ASSIGNMENT

ON

ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURE
AT

CENTRAL LEVEL
OF

ADMINISTRATIVE LITERACY

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

MRS. LALITA RUCHI BANSAL
MBA (Gen.) 2.2
ROLL NO 329
 CONTENT
S. NO. TOPIC PAGE NO.
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. OFFICE OF PRESIDENT 2
3. PRIME MINISTER 3
4. PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE 5
I. FUNCTIONS OF PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE 5
II. ROLE OF PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE 6
5. CABINET SECRETARIAT 7
I. ORGANISATION OF CABINET SECRETARIAT 7
II. FUNCTIONS OF CABINET SECRETARIAT 8
III. ROLES OF CABINET SECRETARIAT 9
IV. CABINET SECRETARY 9
6. CENTRAL SECRETARIAT 10
I. FUCTIONS OF CENTRAL SECRETARIAT 10
II. STRUCTURE OF CENTRAL SECRETARIAT 11
7. CONCLUSION 12
 INTRODUCTION
India adopted a parliamentary form of government after Independence based on the British
model along with some features of the presidential system. Our Constitution followed the British
model because most of the members of the Constituent Assembly were getting hands-on
experience of working in the responsible government modeled on British parliamentary form.
Therefore, it was but natural for them to have preference for this form of government instead of
a presidential form of government, though some of the features of presidential form were
incorporated into the Constitution.
In a democratic set-up, power vests in the people. The administration is the machinery
which implements the policies and programmes of the government. The Constitution of India
provides for a parliamentary system of government in which the formal powers are vested in the
Union executive, which includes the president, the prime minister and the council of ministers.
The president is a nominal head of the Union, whereas the council of ministers headed by the
prime minister is the actual executive.

1
 OFFICE OF PRESIDENT
The office of the President of India is the creation of the Indian Constitution. Article 52 creates
the ‘President of India’ with all the executive powers of the Union vested in him and he has a vital
role to play in the other wings of the government as well. The President is the formal head of the
executive, legislature and judiciary of India and is also the commander-in-chief of the Indian
Armed Forces.
Although Article 53 of the Constitution of India states that the President can exercise his
or her powers directly or by subordinate authority, with few exceptions, all of the executive
authorities vested in the President are, in practice, exercised by the Council of Ministers (CoM).
The president is bound by the constitution to act on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet
as long as the advice is not violating the constitution.
The matters of election are dealt from Article 54 to 60 of the Constitution. The President is
elected by members of an electoral college consisting of elected members of both Houses of
Parliament and Legislative Assemblies of the states in accordance with the system of
proportional representation, by means of single transferable vote. To secure uniformity among
state inter se, as well as parity between the states as a whole, and the Union, suitable weightage
is given to each vote. The President must be a citizen of India, not less than 35 years of age, and
qualified for election as member of the Lok Sabha. His term of office is five years, and he is
eligible for re-election. His removal from office is to be in accordance with procedure prescribed
in Article 61 of the Constitution. He may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Vice-
President, resign his office. Powers of Indian President can be broadly classified under 8
headings. They are:

 Legislative
 Executive or Appointment powers
 Judicial powers
 Financial powers
 Diplomatic powers
 Military powers
 Pardoning Powers
 Emergency powers

There are articles outside Chapter 1 of Part V related with powers of President of India like
Article 72 and Articles 352-360.

