CABINET MINISTERS -
POLITY
News: Narendra Modi 3.0 | Who’s who
in the Council of Ministers
What's in the news?
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Having secured the numbers to form the government,
the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra
Modi, is administered the oath of office on June 9.
Key takeaways:
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Apart from seniors leaders Rajnath Singh, Nitin
Gadkari and Amit Shah, party president J.P. Nadda and former Madhya Pradesh
Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan join the Cabinet.
Cabinet:
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The Cabinet is a smaller body with 15 to 20 ministers.
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It is the nucleus of the council of ministers and
only includes cabinet ministers.
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It is the true
seat of power in the government.
Constitution and
Cabinet:
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It was not
included in the original text of the Constitution.
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The 44th
Constitutional Amendment Act of 1978 inserted ‘Cabinet ‘into Article 352 of
the Constitution.
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Article 352 only defines the cabinet as “the council
consisting of the prime minister and other ministers of cabinet rank appointed
under Article 75,” without describing its powers and functions.
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In other words, its role in our political and
administrative system is based on the parliamentary government conventions
developed in Britain.
Role of Cabinet:
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It is our political and administrative system’s highest decision-making authority.
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It is the central government’s main policy-making
body.
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It is the central government’s supreme executive
authority.
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It is the central administration’s chief
coordinator.
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It serves as the president’s advisory body, and its recommendations are legally
binding on him.
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As the chief crisis manager, he is in charge of all
emergency situations.
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It addresses all major legislative and financial
issues.
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It has authority over higher-level appointments
such as constitutional authorities and senior secretariat administrators.
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It is in charge of all foreign policies and foreign
affairs.
Cabinet Committees:
Under Article 77 of the
Constitution, the President has
power to make rules for convenient
transactions of business of the union government and for allocation of work
among ministers. Under these the President has notified, two sets of rules as
follows.
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Allocation of Business Rules deals with distribution
of subject among different ministries and departments
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Transaction of Business Rules deals with disposal of
ministries, inter-departmental consultations, committees of cabinet,
consultation with Prime Minister and President etc.
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According to the Transaction of Business Rules, the
Prime Minister has power to constitute or discontinue Standing Committees of
the Cabinet and the functions assigned to them.
Features:
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The cabinet committees are an extra constitutional body, which means they are not mentioned in
the constitution.
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The Prime
Minister sets up different cabinet committees with selected members of the
Cabinet and assigns specific functions to these committees.
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The Prime Minister may even change the numbers of
committees and modify the functions assigned to them.
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If the Prime Minister is a member of any such committee, he acts as the
head of the committee.
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The membership varies from three to eight.
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Usually, only cabinet ministers are the member of
these committees.
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But sometimes non-cabinet
ministers may also be the member or may be special invitees to the committee.
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They solve issues and formulate proposals for the consideration
of the cabinet and take decisions on matters assigned to them. However, the
cabinet is empowered to review such decisions.
Rationale for Cabinet
Committees:
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Help in taking decisions where multiple ministries
are involved
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Help in horizontal consultation and coordination
and dialogue between different ministries
Various Cabinet
Committees in India:
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Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs
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Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
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Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
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Cabinet Committee on Security
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Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs
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Cabinet Committee on Accommodation
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Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth
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Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill
Development
The Cabinet Committees except for Cabinet Committee on Accommodation and Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs is headed by the Prime Minister. Of all the Cabinet Committees, the most powerful is the Political Affairs Committee, often described as a Super-Cabinet.