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▸ The Constitution of India (Article 148) provides for an independent office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).▸ He is the guardian of the public purse and audits the accounts of the government at both the levels- the centre and the state.▸ His duty is to uphold the Constitution of India and laws of Parliament in the field of financial administration.▸ Article 148 to 151 of the Constitution deals with CAG's appointment, powers and audit reports.▸ The CAG of India is appointed by the President for six years or till sixty five years, of age whichever is earlier.▸ His removal process is similar to that of a Judge of the Supreme Court.▸ Shri V Narahari Rao, was the first Comptroller and Auditor General of India (1948-1954).
▸ The Constitution (Article 76) has provided for the office of the Attorney General of India. He is the highest law officer in the country.▸ The Attorney General of India must be a person, who is qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court. He is appointed by the President.▸ The term of office of the Attorney General is not fixed by the Constitution. Further, the Constitution does not contain the procedure and grounds for his removal. He holds office during the pleasure of the President.▸ The Attorney General's duty is to give advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters, which are referred to him by the President.
▸ Article 165, has provided for the office of the Advocate General for the states. He acts as highest Law officer in the state, corresponding to the Attorney General of India.▸ He is appointed by the Governor to give advice to state government on legal matters. and he also performs such other duties of a legal nature that are assigned to him by the Governor.▸ The Attorney General appears before the Supreme Court and various High Courts in cases involving the Government of India.▸ The Attorney General of India is not a member of the Cabinet.▸ He has the Right to Speak in the either House of Parliament, but he has no Right to Vote.
▸ An independent Election Commission has been established under the Constitution in order to carry out and regulate the holding of elections in India. The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January, 1950.▸ The Election Commission prepares, maintains and periodically updates the electoral roll, which shows who is entitled to vote, supervises the nominations of candidates, register political parties, monitors the election campaign.
▸ The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 added a new Part XIV-A to the Constitution. This part is entitled as 'Tribunals' and consist of only two Articles, Article 323A dealing with administrative tribunals and Article 323B dealing with tribunals for other matters.▸ The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) was set-up in 1985, with the principal bench at Delhi and additional benches in different states.▸ It also organises the polling booths, counting of votes, and declaration of results, to ensure the orderly and fair manner of elections.▸ At present Election Commission consists of Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners.▸ The Constitution provides for an Independent Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections to the Parliament, the State Legislature and the offices of the President and Vice-President.▸ The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are appointed by the President for 6 years or till 65 years, whichever is earlier. (Article 324).
▸ Delimitation Commission or Boundary Commission of India is a commission, established by Government of India under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act. The main task of the commission is to redraw the boundaries of the various assemblies and Lok Sabha Constituencies based on a recent census. The representation from each state is not changed during this exercise. However, the number of SC and ST seats in a state are changed in accordance with the census.▸ The commission is a powerful body, whose orders cannot be challenged in a court of law. The orders are laid before the Lok Sabha and the respective State Legislative Assemblies. However, modifications are not permitted.▸ Delimitation Commissions have been set-up four times in the past, in 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002, under Delimitation Commission Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.▸ The delimitation commission was set-up on 12th July, 2002 after the 2001 Census with Justice Kuldip Singh, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India as its Chairperson. The assembly elections in Karnataka, which were conducted in three phases in May, 2008 was the first one to use the new boundaries as drawn by the 2002 Delimitation Commission.
The None of The Above (NOTA) is an option on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), through this peoples get the right of votes to reject all candidates contesting the elections. A 'NOTA' does not require the involvement of the presiding officer. The NOTA option was first used in the assembly election of five states in November 2013. The NOTA option would not impact the result of elections.▸ The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed on ground similar to that of a Judge of the Supreme Court. The other Election Commis- sioners may be removed by the President on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.▸ The general election is held on the basis of Universal Adult Suffrage.
▸ With the promulgation of the new Consitution for Independent India on 26th January, 1950, the Federal Public Service Commission was accorded a consitutional status as an autonomous entity and given the title Union Public Service Commission.
