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The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers — Part 2: Cabinet, Responsibility and the Prime Minister

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Lesson

How the Union government is steered

Part 2 — what the Cabinet does, how ministers are held responsible, and why the Prime Minister is the key figure.

In this lesson you will

Explain the policy-making, administrative, legislative, financial and emergency functions of the Cabinet
Distinguish collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha from individual responsibility to the President
Explain why the Prime Minister is the real head of the executive
Describe the powers of the Prime Minister in relation to the Cabinet, the President and Parliament

Part 2 at a glance

Diagram

Five functions of the Cabinet

Table of the five functions of the Cabinet with what each involves and an imagined example: policy making, administrative coordination, legislative, financial and emergency
Function	What the Cabinet does	Imagined example
Policy making	Decides domestic and foreign policy	Raises crop-insurance cover for farmers
Administrative	Coordinates ministries and settles disputes	Decides which ministry builds a bridge
Legislative	Chooses and steers government bills	Approves a wetlands bill for Parliament
Financial	Prepares the budget and tax proposals	Approves proposals for the Finance Minister
Emergency	Advises a national emergency in writing	Written decision before a proclamation