{"id":57383,"date":"2023-11-27T18:35:44","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T13:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=docs&p=57383"},"modified":"2023-12-05T13:26:10","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T07:56:10","slug":"cabinet-ministers-in-india-roles-responsibilities-and-impact","status":"publish","type":"ncert-notes","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/ncert-notes\/cabinet-ministers-in-india-roles-responsibilities-and-impact","title":{"rendered":"Cabinet Ministers in India: Roles, Responsibilities, and Impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis Government will function as a Cabinet and will be jointly responsible for its decisions\u201d<\/b> –\u00a0 Nehru wrote to <\/span>to Viceroy Lord Wavell\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Definition of Cabinet: <\/b>Role in National Decision-Making<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
  • The Cabinet is the <\/span>core of the Council of Ministers<\/b>. It consists of <\/span>15 to 18 members<\/b>, who are the <\/span>senior most<\/b> and in fact <\/span>most effective ministers <\/b>of the council.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The PM along with the cabinet ministers <\/b>deliberate and decide on various policies of national importance.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The <\/span>cabinet ministers<\/b> hold the key and important portfolios<\/b> such as Home, Defence, External Affairs, Atomic Energy, Petroleum inter alia.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • As the <\/span>cabinet ministers<\/b> jointly form the<\/span> central decision-making authority<\/b> of the nation, the Prime Minister selects them with much caution.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • The meetings of the cabinet under the <\/span>chairmanship<\/b> of the Prime Minister<\/b> are held <\/span>once in a week<\/b> and in the case of necessity, more than once in a week and even in a day.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \n

    Do You Know?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Cabinet was inserted in <\/span>Art. 352<\/b> of the Constitution by the<\/span> 44th Amendment Act 1978.<\/b> It did not find a place in the original text of the Constitution.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • It is important to note that it is the Cabinet and not the Council of Ministers who advises the President.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

      Role of Cabinet Ministers in Shaping Indian Governance<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
        \n
      • Cabinet is the <\/span>highest decision-making authority<\/b> in the Indian politico- administrative system.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Cabinet envisages as <\/span>chief policy formulating body<\/b> of the Central government.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • It is the <\/span>supreme executive authority<\/b> of the Central government.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • PM is <\/span>the chief coordinator<\/b> of the Central administration.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • It is an <\/span>advisory body to the president<\/b> and its <\/span>advice is binding<\/b> on him (president can return advice for reconsideration only at once)<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Cabinet is the <\/span>chief crisis manager<\/b> and thus deals with all emergencies.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • It <\/span>deals with all major legislative and financial matters.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
      • Cabinet exercises <\/span>control over higher appointments<\/b> like constitutional authorities and senior secretariat administrators.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
      • Cabinet deals with <\/span>all<\/b> foreign policies and foreign affairs.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Why is the Cabinet system important in Government?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
          \n
        • It is easier to build consensus\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • More effective <\/b>discussion and efficient time utilization<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Less burden on public exchequer \u2013 <\/span>Economic efficiency<\/b><\/li>\n
        • More priority to<\/span> secrecy<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
        • More rational division of work<\/b> – Large size Council of Ministers ties up too many tongues and less viewpoint is available.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          How is Executive power checked?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
            \n
          • Legislative check<\/b><\/li>\n
          • Judicial check through mechanism of <\/span>judicial review<\/b><\/li>\n
          • Opinion of <\/span>media and public\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
          • Opinion of International community<\/span><\/li>\n
          • Ensure global <\/span>constitutionalism <\/b>(like treaties, conventions etc.)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Perspectives from Cabinet on its role and significance in Governance:<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n
              \n
            • Walter Begehot:\u00a0<\/b>\n
                \n
              • \u201c<\/b>The Cabinet, in a word, is a board of control chosen by the legislature, out of persons whom it trusts and knows, to rule the nation.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
              • \u00a0\u201cThe Cabinet is a hyphen that joins, the buckle that binds the executive and legislative departments together\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
              • Ramsay Muir<\/b>: \u201cThe Cabinet is the steering wheel of the ship of the state.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
              • Lowell<\/b>: \u201cThe Cabinet is the keystone of the political arch\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
              • Sir John Marriott:<\/b> \u201cThe Cabinet is the pivot around which the whole political machinery revolves\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
              • Gladstone<\/b>: \u201cThe Cabinet is the solar orb around which the other bodies revolve\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
              • Barker<\/b>: \u201cThe Cabinet is the magnet of policy\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
              • Sir Ivor Jennings<\/b>: \u201cThe Cabinet is the core of the British Constitutional System. It provides unity to the British system of Government\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
              • L.S. Amery<\/b>: \u201cThe Cabinet is the central directing instrument of Government\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                What role does the ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ play in Indian Politics?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n