2
 PRIME MINISTER
The office of the prime minister has become very important. The prime minister is the heart of
the cabinet and actual executive of the country. The Prime Minister of India is the leader of the
executive of the Government of India. The prime minister is also the chief adviser to the
president of India and head of the Council of Ministers. They can be a member of any of the two
houses of the Parliament of India—the Lok Sabha (House of the People) and the Rajya Sabha
(Council of the States)—but has to be a member of the political party or coalition, having a
majority in the Lok Sabha.
The prime minister is the senior-most member of cabinet in the executive of government
in a parliamentary system. The prime minister selects and can dismiss members of the cabinet;
allocates posts to members within the government; and is the presiding member and chairperson
of the cabinet.
The Union Cabinet headed by the prime minister is appointed by the president of India to
assist the latter in the administration of the affairs of the executive. Union cabinet is collectively
responsible to the Lok Sabha as per article 75(3) of the Constitution of India. The prime minister
has to enjoy the confidence of a majority in the Lok Sabha and shall resign if they are unable to
prove majority when instructed by the president.
The prime minister has a number of functions to perform. He is the political chief
executive, the administrative head, the leader of the Lok Sabha and the main dominating figure
in the ruling party. The functions of the prime minister can be grouped under two categories: (i)
political functions, (ii) administrative and executive functions. The political functions of the
prime minister can be divided into the following heads:
(a) Prime minister as the head of the council of ministers.

(b) Prime minister and the Parliament.

(c) Prime minister and his party.
(d) Prime minister and the people.

(e) Link between the president and the cabinet.

(f) Spokesman of the government on foreign policy.
(g) Prime minister and intelligence agencies.

3
The administrative and executive functions of chief executive stands for planning, organizing,
staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting. To these, now, some more tasks such
as policy formulation, decision making, public relations and administrative reforms may be
added.
According to Article 84 of the Constitution of India, which sets the principle qualification
for member of Parliament, and Article 75 of the Constitution of India, which sets the
qualifications for the minister in the Union Council of Ministers, and the argument that the
position of prime minister has been described as primus inter pares (the first among equals), [63]
A prime minister must:
1. Be a citizen of India.
2. Be a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. If the person chosen as the prime
minister is neither a member of the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha at the time of selection,
they must become a member of either of the houses within six months.
3. Be above 25 years of age if they are a member of the Lok Sabha or, above 30 years of age if
they are a member of the Rajya Sabha.
4. Not any office of profit under the government of India or the government of any state or
under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said governments.
If however a candidate is elected as the prime minister they must vacate their post from any
private or government company and may take up the post only on completion of their term.

The prime minister is required to make and subscribe in the presence of the President of
India before entering office, the oath of office and secrecy, as per the Third Schedule of the
Constitution of India. However, the term of a prime minister can end before the end of a Lok
Sabha's term, if a simple majority of its members no longer have confidence in him/her, this is
called a vote-of-no-confidence.[64] Three prime ministers, I. K. Gujral ,[23] H. D. Deve Gowda
and Atal Bihari Vajpayee have been voted out from office this way. In addition, a prime minister
can also resign from office; Morarji Desai was the first prime minister to resign while in office.

4
 PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
The Prime Minister's Office came into existence after India became independent. The Prime
Minister's Secretariat, as it was then known, provided the Secretarial assistance needed by the
Prime Minister in his public activities and functions as the head of the government. The Prime
Minister's Office is headed politically by Prime Minister and administratively by the Principal
Secretary. Additionally it consists of one or two Additional Secretaries, three to five Joint
Secretaries, a number of Directors/Deputy Secretaries and Under Secretaries. There are also
other officers like Officer on Special Duty; Private Secretaries, and so on. These officers are
supported by regular office establishment.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in South Block, overlooking the grandeur of Rashtrapati
Bhawan. It is sandwiched flanked by the cabinet secretariat on one side and the ministries of
external affairs and defense on the other.

FUNCTION OF PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE

The prime minister’s office is not responsible for his functions as the head of the cabinet, except
for matters of personal correspondence between him and individual ministers. Generally, the
personality of the prime minister and his view of his own role would greatly influence the nature
and span of functions of his office. The functions of the prime minister’s secretariat/office are as
follows:
1. To deal with all references that have, under the rules of business, come to the prime
minister
2. To help the prime minister in respect of his/her overall responsibilities as head of
government. It includes liaison with the Union ministries and the state governments on
matters in which the prime minister may be interested
3. To help the prime minister in the discharge of his responsibilities as the chairman of the
planning commission
4. To deal with the public relations side of the prime minister’s office, that is, relations with
the press, public, etc.
5. To assist the prime minister in the examination of cases submitted to him for orders under
prescribed rules

