The President is the head of our country.
Usually people think that it is just a ceremonial position for the President to fill, but to the contrary, the President has a wide array of powers that he can exercise.
These powers and functions performed by the president can be categorized and studied as follows:
The president has the following executive powers and functions
a. All the executive actions of the Indian government are formally taken in the name of the President.
b. The president can make specific rules which explain the methods and manner in which the orders which are made in his name are executed and authenticated.
c. The President has the authority to make rules making the transaction of business of the union government more efficient. He can also make rules to allocate certain duties to different ministries of the government.
d. The president appoints the Prime Minister and other ministers. They hold office during the pleasure of President.
e. The President appoints the Attorney General of India and also determines his allowances and benefits. The Attorney General of India holds his office during President's pleasure.
f. The President appoints the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Chief Election Commissioner among other Election Commissioners, the Chairman and members of the Finance Commission, the Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission etc.
g. The President has the power to ask for any information related to the administration of matters of the Union and the proposals for the legislation from the Prime Minister.
h. The President has the power to ask the prime minister to submit a report on any matter upon which a decision has been taken by a Minister without the consideration of the Council of Ministers. This report is then sent to the Council of Ministers for their consideration.
i. The President has the power to formulate and appoint a commission in order to investigate the conditions of the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes and other backward classes.
j. The President has the power to appoint an inter-state Council to promote the relations between the central government and state government and also between the governments of different states. These inter-state councils perform the functions of easing down the business between various government bodies.
k. The President is the indirect administrator of the union territories. He directly administers the representatives appointed by him to each of these union territories.
l. The President has the power to declare any area as scheduled area and take up the administration of such schedule areas and tribal areas for their better development.
The President of India has the following legislative powers
a. The President has the power to summon the houses of the Parliament and he can even dissolve the Lok Sabha.
The President can also summon a joint session of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Such a joint session is presided over by the speaker of the Lok Sabha.
b. The president addresses the first session of a newly elected Lok Sabha after each general election and also first sitting of each year.
c. The president has the power to send certain messages to both the houses of the Parliament.
These messages may be in regards to a bill which is pending in the Parliament or any other issue.
d. In case the offices of the speaker of the Lok Sabha and the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha are vacant, the president has the power to appoint any member of the Lok Sabha to preside over the houses proceedings.
In a similar manner he can also appoint any member of the Rajya Sabha to preside over the house’s proceedings when the offices of both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha are vacant.
e. As we know the total strength of Rajya Sabha is 250 members.
Out of these members, twelve members are nominated by the president.
Therefore the president has the power to nominate twelve members in the Rajya Sabha on the grounds of special knowledge or practical experience in the fields of literature, science, art and social services.
f. The president also has the power to nominate two members in the Lok Sabha from the Anglo Indian community.
g. The permission of the president is required to introduce certain types of bills in the Parliament.
A bill that is related to the expenditure from the consolidated fund of India or a bill for the alteration of boundaries of different states or the creation of a new state are some of the matters in which a prior recommendation or permission from the president is required.
i. Whenever a bill is passed in the Parliament, it is sent over to the president for his assent.
In these circumstances the President can give his assent to the bill or withhold his assent to the bill or he can also return the bill for reconsideration of the parliament.
But after returning such a bill to the Parliament, if it is again passed, then the president has to give his assent to the bill.
In case such a bill is a money bill then the president cannot send it back to the Parliament for reconsideration.
j. When a bill is passed by the state legislature and it is forwarded to the president by the governor of that state, then the president can give his assent to the bill or withhold his assent to the bill or in case it is not a money bill, he can instruct the governor of the state to return the bill to the state legislature for their reconsideration.
A special point to be noted here is that if the returned bill is again passed by the state legislature, then it is not obligated for the President to give his assent as was the case with the parliament.
k. The president has the power to issue ordinances if the parliament is not in session.
These ordinances are issued if the president feels their immediate need.
They must be approved by the Parliament within 6 weeks from the beginning of its session.
The president can also withdraw an ordinance at any time he wants.
l. It is the duty of the president to present the report of the Auditor General, Union Public Service Commission, finance commission and other bodies in front of the parliament.
m. The president has the power to make certain rules and regulations to maintain peace and promote progress and development for the areas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
a. Money bills cannot be introduced in the Parliament without prior Recommendation of the president.
b. Without the Recommendation of the president a demand for a grant is not exercised.
c. The president has the power to release funds from the contingency fund of India to meet any unforeseen expenditure.
d. The president has the power to constitute a finance commission to manage the distribution of funds between the center and the states. This is done every 5 years.
a. The president appoints the Chief Justice of India and the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts.
b. The president can ask the advice and opinion from the Supreme Court on any matter of law or fact but the advice given by the Supreme Court is not binding on the president.
c. The president can give pardon, reprise, fight and remission of punishment or suspend the sentence of any person who has committed a crime in the following cases:
* Punishment of sentences by a court martial
* When the punishment of sentence is for an offence against a union law
* Capital punishment cases
Every international treaty and agreement between India and other countries are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the president.
They are subject to the approval of the Parliament.
The president represents India in international forums and affairs.
He also sends and receives diplomats like ambassadors high commissioners etc.
The president is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.
He appoints the chief of the army, the navy and the air force.
The president can also declare War or peace, subject to the approval of the Parliament.
Usually people think that it is just a ceremonial position for the President to fill, but to the contrary, the President has a wide array of powers that he can exercise.
