Parliament and Executive Questions for CDS

Structure of Parliament

India has a bicameral Parliament consisting of two Houses — Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States) — plus the President. All three together form Parliament as per Article 79. Lok Sabha is the lower but more powerful house. Rajya Sabha is the upper house and a permanent body — it never dissolves. Lok Sabha has a maximum strength of 552 members (530 states, 20 UTs, 2 Anglo-Indian nominated — though Anglo-Indian nomination was removed by 104th Amendment 2020). Rajya Sabha has a maximum of 250 members (238 elected, 12 nominated by President for expertise in art, science, literature, social service).

• Article 79: Constitution of Parliament — President + Lok Sabha + Rajya Sabha
• Lok Sabha: maximum 552, normal term 5 years, can be dissolved early
• Rajya Sabha: maximum 250, permanent body, 1/3 members retire every 2 years
• Rajya Sabha members serve 6-year terms; elected by State Legislative Assemblies via single transferable vote
• President nominates 12 to Rajya Sabha — fields: art, science, literature, social service (ASLS)
• 104th Amendment 2020 removed Anglo-Indian nominated seats from Lok Sabha and State Assemblies

Lok Sabha vs Rajya Sabha: Key Differences

CDS loves comparison questions between the two Houses. The most important distinction is that Money Bills can only originate in Lok Sabha (Article 110). Rajya Sabha can only suggest changes within 14 days — it cannot reject a Money Bill. On ordinary bills, both houses have equal power. If there is a deadlock on an ordinary bill, the President can call a Joint Sitting (Article 108), which is presided over by the Speaker of Lok Sabha.

• Money Bill (Article 110): originates only in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha has 14 days to return it
• Ordinary Bill: equal powers to both houses; deadlock resolved by Joint Sitting under Article 108
• Joint Sitting presided by Speaker of Lok Sabha (or Deputy Speaker if Speaker absent)
• No-confidence motion can be passed only against Council of Ministers in Lok Sabha — not Rajya Sabha
• Rajya Sabha has special powers: Article 249 (empower Parliament on State List), Article 312 (create new All India Services)
• Speaker of Lok Sabha: elected by members; decides whether a bill is a Money Bill — decision is final

The President: Role and Powers

The President is the constitutional head of India — real executive power lies with the Council of Ministers (Article 74). The President acts on the aid and advice of the Cabinet. Article 53 vests executive power in the President. The President is elected indirectly by an Electoral College comprising elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of State Legislative Assemblies (not nominated members, not MLCs). The election uses the single transferable vote with proportional representation.

• Article 52: There shall be a President of India
• Article 53: Executive power of Union vested in President
• Article 74: Council of Ministers to aid and advise President — advice is binding
• Article 75: Prime Minister appointed by President; other ministers appointed on PM's advice
• President's term: 5 years; eligible for re-election any number of times
• Impeachment of President: Article 61 — by Parliament with 2/3 majority of total membership of each House

President's Legislative Powers and Vetoes

When a bill is passed by Parliament, it goes to the President for assent. The President has three options: give assent, withhold assent (absolute veto), or return the bill for reconsideration (suspensive veto). If Parliament passes the bill again, the President must give assent — except for Constitutional Amendment Bills where the President has no veto. The President can also promulgate Ordinances when Parliament is not in session (Article 123), but they must be laid before Parliament within 6 weeks of reassembly.

• Absolute veto: President withholds assent — bill is dead (used for private member bills or state bills reserved by Governor)
• Suspensive veto: President sends bill back; if Parliament resends it, assent is mandatory
• Pocket veto: President keeps bill pending indefinitely — India's President has this option (no time limit set)
• Constitutional Amendment Bills: President has NO veto — must give assent (Article 368)
• Ordinance (Article 123): valid for 6 weeks after Parliament reassembles; has same force as law
• Pardoning powers under Article 72: President can pardon, reprieve, respite, remit, or commute sentences

Council of Ministers and Prime Minister

Article 75 says the Prime Minister is appointed by the President and other ministers are appointed on the advice of the PM. The Cabinet is the real executive. Ministers are collectively responsible to Lok Sabha (Article 75(3)) — this is called collective responsibility. If Lok Sabha passes a no-confidence motion, the entire Council of Ministers must resign. The Prime Minister is the link between the President and the Cabinet — it is the PM's duty to communicate all cabinet decisions to the President.

• Article 74: Cabinet aids and advises President — 44th Amendment made this advice binding
• Article 75(3): Council of Ministers collectively responsible to Lok Sabha
• No-confidence motion: only in Lok Sabha, requires simple majority of members present and voting
• Article 78: PM's duties — communicate cabinet decisions to President, furnish information as required
• Ministers must be members of Parliament; if not, must become member within 6 months
• Cabinet vs Council of Ministers: Cabinet is a smaller subset (senior ministers) of the Council of Ministers

Parliamentary Sessions and Key Procedures

Parliament must meet at least twice a year with no more than 6 months between sessions. The President summons, prorogues, and (for Lok Sabha) dissolves Parliament. Question Hour is the first hour of each sitting — important for accountability. Zero Hour starts at 12 noon and is not mentioned in Rules of Procedure — it is an informal Indian innovation. The Budget (Annual Financial Statement) is presented under Article 112.

• Three sessions: Budget (Feb-May), Monsoon (Jul-Aug), Winter (Nov-Dec) — not constitutionally fixed names
• Article 85: President summons and prorogues; dissolves Lok Sabha
• Quorum: 1/10th of total membership of each House
• Question Hour: oral questions with starred (*) and unstarred questions — starred needs oral answer
• Zero Hour: 12 noon onwards; unofficial; used to raise urgent public matters
• Article 112: Annual Financial Statement (Budget) presented to both Houses

• Confusing maximum strength of Lok Sabha (552) with current actual strength (543 after delimitation); CDS asks maximum figures, so remember 552 and 250
• Thinking Rajya Sabha can reject a Money Bill — it cannot; it can only suggest changes or keep it for 14 days, after which it is deemed passed
• Mixing up Article 74 (Cabinet advises President) with Article 78 (PM communicates with President) — both appear in options
• Believing the President can veto a Constitutional Amendment — the President has NO veto on Article 368 bills
• Confusing collective responsibility (to Lok Sabha) with individual responsibility — ministers are individually responsible to the PM and PM is responsible to Lok Sabha

• ASLS for 12 Rajya Sabha nominated seats: Art, Science, Literature, Social Service — remember AS if you Love Socialising
• 74-75-76 sequence: 74 = Cabinet advises, 75 = Ministers appointed, 76 = Attorney General — three consecutive articles, three consecutive roles
• Money Bill flows ONE way — only DOWN from Lok Sabha; Rajya Sabha can only look and suggest in 14 days, like a reviewer not an editor
• For President's veto options remember APSoP: Assent, Pocket (indefinite hold), Suspensive (send back), and on constitutional bills — no veto at all

• CDS typically asks 1 to 2 direct article-number questions — focus on Articles 52, 53, 74, 75, 79, 108, 110, 112, 123, 368 as high-frequency ones
• Comparison questions between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha powers are very common — especially on Money Bills, Joint Sitting, and special powers of Rajya Sabha
• Questions on Presidential election and impeachment appear at least once per paper — remember Electoral College composition and 2/3rd majority for impeachment
• Ordinance-related questions often have a trap: maximum life of ordinance is 6 weeks after Parliament reassembles, not 6 months — do not confuse with session gap
• Negative marking applies, so if unsure between two options on an article number, use the conceptual logic (what the article does) rather than guessing the number — eliminate wrong options first