FREE PREVIEW Week 3-4 3 lessons

How India Is Governed

The President, Prime Minister and Parliament, the courts, constitutional bodies like the Election Commission and CAG, NITI Aayog, federalism, Panchayati Raj and the Karnataka legislature.

Lessons in this module

The Union Executive and Parliament

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Courts and Constitutional Bodies

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

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Federalism, Panchayati Raj and the Karnataka Legislature

Lesson • 5 quiz questions

Read notes ↓

Lesson notes

1. The Union Executive and Parliament

India has a parliamentary system. The President is the constitutional head; real executive power lies with the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, who are responsible to the Lok Sabha.

President and Vice-President

The President (Article 52) is elected by an electoral college of the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and of state legislative assemblies (including Delhi and Puducherry).
Term: 5 years; minimum age: 35. The President can be removed by impeachment (Article 61).
The Vice-President (Article 63) is elected by members of both Houses of Parliament and is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Dr Rajendra Prasad was the first President. Droupadi Murmu became the 15th President in July 2022.
C. P. Radhakrishnan took oath as the 15th Vice-President on 12 September 2025, after Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned in July 2025.

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

The President appoints the Prime Minister (Article 75), normally the leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha.
Article 74: a Council of Ministers headed by the PM aids and advises the President.
The Council is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha; it must resign if it loses a no-confidence vote.
The 91st Amendment (2003) limits the size of the Council of Ministers to 15% of the Lok Sabha's total strength.
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first PM. Narendra Modi took oath for a third term on 9 June 2024.

Parliament

Parliament = President + Lok Sabha (House of the People) + Rajya Sabha (Council of States).
Lok Sabha: 543 elected seats now; term 5 years; minimum age 25; presided over by the Speaker.
Rajya Sabha: maximum 250 (238 elected by state and UT assemblies, 12 nominated by the President); a permanent House where one-third of members retire every two years; minimum age 30.
A Money Bill (Article 110) can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha; the Rajya Sabha can hold it for at most 14 days.
A joint sitting (Article 108) to resolve a deadlock on ordinary bills is presided over by the Speaker.
The new Parliament building was inaugurated on 28 May 2023.

Quick facts

President's term / age: 5 years / 35
Elects President: Elected MPs + elected MLAs
Chairman of Rajya Sabha: Vice-President
Council of Ministers size: Max 15% of Lok Sabha, 91st Amendment
Lok Sabha seats: 543 elected
Rajya Sabha: Max 250, 12 nominated
Money Bill: Article 110, Lok Sabha only
Joint sitting: Article 108, Speaker presides

💡 Nominated MPs do not vote in the Presidential election but do vote in the Vice-Presidential election. This difference is a common exam trap.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

2. Courts and Constitutional Bodies

An independent judiciary and a set of independent constitutional bodies keep the government accountable. NITI Aayog, a newer policy body, replaced the Planning Commission in 2015.

The judiciary

The Supreme Court is set up under Article 124; it is a court of record (Article 129). It opened on 28 January 1950.
It has original jurisdiction in disputes between the Centre and states (Article 131) and gives advisory opinions to the President (Article 143).
High Courts are covered by Article 214 onwards; they can issue writs under Article 226, which is wider than Article 32.
Judges are appointed through the collegium system. The 99th Amendment creating the National Judicial Appointments Commission was struck down in 2015.
Justice Surya Kant became the 53rd Chief Justice of India in November 2025. Karnataka's High Court sits in Bengaluru, with benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi.

Constitutional bodies

Election Commission (Article 324): formed on 25 January 1950 (National Voters' Day). It has been a three-member body since 1993. The first Chief Election Commissioner was Sukumar Sen.
A 2023 law sets up a selection committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a Union Cabinet Minister to recommend Election Commissioners.
Comptroller and Auditor General (Article 148): audits government accounts; serves 6 years or until age 65.
Union Public Service Commission (Article 315): recruits for all-India and central services.
Finance Commission (Article 280): set up every five years to recommend how taxes are shared between the Centre and states. The 16th Finance Commission (chair: Arvind Panagariya) covers 2026-31 and kept the states' share at 41%.

