backbone of the States’ higher bureaucracy; the Union government appoints them, and only the Union government can take disciplinary action against them, which strengthens central control over State administration.
5. Problems: the bureaucracy is often so powerful that citizens fear approaching it and find it insensitive, while too much political interference can turn it into a tool of politicians.
6. Measures like the Right to Information (RTI) are expected to make the bureaucracy somewhat more accountable and responsive to citizens.
5 Case Studies
(A) 1 marks Who issues the order imposing President’s Rule?
Answer: The order imposing President’s Rule is issued by the President, on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
(B) 2 marks How constitutionally sound are options (a) and (b)?
Answer: Option (a) is unconstitutional, under Article 74 the President is bound to act on the Council of Ministers’ advice once it has been reconsidered, and cannot simply refuse to sign. Option (b) is also wrong, in a parliamentary system the Prime Minister stays in office as long as the Lok Sabha’s majority supports him, the President cannot dismiss the PM at will.
(C) 3 marks Which course of action is most appropriate for the President here, and why?
Answer: Option (e) is the most appropriate. It matches exactly the President’s first discretionary power, asking for reconsideration of advice. The President can openly discuss the matter and voice disagreement, such a request carries real weight on its own, but if the Prime Minister still insists, the President must ultimately accept the Council’s advice, since the President cannot permanently block the decision of a democratically elected government.
(A) 1 marks On what ground was the Postal Bill criticised?
Answer: It was criticised for curtailing the freedom of the press.
(B) 2 marks What did President Zail Singh do, and what effect did it have?
Answer: He took no decision on the Bill throughout the rest of his term, neither giving assent nor returning it. This left the Bill pending indefinitely, in effect an informal pocket veto.
(C) 3 marks What weakness in the Constitution does this episode reveal, and how could it be addressed?
Answer: It reveals that the Constitution sets no time limit within which the President must either give assent to a Bill or return it for reconsideration. This gives the President an informal but very effective veto power, used here to permanently block a Bill. One way to address this would be a constitutional amendment fixing a definite time limit (say, a few months) for the President to act on any Bill, so that no Bill can be left pending indefinitely.