We provide you with a short and detailed summary of the Civics chapter 4 Working Of Institutions and the ncert solutions. Through this lesson, students would be able to know the working of the various institutions which play a significant role in decision making. These three institutions are legislature, executory, and judiciary. We will also focus on how they constituted governing a country like India.
Process Of Taking A Major Policy Decision
A major policy decision is taken through a government order. To know the process of making a significant policy decision, it is essential to know about government orders and their issuing.
A Government Order
Issuing of Government Order A government order is a written direction on an issue signed by a government authority (office). e.g. On 13th August 1990, the Government of India issued an order. It was called an Office Memorandum. It had a specific number. It was signed by the Joint Secretary, who is an officer in the Department of Personnel and Training in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
Decision Announced by an Order The order announced a major policy decision. According to the order, 27% of the vacancies in civil posts and services of government were reserved for SEBC (Socially and Educationally Backward Classes). The earlier benefit of job reservation was available to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). Now the third category SEBC was also eligible for the quota of 27%.
Controversy Over the Order The issuing order led to a country-wide protest. Some of the protests were violent- As a result, the issue became the most debated in the media with different views and opinions. The people reacted strongly because this decision affected thousands of job opportunities.
Appeal to Stop Implementation of Order Some people and associations filed several court cases against the order. They appealed to declare the order invalid and stop its implementation. This case came to be known as the Indira Sawhney and Others vs Union of India Case.
Supreme Court’s Declaration Over the Order By a majority, the Supreme Court in 1992, declared the order valid. It also asked the government to identify its original order.
Modifications in Order and End of Dispute The order was modified and declared that well-to-do persons of backward classes should be excluded from the benefit of reservation.
On 8th September 1993, another memorandum was issued by the Department of Personal Training. Since then, the dispute ended, and the same policy was followed.
Main Events before the Passing of Government Order
The main events before the passing of the Government Order for OBC reservation were as follows
- The Government of India appointed the Second Backward Classes Commission in 1979. It was headed by BP Mandal. Hence, it was popularly called the Mandal Commission.
- The Commission gave its Report in 1980 and made many recommendations. One of these was that 27% of government jobs be reserved for the socially and economically backward classes. For several years, many parliamentarians and parties kept
- Then came the Lok Sabha election of 1989. In its election manifesto, the Janata Dal promised to implement the Mandal Commission report if voted to power.
- The Janata Dal did form the government after this election.
- It’s leader VP Singh became the Prime Minister and he implemented it.
The Decision Makers
The primary decision involves some central functionaries in our country. These are
- President- He is the head of the state and the country’s highest formal authority.
- Prime Minister- He is the head of the government and actually exercises all governmental powers. He takes most of the decisions in the Cabinet meetings.
- Parliament consists of the President and two houses—Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha or the Lower House is composed of the people’s elected representatives. The Rajya Sabha or Upper House represents the interests of the States and Union Territories. The Prime Minister must support a majority of Lok Sabha members.
In India, all the significant decisions are taken by the council of ministers in a meeting which is headed by the PM. The decisions are then discussed in both the houses and after getting the approval of the majority of the members of both the houses. Once the decision is approved by the president, it is implemented and issued by the concerned government.
How to Oppose Government Decisions
If some people are not satisfied by the government’s order they can file a case in the Apex court i.e. Supreme court or even the high court. For example, some persons and associations filed a case in the Supreme Court against the Government of India decision of 27% reservation for socially and educationally backward classes in civil posts and services. This case was known as the ‘Indira Sawhney and Others vs Union of India Case.’
Need for Political Institutions
The arrangements made in the democracies to take decisions implemented the decision to see what is wrong and what is right in case of disputes regarding the decision are sailed by Political Institutions.
By having meetings arid making committees, institution consult a more comprehensive set of people for any decision, Institution makes it challenging to have a good decision taken very quickly. Still, at the same time, they make it equally challenging to rush through a bad decision.
Parliament
Parliament is a set of people elected regularly by the people through direct or indirect elections. All the decisions are then discussed in the parliament and then only sent for the approval of the President.
Need of Parliament
We need Parliament due to the following reasons.
- Parliament is the final authority for making or changing laws.
- We have a direct government, and decisions are enjoyed only as long as they support the Parliament.
