A. 1. a. 2. c. 3. d. 4. c. 5. d.
B. 1. members 2. Lok sabha
- Constituencies
- Vice-President
- Finance minister
- President, Prime Minister
- Parliament 8. President
- Prime Minister
- collective responsibility
C. 1. T 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. F
D. 1. b. 2. e. 3. a. 4. d. 5. c.
E. 1. Division of power is ensured
between the centre and the states by
the three lists on which they have
the jurisdiction to make laws
namely the central list, the state list
and the concurrent list. - The minister and his/her ministry
have to resign in such a case
because of the clause of collective
responsibility. - The Prime Minister can use his/her
discretion over disposal of two
national funds,
(i) the Prime Minister’s National
Relief Fund, and
(ii) the National Defence Fund used
to provide relief to the families
of those killed in natural
calamities such as floods,
cyclones, and earthquakes and
to victims of major accidents
and riots. - Portfolios are the different
departments and they are assigned
by the Prime Minister of the country
the different ministers in his/her
council. - The Rajya Sabha is also called the
Council of States. It is the upper
house of parliament. Members of
the Rajya Sabha are not directly
elected by the people.
F. 1. It means that the members of the
Indian executive are also the
members of the Parliament or the
legislature and hence they are
controlled by the legislature because
in order to stay in the Parliament,
they have to enjoy the confidence
of the house. - The executive powers of the
President of the country are –
• Appointment of the Prime Minister,
the central council of ministers on
the Prime Minister’s advice, judges
of the Supreme Court and high
courts and governors of the states.
• He/she is the supreme commander
of the defence forces.
• He/she can pardon and reduce the
sentence of a person sentenced by
the court. Any death penalty can be
pardoned by the President.
• President appoints the Election
Commissioners and the Comptroller
and Auditor General and looks after
the administration of the Union
Territories.
• In case of failure of the government
machinery in a particular state, the
President imposes his/her rule over
that state.
• He/she can proclaim a state of
emergency in case the country’s
security is threatened by war or
external aggression or any other
rebellion. - Role of parliament in proper
functioning of the government are
as followes:–
Legislative Function
• The parliament makes laws for the
country. All laws are introduced as
bills in the parliament. After
approval by both the houses, the bill
becomes a law.
Financial Function
• The government imposes taxes on
the people. Money collected through
taxes are utilised to execute its
w e l f a r e a n d d e v e l o p m e n t
programmes. If the government
wants to introduce any new taxes, it
has to get the approval of the Lok
Sabha.
Debates
• All issues of national importance are
debated in the parliament. In the
Question Hour, the opposition can
question the government on any
issue, and the government is bound
to give a response or answer.
Constituent Function
• The parliament can make changes
or amendments to the Constitution.
However, all the amendments are
valid only after they have been
approved by both houses of the
parliament.
Electoral Function
• The parliament performs some
electoral functions like electing the
president and the vice-president of
India.
Control of the Executive
• The parliament keeps a check on the
powers of the government. All the
policies of the government have to
be approved by it. If the parliament
is not happy with the working of the
government, it can pass a
no-confidence motion against the
government. - The Council of Ministers work as a
team, along with the Prime Minister
on the principle of collective
responsibility. They are jointly
responsible to the Parliament for
any decision taken by them. This
means that if a minister loses the
faith of the opposition, the opposition
can initiate a non confidence motion
against the government and if the
government fails to defend the
motion then the entire council of
ministers will have to resign. - The party that wins the maximum
number of seats forms the
government. Members belonging to
other political parties form the
opposition. Opposition parties in a
parliamentary system are political
entities that hold views and policies
differing from those of the ruling
party or coalition. Their primary role
is to provide constructive criticism
and scrutiny of government policies
and actions. They serve as a check
on the ruling party’s power, ensuring
accountability and transparency in
governance. Opposition parties also
offer alternative policies and
solutions, promoting debate and
discussion in legislative bodies.
Their presence is crucial for
maintaining a healthy democracy by
representing diverse viewpoints and
interests of the electorate that may
not align with the ruling party’s
agenda.
G. 1. Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha is also known as the
House of the People. It is the lower
house of the parliament. The
members of the Lok Sabha are
elected directly by the people
through elections. The total number
of members in the parliament is 552.
530 members are elected by the
people of different states and 20
members are elected by the people
of the union territories.
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha is also called the
Council of States. It is the upper
house of parliament. Members of
the Rajya Sabha are not directly
elected by the people. There are 250
members. 12 members, distinguished
in the fields of art, literature, science
and social services are nominated by
the president. They are known as
nominated members. - The union list has subjects of national
importance on which we need a
uniform policy throughout the
country. Defence, foreign affairs,
banking, communication and currency
are included in the union list.
The state list contains subjects of
state and local importance, on which
the state government makes laws.
Police, trade, commerce, agriculture
and irrigation are included in the
state list.
H. 1. The Prime Minister is often called
the real head of the government
because he/she-
• Selects the members who are a part
of the Council of Ministers
• Allocates the portfolios or
departments to the different
departments of the government
• Presides over the meetings of the
council of ministers and is also the
chief decision maker
• Is the Chairperson of the National
Planning Commission which is
instrumental in the economic
advancement of the country
• Acts as a link between the President
and the Council of Ministers relating
to the administration of the country
• Represents the country in high level
meetings and international
organizations that require the
attendance of the person who holds
the highest government office
• Heads two important funds- the
Prime Minister’s National Relief
funds and the National Defence
Fund. - We say that Indian government is a
Parliamentary form of government
as the framers chose it because they
realised that the success of
democracy depends on the
participation of the people in the
governance of the country. It is these
representatives of the people who
form the government. In the
Parliamentary form of government
the executive is a member of the
Parliament which keeps a check on
the powers of the executive. Also
Parliamentary form of government
is the model that we have understood
the best as it was also the type of
government of the British masters.
DO AND LEARN
Assertion And Reasoning - a. 2. a.
Application/Competency Based Question
Suppose you are given a chance to be
a part of the Lok Sabha for a day,
what changes would you like to bring
in the current political system of India
with the help of a bill.
Ans – Do it yourself
Hots - Because under certain specific condition,
one can be denied the Right to Vote.
These conditions are if the voter has a
criminal record or is mentally unfit, then
he/she may not be allowed to cast his/
her vote. - Secrecy is important in the process of
casting votes because democracy
functions on secret ballot. If there is no
secrecy then the voter might face a threat
to his/her life from the different political
parties that clamour for its votes.
Picture Based Questions - Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Pt.
Jawaharlal Nehru. - Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was the 1st Prime
Minister of India. Dr. Sarvepalli
Radhakrishnan was 2nd President of
India.
WORKSHEET
A. 1. parliament - legislature
- federal
- bureaucracy
B. 1. T 2. T 3. F 4. T
C. 1. d 2. c 3. d 4. a