These powers and functions performed by the president can be categorized and studied as follows:
Executive powers of Indian President
The president has the following executive powers and functions
a. All the executive actions of the Indian government are formally taken in the name of the President.
b. The president can make specific rules which explain the methods and manner in which the orders which are made in his name are executed and authenticated.
c. The President has the authority to make rules making the transaction of business of the union government more efficient. He can also make rules to allocate certain duties to different ministries of the government.
d. The president appoints the Prime Minister and other ministers. They hold office during the pleasure of President.
e. The President appoints the Attorney General of India and also determines his allowances and benefits. The Attorney General of India holds his office during President's pleasure.
f. The President appoints the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Chief Election Commissioner among other Election Commissioners, the Chairman and members of the Finance Commission, the Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission etc.
g. The President has the power to ask for any information related to the administration of matters of the Union and the proposals for the legislation from the Prime Minister.
h. The President has the power to ask the prime minister to submit a report on any matter upon which a decision has been taken by a Minister without the consideration of the Council of Ministers. This report is then sent to the Council of Ministers for their consideration.
i. The President has the power to formulate and appoint a commission in order to investigate the conditions of the scheduled castes, the scheduled tribes and other backward classes.
j. The President has the power to appoint an inter-state Council to promote the relations between the central government and state government and also between the governments of different states. These inter-state councils perform the functions of easing down the business between various government bodies.
k. The President is the indirect administrator of the union territories. He directly administers the representatives appointed by him to each of these union territories.
l. The President has the power to declare any area as scheduled area and take up the administration of such schedule areas and tribal areas for their better development.
Legislative powers of the Indian President
The President of India has the following legislative powers
a. The President has the power to summon the houses of the Parliament and he can even dissolve the Lok Sabha.
The President can also summon a joint session of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Such a joint session is presided over by the speaker of the Lok Sabha.
b. The president addresses the first session of a newly elected Lok Sabha after each general election and also first sitting of each year.
c. The president has the power to send certain messages to both the houses of the Parliament.
These messages may be in regards to a bill which is pending in the Parliament or any other issue.
d. In case the offices of the speaker of the Lok Sabha and the deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha are vacant, the president has the power to appoint any member of the Lok Sabha to preside over the houses proceedings.
In a similar manner he can also appoint any member of the Rajya Sabha to preside over the house’s proceedings when the offices of both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha are vacant.
e. As we know the total strength of Rajya Sabha is 250 members.
Out of these members, twelve members are nominated by the president.
Therefore the president has the power to nominate twelve members in the Rajya Sabha on the grounds of special knowledge or practical experience in the fields of literature, science, art and social services.
f. The president also has the power to nominate two members in the Lok Sabha from the Anglo Indian community.
g. The permission of the president is required to introduce certain types of bills in the Parliament.
A bill that is related to the expenditure from the consolidated fund of India or a bill for the alteration of boundaries of different states or the creation of a new state are some of the matters in which a prior recommendation or permission from the president is required.
i. Whenever a bill is passed in the Parliament, it is sent over to the president for his assent.
In these circumstances the President can give his assent to the bill or withhold his assent to the bill or he can also return the bill for reconsideration of the parliament.
But after returning such a bill to the Parliament, if it is again passed, then the president has to give his assent to the bill.
In case such a bill is a money bill then the president cannot send it back to the Parliament for reconsideration.
j. When a bill is passed by the state legislature and it is forwarded to the president by the governor of that state, then the president can give his assent to the bill or withhold his assent to the bill or in case it is not a money bill, he can instruct the governor of the state to return the bill to the state legislature for their reconsideration.
A special point to be noted here is that if the returned bill is again passed by the state legislature, then it is not obligated for the President to give his assent as was the case with the parliament.
k. The president has the power to issue ordinances if the parliament is not in session.
These ordinances are issued if the president feels their immediate need.
They must be approved by the Parliament within 6 weeks from the beginning of its session.
The president can also withdraw an ordinance at any time he wants.
l. It is the duty of the president to present the report of the Auditor General, Union Public Service Commission, finance commission and other bodies in front of the parliament.
m. The president has the power to make certain rules and regulations to maintain peace and promote progress and development for the areas of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
Financial powers of the Indian President
a. Money bills cannot be introduced in the Parliament without prior Recommendation of the president.
b. Without the Recommendation of the president a demand for a grant is not exercised.
c. The president has the power to release funds from the contingency fund of India to meet any unforeseen expenditure.
d. The president has the power to constitute a finance commission to manage the distribution of funds between the center and the states. This is done every 5 years.
Judicial powers of the Indian President
a. The president appoints the Chief Justice of India and the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts.
b. The president can ask the advice and opinion from the Supreme Court on any matter of law or fact but the advice given by the Supreme Court is not binding on the president.
c. The president can give pardon, reprise, fight and remission of punishment or suspend the sentence of any person who has committed a crime in the following cases:
* Punishment of sentences by a court martial
* When the punishment of sentence is for an offence against a union law
* Capital punishment cases
Diplomatic powers of the Indian President
Every international treaty and agreement between India and other countries are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the president.
They are subject to the approval of the Parliament.
The president represents India in international forums and affairs.
He also sends and receives diplomats like ambassadors high commissioners etc.
Military powers of the Indian President
The president is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.
He appoints the chief of the army, the navy and the air force.
The president can also declare War or peace, subject to the approval of the Parliament.
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