- Parliament controls all the money that the government has. In most countries, public money can be spent only when Parliament sanctions it.
- Parliament is my country’s highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national policy. Parliament can seek information about any matter.
Two Houses of Parliament
Large countries have divided the role and powers of the parliament into two parts:
One house is elected by the people and exercises real power on behalf of the people. The second house is indirectly looks into the affairs of various states.
Lok Sabha, or lower chamber, is usually elected directly by the people, whereas Rajya Sabha, or council of states, performs various functions for the states or federal units.
The President of India is a part of the parliament, although she is not a house member. Due to this reason, all laws made in the houses come into force only after they receive the assent of the President.
Special Powers of Lok Sabha
Over Rajya Sabha
Our Constitution gives some special powers to Rajya Sabha but on most of matters, the Lok Sabha exercises supreme power.
These are
- Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both houses. But if there is a difference between the two houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session, where the view of Lok Sabha is likely to prevail because of its larger number of members.
- Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok- Sabha passes the government’s budget or any other money-related law or Money Bill, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it.
- The Rajya Sabha can only delay it by 14 days or suggest a change. But, the Lok Sabha may or may not accept these changes.
- Most importantly, Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. Only a person Who enjoys the support of a majority of foe members in for Lok Sabha is appointed for Prime Minister.
- If the majority of foe LokSabha members say that they have ‘no confidence in for Council of Ministers, all ministers, including foR Prime Minister, have to quit. But, for Rajya Sabha does not have this power.
Executive
They are in charge of executing the policies; by the executive, we generally mean the government.
Political and Permanent Executive
In a democratic country, two categories make up the executive. They are Political executives and Permanent executives.
Political Executive They are elected by the people for a specific period. They make major decisions. For eg, political leaders.
Permanent Executives, are appointed on a long-term basis. They are also known as civil servants. They remain in office even when the ruling party changes. They work under the political executive and assist them in carrying out daily administration.
Powers of Permanent and Political Executive: Working of Institutions
The political executive has more power than the permanent executive. This is because the political executive is elected by the people and in a democracy, the will of people is supreme. The political executive exercises the will of the people on their behalf. They are answerable to the people for all consequences of their decisions.
Permanent executives are more educated and have expertise on the subject of ministry. For instance, advisors of the finance ministry know more about economics than the finance minister.
But still the decision of the finance minister will be the final. Political executive calls take advice of the permanent executive arid then decide the overall framework and objectives of the policy to be implemented.
Prime Minister
The Prime Minister is the head of the government and also the council of ministers. all the major powers rest in the hands of the PM. he is the most important political institution in the country.
Appointment of Prime Minister
There is no direct election for the post of Prime Minister. The President appoints the majority party’s leader or the coalition government as a PM.
Collective Responsibility For any decision or action of the Cabinet, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible. If any of the Cabinet decisions is not approved by the Parliament, the entire Council of Ministers has to resign.
Tenure of Prime Minister
The Prime Minister does not have a fixed tenure. He continues in power as long as he remains the leader of the Majority or coalition party.
Powers of the Prime Minister
The Prime Minister has wide-ranging powers. These are
- On the advice of the Prime Minister, the President appoints other ministers.
- The Prime Minister is free to choose ministers, as long as they are members of Parliament.
- He chairs and takes most of the decisions in the Cabinet meetings.
- He coordinates the work of different departments and his decisions are final in case disagreements arise between departments.
- He exercises general supervision of different ministries and all ministers work under his leadership.
- He distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.
- He also has the power to dismiss ministers. When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.
Council of Ministers
It is the official name for the body that includes all the ministers. It usually has 60 to 80 ministers of different ranks. The Council of Ministers has collective responsibility.
The Council of Ministers comprise
Cabinet Ministers are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in charge of the major ministries. They meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of Ministers. The cabinet is the inner ring of the Council of Ministers. It comprises about 20 ministers.
Ministers of State with independent charge are usually in charge of smaller ministries. They participate in the Cabinet meetings only when specially invited.
Ministers of State are attached to and required to assist Cabinet Ministers.
Appointment of Council of Ministers
After the appointment of the Prime Minister, the President appoints the Council of Ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. They are usually from the party or coalition with the majority in Lok Sabha. Sometimes, a person who is not a member of Parliament can also become a minister. But such a person has to get elected to one of the Houses of Parliament within 6 months of his appointment.