▸ The Chairman and other members of the UPSC are appointed by the President and they hold office for a term of 6 years from the date of appointment or until they attain the age of 65 years. They are independent of the Executive and Legislature in the same manner as the Judges of the Supreme Court.▸ Age of retirement for a member of Public Service Commission of a State or Joint Commission is 62 years.Removal of Members ▸ UPSC members can resign by addressing their letter of resignation to the President.▸ President can remove them by issuing orders under the circumstances provided in the Constitution.Functions of UPSC ▸ To conduct exams for appointment to services under the union. Advise the President (not obligatory on him) in matters relating to appointment, promotions and transfers from one service to another of civil servants.▸ All disciplinary matters affecting person in the service of union.▸ Matters regarding award of pension and awards in respect to injuries sustained during service under the government.
▸ Right to Information became an act in 2005. The aim is to make the governments more transparent in its working. It came into operation on 12th October, 2005.▸ Under the act, a Central Information Commission and State Information Commissions needs to be constituted.▸ The Central Information Commission and State Information Commission hear complaints from any person, who has been denied information by any government authority.▸ The Chief Information Commissioner and other Information Commissioners shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the PM. In its 6 years of working, the RTI Act has given citizens the power to make its government accountable. Increasingly citizens are using RTI Act to get access to information.
The Planning Commission was an institution in the Government of India, which formulated India's Five-Year Plans. The Government has replaced Planning Commission with a new institution named NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India).NITI Aayog ▸ The institution will serve as 'Think Tank' of the Government, a directional and policy dynamo.▸ NITI Aayog will provide governments and the central and state levels with relevant strategic and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy. This includes matters of national and international importance. PM is the ex-officio chairman of NITI Aayog.Functions of NITI Aayog ▸ To foster cooperative federalism through structured support, initiatives and mechanisms with the states on a continuous basis, recognising that strong states make a strong nation.▸ To develop mechanisms to formulate credible plans at the village level and aggregate these progressively at higher levels of government.▸ To ensure, on areas that are specifically referred to it, that the interest of national security are incorporated in economic strategy and policy. To pay special attention to the sections of our society that may be at risk of not benefitting adequately from economic progress.▸ To provide advice and encourage partnerships between key stakeholders and national and international likeminded Think Tanks, as well as educational and policy research institutions.▸ To create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and other partners.▸ To offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda.▸ To actively monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and initiatives, including the identification of the needed resources so as to strengthen the probability of success and scope of delivery.Members of NITI Aayog ▸ PrimeMinister of India as the Chairperson.▸ Governing Council comprising the Chief Ministers of all the States and Lt Governors of Union Territories.▸ The Regional Councils will be convened by the Prime Minister and will comprise of the Chief Ministers of States and Lt Governors of Union Territories in the region. These will be chaired by the Chairperson of the NITI Aayog or his nominee. Experts, specialists and practitioners with relevant domain knowledge as special invitees nominated by the Prime Minister.▸ The full-time organisational framework (in addition to the Prime Minister).▸ Vice-Chairperson: To be appointed by the Prime Minister.▸ Members: Full-time.▸ Part-time Members: Maximum of 2 from leading universities research organisations and other relevant institutions in an ex-officio capacity. Part time members will be on a rotational basis.▸ Ex Officio Members : Maximum of 4 members of the Union Council of Ministers to be nominated by the Prime Minister.▸ Chief Executive Officer: To be appointed by the Prime Minister for a fixed tenure, in the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.▸ Secretariat as deemed necessary.
▸ Political parties are voluntary associations or organised groups of individuals, who share the same political views and who try to gain political power through constitutional means and who desire to work for promoting the national interest.
▸ To be recognised as a National Party, a party needs to secure atleast 6% of the valid votes polled in any four or more states in a general election to the Lok Sabha or State Assembly. In addition to it, it has to win atleast four seats in the Lok Sabha from any state or states as well.▸ For getting recognition as a State Party, a political party has to secure atleast 6% of the valid votes in the state during a general election, either to that of the Lok Sabha or the State Assembly. Apart from this, the party should also win minimum two seats in the assembly of the state concerned.
