Union Government of India

The Government of India ( Hindi : Bharat Sarkar ), officially referred to as the Union Government, and commonly as Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of a federal union of 28 states and 7 union territories, collectively called the Republic of India. The basic civil and criminal laws governing the citizens of India are set down in major parliamentary legislation, such as the Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, etc.

The federal ( union ) and individual state governments consist of executive, legislative and judicial branches. The legal system as applicable to the federal and individual state governments is based on the English Common and Statutory Law. India accepts compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction with several reservations.

Indian Government - Legislative Branch :

India's bicameral parliament ( also known as the Sansad ) consists of the Rajya Sabha ( Council of States ) and the Lok Sabha ( House of the People ). The Union Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha. In India's parliamentary system, the executive is nominally subordinate to the legislature. There are 543 members in the Lok Sabha that are elected from the various states on the basis of proportional representation. There are 2 Anglo-Indian members nominated by the President. The Rajya Sabha has 250 members.

Indian Government - Executive Branch :

The Executive arm consists of the President, Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of either house of parliament.

Indian Government - President of India :

The government exercises its broad administrative powers in the name of the President of India, who is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, the Head of State and chief guardian of the Constitution of the Republic.

The President's true role is mostly ceremonial. He is the Supreme Commander of the nation's armed forces, has the authority to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections, declare a state of emergency, and dismiss governments in the states, but all upon the counsel of the Prime Minister and the elected government.

Historically, the President of the Republic has been a person revered by the people for his position above ordinary politics. The President and Vice President are elected indirectly for 5-year terms by a special electoral college, composed of delegates from the federal Parliament and state legislatures.

Indian Government - Union Cabinet :

Real national executive power is centered in the Council of Ministers, the Union Cabinet, led by the Prime Minister of India, the Head of Government. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who is the designated leader of the political party or coalition commanding parliamentary majority. All Central Government decisions are nominally taken in the name of the President.

The Ministers may be of 3 types - Cabinet Minister, Minister of State ( Independent Charge ) and Minister of State, in order of seniority. Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State with independent charge may usually attend Cabinet meetings.

Indian Government - Judicial Branch :

India's independent judicial system began under the British, and its concepts and procedures resemble those of Anglo-Saxon countries. The Supreme Court of India consists of a Chief Justice and 25 associate justices, all appointed by the President on the advice of the Chief Justice of India. In the 1960s, India moved away from using juries for most trials, finding them to be corrupt and ineffective, instead almost all trials are conducted by judges.

Unlike its US counterpart, the Indian justice system consists of a unitary system at both state and federal level. The judiciary consists of the Supreme Court of India, High Courts at the state level, and District and Session Courts at the district level.