Planning Commission and NITI Aayog

The Planning Commission was set up on 15 March 1950 by a Cabinet resolution; it was not a constitutional body.
NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) replaced it on 1 January 2015.
The Prime Minister chairs NITI Aayog; its Governing Council includes all Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors.
NITI Aayog acts as a policy think tank and promotes 'cooperative federalism'; it does not allocate funds to states as the Planning Commission did.
NITI Aayog publishes indices such as the SDG India Index.

Quick facts

Supreme Court: Article 124, opened 28 Jan 1950
High Court writs: Article 226
NJAC struck down: 2015
Election Commission: Article 324, 25 Jan 1950
First CEC: Sukumar Sen
CAG: Article 148
UPSC: Article 315
Finance Commission: Article 280
Planning Commission: 15 March 1950
NITI Aayog: 1 January 2015

💡 Constitutional bodies have an Article (EC 324, CAG 148, UPSC 315, FC 280). NITI Aayog and the Planning Commission were created by Cabinet resolutions, not by the Constitution.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

3. Federalism, Panchayati Raj and the Karnataka Legislature

India is a union of 28 states and 8 union territories with powers divided between the Centre and the states. Local self-government brings democracy to villages and towns. Karnataka has a two-House legislature.

Centre-state relations

The Seventh Schedule divides subjects into the Union List (e.g. defence), State List (e.g. police) and Concurrent List (e.g. education).
The Governor (Article 153) is appointed by the President and acts mostly on the advice of the state Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister.
The Sarkaria Commission (1983-88) reviewed Centre-state relations; the Inter-State Council was set up in 1990 under Article 263.
Experts describe India as 'quasi-federal': a federation with a strong Centre.
Union territories: the latest changes were Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh (2019) and the merger of Dadra and Nagar Haveli with Daman and Diu (2020).

Panchayati Raj and urban local bodies

The Balwantrai Mehta Committee (1957) recommended a three-tier system; it was first started at Nagaur, Rajasthan, on 2 October 1959.
The 73rd Amendment (1992) gave panchayats constitutional status (Part IX); it came into force on 24 April 1993, now National Panchayati Raj Day.
Three tiers: gram panchayat (village), taluk/block panchayat, and zilla (district) panchayat. Elections every 5 years by the State Election Commission.
At least one-third of seats are reserved for women; Karnataka and many other states reserve 50%.
The 74th Amendment (1992) did the same for municipalities (Part IXA).

The Karnataka legislature

Karnataka has a bicameral (two-House) legislature: the Legislative Assembly (Vidhana Sabha) and the Legislative Council (Vidhana Parishad).
The Assembly has 224 elected members; the Council has 75 members and is a permanent House.
Only six states have a Legislative Council: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Article 169 governs creating or abolishing one.
The legislature meets at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru; winter sessions are held at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi.
Karnataka sends 28 members to the Lok Sabha and 12 to the Rajya Sabha.

Quick facts

States and UTs: 28 and 8
Inter-State Council: Article 263, 1990
First panchayat raj: Nagaur, 2 Oct 1959
73rd Amendment in force: 24 April 1993
Panchayat subjects: Eleventh Schedule, 29
Karnataka Assembly: 224 seats
Karnataka Council: 75 members
States with Councils: 6
Karnataka in Parliament: 28 Lok Sabha, 12 Rajya Sabha

💡 Remember the six bicameral states with the memory line 'BUMTAK': Bihar, UP, Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka.

📝 5-question quiz on this lesson: enrol free to take it and track your score.

Other modules in General Knowledge: India & the World, The Story So Far

Ancient IndiaFREE PREVIEW → Medieval IndiaFREE PREVIEW → Colonial Rule and the Freedom StruggleFREE PREVIEW → The Constitution of IndiaFREE PREVIEW → India's Economic Journey and PoliciesFREE PREVIEW → Post-Independence Milestones and PolicyFREE PREVIEW → Revolutions & the Modern WorldFREE PREVIEW → World Wars & the Cold WarFREE PREVIEW → The United Nations & International OrganisationsFREE PREVIEW → The 21st-Century WorldFREE PREVIEW → World Geography & Facts for ExamsFREE PREVIEW → Final AssessmentFREE PREVIEW →

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