Cabinet Form of Government
Since it is not practical for all ministers to meet regularly and discuss everything, the decisions are taken in Cabinet meetings. That is why parliamentary democracy in most countries is often known as the Cabinet form of government.
The secretaries provide the necessary background information to the ministers to take decisions. The Cabinet as a team is assisted by the Cabinet Secretariat. This includes many senior civil servants who try to coordinate the working of different ministries.
The President
The President is the head of the state. In our political system, the head of the state exercises only nominal powers. Thus, the President is like the Queen of Britain, whose functions are mainly ceremonial.
The President supervises the overall functioning of all the political institutions in the country so that they operate in harmony to achieve the objectives of the state.
Appointment of the President
The President of India is elected indirectly, by an electoral college, by the system of proportional representation using the single transferable vote.
The electoral college consists of
- the elected Members of both Houses of Parliament (MPs).
- the elected Members of the Legislative Assemblies of the states (MLAs),
- the elected Members of the Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) of Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry.
The Presidential System
Presidents worldwide are not only executives like the president of India. The President of the USA is directly elected by the nation’s people. He personally chooses and appoints all the ministers.
The Legislature (called the Congress in the US) still does the lawmaking, but the President can veto any law. Most importantly, the US President does not need the support of the majority of members in Congress, and neither is. he answerable to them. The President has a fixed tenure of 4 years and completes it even if his party does not have a majority in Congress.
This model is followed in most countries of Latin America and many of the ex-Soviet Union countries. Given the president’s centrality, this government system is called the Presidential form of government.
Powers of the President
- All governmental activities take place in the name of the President. All laws and major policy decisions of die government are issued in her name.
- All significant appointments are made in the name of the President. These include the appointment of the Chief Justice of India, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts of the states, the Governors of the states, the Election Commissioners, Ambassadors to other countries, etc.
- Electoral College A specially constituted elected body to elect the President and Vice-President of India.
- All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President. The President is the supreme commander of the defense forces of India.
- The President has emergency powers, i.e. powers to deal with an unexpected and critical situation, e.g., to declare an emergency or President’s rule and issue an ordinance.
Power to Appoint Prime Minister
President appoints Prime Minister. The leader of the party or coalition of parties who secures a clear majority in the Lok Sabha elections is appointed as Prime Minister. When no party or coalition gets a majority in the Lok Sabha, the President exercises her discretion and appoints a leader who, in her opinion, can muster majority support in the Lok Sabha.
Limitation on the Power of the President
- He can exercise all these powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The President can ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider its advice. But if the same advice is given again, the President is bound to act according to it.
- Similarly, a bill passed by the Parliament becomes a law only after the President assents to it. If the President wants, she can delay this for some time and send the bill back to Parliament for reconsideration. But if the Parliament passes the bill again, the President has to sign it.
The Judiciary
Judiciary refers to an institution empowered to administer justice and provide a mechanism for resolving legal disputes. All the courts at different levels in a country put together are called the judiciary.
The Indian judiciary consists of a Supreme Court ( apex court) for the entire nation, High Courts and Subordinate Courts in the states, District Courts and the courts at the local level, and Lok Adalats. India has an integrated or unified judiciary. It means that the Supreme Court controls the judicial administration in the country. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the country.
Independence of Judiciary
The judiciary is not under the control of the legislature or executive. The judges present their verdict according to their wisdom and not according to the ruling party’s wishes. All the modern democracies, including India, have adopted this kind of judiciary.
Appointment of Judges of Supreme Court and High Courts
- The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister and in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
- The senior judges of the Supreme Court select the new judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. There is, the very little scope of interference by the political executive. The senior-most judge of the Supreme Court is usually appointed the Chief Justice.
Removal of a Judge of Supreme Court and High Court
Once a person is appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, it is nearly impossible to remove him or her from that position. It is as complicated as removing the President of India.
A judge can be removed only by an impeachment motion passed separately by two-thirds of members of the two houses of Parliament. It has never happened in the history of Indian democracy.
Powers of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court can take up any dispute
- between citizens of the country
- between citizens and government
- between two or more State Governments
- between governments at the union and state level
Role of the Supreme Court and the High Courts
The Supreme and high courts have all the powers to validate any law and interpret the laws. They can also declare any law or actions of the executive against the constitution.