5
ROLE OF PRIME MINISTER’S OFFICE
The role of the Prime Minister's Office has evolved and varied from Prime Minister to Prime
Minister. Under Nehru the size of the office was limited, so was its role. Under his tenure, a
greater reliance bn the Ministries and their advisers seems to have been a characteristic way of
working and the Cabinet Secretary provided a primary link. In subsequent periods the Prime
Minister's Secretariat has been performing same of these functions, though all Cabinet mattes
must go through the Cabinet Secretariat. Demarcation between the two is not rigid and indeed it
cannot be so. During Indira Gandhi's tenure the Prime Minister's Office started commanding a
formidable influence in the making of decisions. At the time of assuming office, she had a very
limited experience of administration; hence, her dependency on her Secretariat became greater,
especially, on complex-economic and foreign policy issues. Much of the domestic and foreign
policy took shape at the secretariat and a lot of authority came to be concentrated in the Prime
Minister's Office. This became all the more marked during the period of the internal emergency
(1975-1977) which ushered in an era of authoritarian Prime Ministerial rule.
During the Janata period, an effort was made to diffuse the existing concentration of
power in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and reduce it to the status of a mere 'office' whose
functions were merely secretarial in nature. As a result the Secretariat was divested of its various
policy making cells. However, in the last eight years there is a noticeable trend towards
concentration of policy making power in the Secretariat, once again. There remains a feeling
often articulated by the opposition and newspapers from time to time that the Prime Minister's
Secretariat is in fact a 'micro-cabinet', since it often attempts to supplant the Cabinet in all major
policy making functions.

6
 CABINET SECRETARIAT
A modern democratic welfare state depends on civil service for the execution of public policy
and various laws of the state. In a parliamentary form of government political executive is
responsible to the people through the Parliament. The efficiency of the cabinet depends on
specialized and experienced administrators. Therefore, the cabinet secretariat has been
established to provide the necessary secretarial assistance to the cabinet.
The Cabinet Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Government of India
(Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules
1961, facilitating smooth transaction of business in Ministries/ Departments of the Government.
This Secretariat provides Secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and its Committees, and also
assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination , ironing out
differences amongst Ministries/ Departments and evolving consensus through the
instrumentality of the standing/ adhoc Committees of Secretaries. Through this mechanism new
policy initiatives are also promoted.

The Cabinet Secretariat ensures that the President, the Vice President and Ministers are
kept informed of the major activities of all Ministries/Departments by means of monthly
summary of their activities. Management of major crisis situations in the country and
coordinating activities of various Ministries in such a situation is also one of the functions of the
Cabinet Secretariat.

ORGANIZATION OF THE CABINET SECRETARIAT

The cabinet secretariat is under the direct charge of the prime minister. The administrative head
of the secretariat is the cabinet secretary, who is also the ex-officio chairman of the civil services
board. At present the cabinet secretariat consists of three wings:
(i) The cabinet secretariat wing (main)

(ii) The intelligence wing

(iii) The security wing
(i) The cabinet secretariat wing (main), including DPG, has one cabinet secretary, three
secretaries, one additional secretary, three joint secretaries, eight directors/deputy secretaries,
one joint director and six under-secretaries or equivalent positions, thus totaling 23 officers.
(ii) The intelligence wing deals with matters relating to the joint intelligence committee. The
joint intelligence committee consists of one chairman, four joint secretaries or equivalent
7
position, one director (services), brigadier and equivalent rank officer, three staff officers of
lieutenant colonel or equivalent rank, one joint director and the under-secretary, thus totaling
11 officers.
(iii) The security wing consists of one secretary (security) who looks after the security of VVIPs
and controls the special protection group (SPG) meant for protection of the prime minister and
other VIPs.

