Prime Minister of India प्रधान मंत्री |
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Emblem of India |
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Residence | 7 Race Course Road, New Delhi, India |
Appointer | President |
Term length | General Elections are held every five years at a maximum, but may be held sooner. The Prime Minister is by convention the leader of the victorious party. No term limits are imposed on the office. |
Inaugural holder | Jawaharlal Nehru 15 August 1947 |
Formation | Indian Constitution 15 August 1947 |
Website | pmindia.nic.in |
The Prime Minister of India (Hindi: प्रधान मंत्री) is the chief of government of the Republic of India, and head of the Council of Ministers, appointed by the President to assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive in India. The Prime Minister is responsible for bringing proposal of legislation. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, and recognized as leader of the majority party in the two Houses of the Parliament of India.The Prime Minister of India is the head of the executive branch as the President's position is ceremonial and it is the Prime Minister who is the head of the executive
The incumbent prime minister is Manmohan Singh, in office since 22 May 2004.
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The Constitution envisages a scheme of affairs in which the President of India is the head of the executive in terms of Article 53 with office of the Prime Minister as heading the Council of Ministers to assist and advise the President in the discharge of the executive power. To quote, Article 53 and 74 provide as under;
The executive powers of the Union shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised either directly or through subordinate officers, in accordance with the Constitution.— Article 53(1), Constitution of India
There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice.— Article 74(1), Constitution of India
like most parliamentary democracies the Head of State's duties are only ceremonial, the Prime Minister of India is the head of government and has the responsibility for executive power. With India following a parliamentary system of government the Prime Minister is generally the leader of a party (or coalition of parties) that has a majority in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The Prime Minister either has to be a current member of one of the houses of Parliament, or be elected within six months of being appointed.
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The Prime Minister, leads the functioning and exercise of authority of the Government of India. They are invited by the President as leader of the majority party in the Parliament of India to form a government at the federal level (known as Central or Union Government in India) and exercise its powers. In practice the Prime Minister nominates the members of their Council of Ministers [1][2][3] to the President. They also work upon to decide a core group of Ministers (known as the Cabinet)[1] as in-charge of the important functions and ministries of the Government of India.
The Prime Minister is responsible for aiding and advising the President in distribution of work of the Government to various ministries and offices and in terms of the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 [4]. The co-ordinating work is generally allocated to the Cabinet Secretariat [5] which in turn acts as a nodal agency for the functioning of the various Ministries. While generally the work of the Government is divided into various Ministries, the Prime Minister may retain certain portfolios.
The Prime Minister, in consultation with the Cabinet, schedules and attends the sessions of the Houses of Parliament and is required to answer the question from the Members of Parliament [6] to them as the in-charge of the portfolios in the capacity as Prime Minister of India.[7] The Prime Minister is also the ex officio Chairman of the Planning Commission of India. They also appoint the Deputy Chairman of the Commission, who is responsible for the functioning of the Commission and reports to the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister represents the country in various delegations, high level meetings and international organizations that require the attendance of the highest government office [8] and also addresses to the nation on various issues of national or other importance.[9] They also have exclusive jurisdiction over disposal of two national funds, (i) the PM's National Relief Fund [10], and (ii) the PM's National Defence Fund [11], which they use at their discretion attain the objectives behind the establishment of these funds.
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