▸ The 52nd Amendment Act of 1985 provided for the disqualification of the Members of Parliament and the State Legislatures on the ground of defection from one Political Party to another.▸ The 91st Amendment Act of 2003 made one change in the provisions of the Tenth Schedule. It omitted an exceptional provision i.e., disqualification on ground of defection not to apply in case of split.▸ A member of a House belonging to any political party becomes disqualified for being a Member of the House (a) If he voluntarily gives up his membership of such political party; or (b) If he votes or abstains from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by his political party without obtaining prior permission of such party and such act has not been condoned by the party within 15 days.▸ An independent member of a House (elected without being set-up as a candidate by any political party) becomes disqualified to remain a member of the House, if he joins any political party after such election.▸ A nominated member of a House becomes disqualified for being a member of the House, if he joins any Political Party after the expiry of six months from the date, on which he takes his seat in the House. Recently, the Supreme Court in a significant ruling, held that a Member of Parliament or a State Legislature can be disqualified for defying a whip only on two counts, when voting against the government or not agreeing to policies and programmes of the government.
▸ E-governance simply means electronic governance. Governments are providing various information on their website about their working, citizen's interaction with government becomes easier.▸ The National E-governance Plan was approved by the cabinet in May 2005.▸ Various E-governance projects of central government areMCA21 (CorporateMinistry), Pensions, Income Tax, Central Excise, Passport Seva Project, Aadhar, E-courts, E-procurement and e-office (Central secretariat).▸ Besides, the Central Government, various State Governments are undertaking various projects for E-governance under the National E-governance plan.▸ E-governance has the potential to change the way governments govern and its impact would be definetly felt by the citizens of India.▸ Edistrict is amissionmode project under e-governance. Its objective under National E-governance Policy is computerisation of services. Under it, different programmes are conducted in following states▸ Jandoot Project – Madhya Pradesh▸ Compact 2020 – Andhra Pradesh▸ Land Programme – Kurnataka▸ Friends – Kerala▸ Dish – Haryana
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 wasmade by the Parliament to provide for the establishment of body of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for state to inquire into allegations of corruptions against certain public functionaries and for matters connecting them.Salient Features of Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act ▸ Lokpal bill consists of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members of which 50% shall be judicial members. 50% of members of Lokpal shall be from SC/ST/OBCs, minorities and women.▸ The selection of chairperson and members of Lokpal shall be through a selection committee consist of 1. Prime Minister 2. Speaker of Lok Sabha 3. Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha 4. Chief Justice of India or a sitting Judge of Supreme Court nominated by CJI. 5. Eminent jurist on the basis of recommendations of the first four members of the selection committee. Prime Minister has been brought under the purview of the Lokpal.
▸ The National Human Rights Commission is a statutory body, constituted in 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993.▸ The commission acts a watchdog of human rights in the country. It is a multimember body consisting of a chairman and four members. The chairman should be a retired Chief Justice of India, and members should be serving or retired Judges of supreme court and person having special knowledge or practical experience with respect to human rights.
▸ The National Commission for SCs and STs have been established under the Article 338 and 338-A respectively as a constitutional body.▸ They investigate all matter related to constitutional and other legal safeguards for SCs and STs and report to the President on their working. and also advice on the planning process for socio-economic development of SCs and STs.
Under Article 368, of the Constitution, Parliament has the power of amending the Constitution. There are three methods▸ Method of Simple Majority The Constitution can be amended by simple majority in matters relating to citizenship, abolishing or creating second chambers in the states creation of states or alteration of boundaries of existing states etc. By Special Majority Constitutional Amendments must be passed by each House by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting.▸ In the Third Method In this method, apart from passing through a special majority in Parliament,it should also be passed by half the the state legislatures.
▸ The present position is that the Parliament underArticle 368 can amend any part of the Constitution including the Fundamental Rights, but without affecting the 'basic features' of the Constitution.▸ However, the Supreme Court is yet to define or clarify as to what constitutes the 'basic feature' of the Constitution.▸ From the various judgements, the following have emerged as 'basic features' of the Constitution: Supremacy of the Constitution, secular character of the Constitution, separation of powers between the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary, federal character of the Constitution, judicial review, rule of law, parliamentary system, free and fair elections, limited power of Parliament to amend the Constitution.
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