FUNCTIONS OF THE CABINET SECRETARIAT

The cabinet secretariat has a very important place in the central administration. It is such a
source of authority, the assistance of which enables the central government to undertake any
matter of serious responsibility. The cabinet secretariat now possessing the relevant specialized
field is in a position to (executive) carry out its responsibilities with greater competence,
initiative and efficiency. Some of the important functions of the cabinet secretariat are as
follows:
1. To prepare the cabinet agenda and its minutes, to keep its records and to keep track of
the progress made by administrative ministries and the department in executing the
cabinet decisions
2. To know the implementing position of the decisions of the cabinet, it (cabinet, secretariat)
calls for information from the various ministries and the departments which is
subsequently passed on to the cabinet wherever it (cabinet) holds its meeting
3. To inform the president, vice-president and council of ministers about the major activities
of the government conducted in several ministries
4. To circulate the monthly summaries and brief notes on important matters for collecting
the information relating to the major activities of the government conducted in the
various ministries
5. To prepare minutes of the meetings of the cabinet and its committees
6. To render its services to the committee of secretaries meeting periodically under the
chairmanship of the cabinet secretary. This committee of the secretaries meets to consider
and advise on problems requiring inter-ministerial consultation and coordination.
7. To lay down the rules of business and re-allocating the business of the government of India
among the various ministries and the departments within the framework of directives of
the prime minister, after these have been approved by the president
8. To establish coordination between the various seminars organized by the different central
ministries
9. To work as the liaison agency between the state government and the central cabinet.
8
ROLE OF THE CABINET SECRETARIAT
The nomenclature of the cabinet secretariat is self-explanatory of the character of the nature of
its role: It is an institution that provides the secretariat assistance to the cabinet. The role of
cabinet secretariat could be explained by indicating the jurisdictional components of the
cabinet.
a) Cases pertaining to treaties, agreements and consultations with the foreign governments
b) Cases relating to the draft legislation including of ordinances
c) Proposals relating to the summoning of each house of Parliament by the president
d) Those matters which the president or the prime minister might like to place before the
cabinet
e) Proposals relating to the withdrawal of court cases by the government
f) Proposals relating to changing or modifying the already reached decisions of the cabinet.

CABINET SECRETARY
The Cabinet Secretary is the ex-officio head of the Civil Services Board, the Cabinet Secretariat,
the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and head of all civil services under the rules of business of
the Government. The Cabinet Secretary is generally the senior-most officer of the Indian
Administrative Service. The Cabinet Secretary ranks 11th on the Indian Order of Precedence. The
Cabinet Secretary is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. Though there is no fixed
tenure, the office-bearer's tenure can be extended. The cabinet secretary is the head of civil
service and chief advisor to the council of ministers and the prime minister, the cabinet and its
committees. He coordinates the activities of various ministries and departments. He is the link
between the prime minister’s office and various administrative departments. He is the link
between the political part of the government, i.e. the cabinet and the apolitical governmental
machinery, i.e. the bureaucracy.

The main functions of the cabinet secretary, according to the statutory rules of
business, are to provide secretariat assistance to cabinet and cabinet committees, and to
formulate rules of business of the government. Its main tasks are, namely, to prepare proposals
for the cabinet after consultations with concerned ministries and departments to constantly
monitor and coordinate implementation of decisions taken by the cabinet and prepare papers
connected with the appointments that the prime minister has to make.

9
 CENTRAL SECRETARIAT
The Constitution does not mention the word ‘secretariat’. Article 77(3) of the Constitution lays
down that the president shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of
the government of India and for the allocation among ministers of the said business. Though, the
Indian President is a mere constitutional and formal head and there is a Council of Ministers with
the Indian Prime Minister at its head to aid and advice the President in the exercise of his
functions. In other words, the real executive authority is vested in the cabinet of which the Prime
Minister is the dominant head. The ministers cannot work all alone and need assistance. For
purposes of administration, so, the government of India is divided into ministries and
departments which together constitute the `Central Secretariat`. To implement the policies
enunciated through the ministers in consultation with the Secretariat, there are attached offices,
subordinate offices and other field agencies. The word Secretariat means the secretary‘s office.
The three essential components of the government at the Centre are:

(i) the minister,

(ii) the secretary, and
(iii) the executive head.