They can determine the constitutional validity of any legislation or action of the executive in the country when it is challenged before them. This is known as the judicial review.
The Supreme Court of India also ruled that the core or fundamental principles of the. The constitution cannot be changed by Parliament.
Judiciary as the Highest Authority
The powers and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the guardian of Fundamental Rights. Anyone can approach the courts if the public interest is hurt by the government’s actions. This is called Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
The courts intervene to prevent the misuse of the government’s power to make decisions. They check malpractices on the part of public officials. That is why the judiciary enjoys high confidence among the people.
NCERT Solutions: Working Of Institutions Class 9th
Q1. If you are elected as the president of India, which of the following decisions can you take on your own?
(a) Select the person you like as Prime Minister.
(b) Dismiss, a Prime Minister who has a majority in Lok Sabha.
(c) Ask for reconsideration of a bill passed by both the Houses.
(d) Nominate the leaders of your choice to the Council of Ministers.
Answer
(c) Ask for reconsideration of a bill passed by both the Houses.
Q2. Who among the following is a part of the political executive?
(a) District Collector
(b) Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
(c) Home Minister
(d) Director General of Police
Answer
(c) Home Minister.
Q3. Which of the following statements about the judiciary is false?
(a) Every law passed by the parliament needs the approval of the Supreme Court.
(b) Judiciary can strike down a law if it goes against the spirit of the Constitution.
(c) Judiciary is independent of the Executive.
(d) Any citizen can approach the courts if her rights are violated.
Solution:
(a) Every law passed by the Parliament needs the approval of the Supreme Court.
Q4. Which of the following institutions can change an existing law of the country?
(a) The Supreme Court
(b) The President
(c) The Prime Minister
(d) The Parliament
Answer
(d) The Parliament
Parliament refers to a democratic government and the term is derived from the french word, which means discussion.
Q5. Match the ministry with the news that the ministry may have released.
| (a) A new policy is being made to increase the jute exports from the country. | (i) Ministry of Defence |
| (b) Telephone services will be made more accessible to rural areas. | (ii) Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Public Distribution |
| (c) The price of rice and wheat sold under the Public Distribution System will go down. | (iii) Ministry of Health |
| (d) A pulse polio campaign will be launched. | (iv) Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| (e) The allowances of the soldiers posted on high altitudes will be increased. | (v) Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. |
Answer
| (a) A new policy is being made to increase the jute exports from the country. | (iv) Ministry of Commerce and Industry |
| (b) Telephone services will be made more accessible to rural areas. | (v) Ministry of Communications and Information Technology |
| (c) The price of rice and wheat sold under the public distribution system will decrease. | (ii) Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Public Distribution |
| (d) A pulse polio campaign will be launched | (iii) Ministry of Health |
| (e) The allowances of soldiers posted on high altitudes will be increased | (i) Ministry of Defence |
Q6. Of all the institutions that we have studied in this chapter, name the one that exercises the powers on each of the following matters.
(a) Decision on allocating money for developing infrastructures like roads, irrigation etc., and different welfare activities for the citizens.
(b) considers the recommendation of a Committee on a law to regulate the stock exchange.
(c) Decides on a legal dispute between two state governments.
(d) Implements the decision to provide relief for the victims of an earthquake.
Answer
(a) The executive (political), the government
(b) The Parliament (Lok Sabha)
(c) The Supreme Court (Judiciary)
(d) The Executive (Permanent) civil servants
Q7. Why is the Prime Minister in India not directly elected by the people? Choose the most appropriate answer and give reasons for your choice.
(a) In a parliamentary democracy, only the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha can become the Prime Minister.
(b) Lok Sabha can remove the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers even before the expiry of their term.
(c) Since the Prime Minister is appointed by the president, there is no need for it.
(d) Direct election of the Prime Minister will involve a lot of expenditure on the election.
Answer
The most appropriate answer is (a).
Only the majority party’s leader or the coalition party can become the Prime Minister. If the elected PM does not support the majority, there are chances that policies or laws will not be passed in the parliament.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, we have penned down the short and detailed Working Of Institutions Summary along with the ncert solutions to help the students understand the lesson, solve the back exercises, and deal with the answers. After they go through these short notes, students can clear their concepts.