                \"What<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • Kitchen Cabinet is the <\/span>informal and non-constitutional body <\/b>(extra-constitutional),<\/span> unlike CoM which has constitutional<\/span> status.<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Every Prime Minister in India<\/b> has had his <\/span>\u2018Inner Cabinet\u2019\u2013a circle within a circle<\/b>. During the <\/span>era of Indira Gandhi,<\/b> the \u2018Inner Cabinet\u2019 which came to be called the \u2018Kitchen Cabinet\u2019 was particularly powerful.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                • The Kitchen Cabinet consists of an <\/span>informal body<\/b> of the <\/span>Prime Minister and 2-4 influential colleagues<\/b> in whom he has faith and with whom he can discuss every problem.<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Outsiders<\/b> like friends and family members of the Prime Minister can also be included.<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Members of the kitchen cabinet <\/span>advise the Prime Minister on important political and administrative issues<\/b> and assist him in making crucial decisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                • The philosophy of \u2018kitchen cabinet\u2019 also <\/span>exists in the USA and Britain,<\/b> it is <\/span>not unique to the Indian <\/b>politico- administrative system.<\/span><\/li>\n
                • Various notations to Kitchen Cabinet:<\/b>\n
                    \n
                  • \u2018Kitchen Cabinet\u2019 – by <\/span>Indira Gandhi<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • \u2018Dehradun Brigade\u2019 – by <\/span>Rajiv Gandhi<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
                  • \u2018Grand Council of India\u2019 – by <\/span>L. B. Shastri<\/b>.<\/span>
                    \n<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                    What are the merits and demerits of an Inner Cabinet System?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
                    MERITS<\/b><\/td>\nDEMERITS<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    Due to the <\/span>small unit<\/b>, a much more efficient decision-making body than a large cabinet.\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nReduces the authority and status <\/b>of the cabinet as the highest decision-making body.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    Members can <\/span>meet more often<\/b> and deal with business much more expeditiously\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nCircumvents the legal process<\/b> by allowing outside persons to play an influential role\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    Helps in maintaining <\/span>secrecy <\/b>in making decisions on important political issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nCould <\/span>induce sense of mistrust<\/b> among other members of cabinet<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

                    What distinguishes the Cabinet from the Council of Ministers in a Government?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
                    Cabinet<\/b><\/td>\nCouncil of Ministers<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    \n
                      \n
                    • Smaller body<\/b> consisting 15 to 20 ministers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
                    		\n
                      \n
                    • Wider body<\/b> consisting of <\/span>60 to 70 <\/b>ministers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    \n
                      \n
                    • Includes the <\/span>cabinet ministers only<\/b>. It is a part of the CoM.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
                    		\n
                      \n
                    • Includes<\/span> all the three categories <\/b>of ministers<\/span>.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    \n
                      \n
                    • Collective functions<\/b>: It meets, as a body, once in a week to deliberate and take decisions regarding the transaction of government business.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
                    		\n
                      \n
                    • No collective functions: <\/b>It does not meet, as a body, to transact government business.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    \n
                      \n
                    • In practice, <\/span>it exercises the powers<\/b> of the Council of Ministers and acts for the Council of Ministers.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
                    		\n
                      \n
                    • Theoretically it is <\/span>vested with all powers.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    \n
                      \n
                    • It directs and guides the Council of Ministers<\/b> by taking policy decisions which are binding on all ministers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
                    		\n
                      \n
                    • Its functions are determined by the cabinet.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    \n
                      \n
                    • It supervises <\/b>the implementation of its decisions by the Council of Ministers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
                    		\n
                      \n
                    • It <\/span>implements the decisions<\/b> taken by the cabinet.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    \n
                      \n
                    • No Classification within cabinet. It is the<\/span> first category\u00a0 of the Council of Ministers.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
                    		\n
                      \n
                    • Its <\/span>classification into a three-tier body is based on the conventions<\/b> of parliamentary government as developed in <\/span>Britain<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    \n
                      \n
                    • Inserted by <\/span>44th Amendment 1978 in Art. 352.<\/b> It did not find a place in the original text of the Constitution.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                    • Art. 352<\/b> only defines the cabinet saying that it is \u2018the council consisting of the Prime Minister and other ministers of cabinet rank appointed under <\/span>Art. 75<\/b>.<\/span><\/li>\n
                    • Art. 352 does not describe its powers and functions.<\/span><\/li>\n
                    • Role of the cabinet<\/b> in our politico-administrative system is based on the conventions of parliamentary government as developed in Britain.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
                    		\n
                      \n
                    • It is a <\/span>constitutional body<\/b>, dealt in detail by the <\/span>Art. 74 and 75 of the Constitution<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                    • Its <\/span>size and classification are not mentioned<\/b> in the Constitution.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                    • Its <\/span>size is determined by the Prime Minister <\/b>according to the exigencies of the time and requirements of the situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
                    • According to the Salaries<\/span> and Allowances Act of 1952, <\/b>it has got a <\/span>legislative sanction – <\/b>defines a \u2018minister\u2019 as a \u2018member of the Council of Ministers, by whatever name called, and includes a deputy minister\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                    \n
                      \n
                    • It enforces the collective responsibility<\/b> of the Council of Ministers to the Lok Sabha of Parliament.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
                    		\n
                      \n
                    • It is<\/b> collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha<\/b> of the Parliament<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","notes-subjects":[],"subject-chapters":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ncert-notes\/57383"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ncert-notes"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ncert-notes"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"notes-subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/notes-subjects?post=57383"},{"taxonomy":"subject-chapters","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subject-chapters?post=57383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}