FUNCTIONS OF CENTRAL SECRETARIAT

The secretariat, by and large, is a policy-making body that functions under the direction and
control of the council of ministers. The secretariat works as a single unit and secretaries are
secretaries to the Union government as a whole and not to any particular minister. A secretariat
officer of and above the rank of an under-secretary signs on behalf of the President of India, that
is the entire central government. the main function of the secretariat is to assist the minister in
the discharge of his responsibilities under the Constitution. In brief, the secretariat performs the
following functions:

1. It assists the minister in the process of policy making.

2. It assists in the framing of legislation, rules and regulations.
3. It assists in the formulation of sectoral planning and programmes.
4. It assists in budgeting and control of expenditure and in securing of administrative and
financial approval to operational programmes and plans and their subsequent
modifications.
5. It assists in the interpretation of policies, coordinating and assisting other branches of
government and maintaining contact with state administrations.

10
 6. It assists in initiating measures to develop better personnel and organizational
competence both in the ministry/department and its executive agencies.
7. It helps the minister in the discharge of his parliamentary responsibilities.

STRUCTURE OF THE SECRETARIAT

The central secretariat is a large and complex organization of various ministries and
departments. There is no uniform terminology for describing the various segments of the
administrative structure of the Union government. It is a collection of a large number of
ministries and departments. The term ‘ministry’ came into vogue only after Independence. The
secretariat has two distinct components; i.e., the officers and office. A ministry may have more
than one department. Many large ministries like home, agriculture, finance, education, defence
and external affairs have more than one department in their charge. So far as the department is
concerned, it may be defined as an organizational unit for performing specific functions under
the administrative control of a secretary to the government. In other words, a department is
under the charge of a secretary whereas a ministry remains under the minister’s charge, although
this distinction is not always maintained. A ministry with more than one department may have
more than one secretary. In such cases, one secretary who will represent the ministry is made
superior to other secretaries. Such personnel are designated secretary-general or the principal
secretary. Therefore, even if all the secretaries draw the same salary, they may not necessarily
enjoy equal rank.
The pattern of a ministry’s organization shows that the minister is the political head, who
may be assisted by a minister of state and a deputy minister. The secretary is the administrative
head of the bureaucracy under the minister. A ministry’s organization is divided into the
following segments with an officer in charge of each of them to expedite matters:
Department Secretary/Additional/Special secretary
Wing Joint/Additional secretary
Division Director/Deputy Secretary
Branch Under-secretary
Section/Office Section officer

11
 CONCLUSION
The Constitution (Article 53) says that ‘the Executive power of the Union shall be vested in the
president and shall be exercised by him either directly or through officers subordinate to him in
accordance with the Constitution’. Further, the Constitution gives power to the Parliament to
confer ‘by law functions on authorities other than the president’. At first, this may seem like the
president depends on Parliament for its powers, but in practice this is not so. The Parliament
could function through laws made by it and every law needs the assent of the president before it
could become law. The Parliament does not share any executive power with the president. But
the Constitution does not vest the executive powers in the president alone. According to Article
74(1), there shall be a council of ministers with the prime minister as its head, to aid and advise
the president in the exercise of his powers. Thus, the president is the constitutional head of the
Union while the prime minister is the actual head of the government, run by a Council of
ministers. The functioning of the secretariat in our country has, by and large, been based on two
principles. First, was the principle of separation of policy from its implementation—the
administration in action so that the latter can be handed over to a separate agency, which enjoys
certain freedom in the field of execution. Second, a transitory cadre of officers drawn from
states’ cadres, operating on the tenure system of staff, controlling a permanent staff is a
prerequisite to the vitality of the administrative system as a whole.

12