Political Profile

India is a federated Union of States, constituted as a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of government. At present there are 28 states and 7 Union territories.

The Constitution of India came into effect on 26th January 1950, three years after Independence. The Indian Constitutional system is basically federal and provides for:

• Distribution/devolution of powers among the states and the Union government
• Supremacy of the Constitution over Parliament
• Authority of the courts to interpret the Constitution.

However, it also has unitary features in the form of the overriding powers of the Union Government in several matters that are normally State subjects. There are three levels of government in India: the Union, State and Panchayat (local) governments.

The Government of India is divided into three distinct but interrelated branches: the legislative, executive and judiciary.

Legislature & Executive

The Union Executive consists of the President, the Vice President and the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advice the President in the exercise of his functions. A Parliament consisting of the President and two houses, the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha), administers the Union. Similarly, a Governor and one or two houses of legislature administer the States. A Chief Minister appointed by the Governor and his Council of Ministers heads the legislative assembly of each State.

The parliamentary system of government both at the Centre and in the States is based on adult suffrage, whereby all citizens who are above 18 years of age have the right to be registered as voters. The Election Commission, an autonomous body with constitutional authority, carries out the role of a watchdog in maintaining the legality and prudential norms for conduct of free and fair elections.

Among the important political parties are:

• National: Indian National Congress Party, Bhartiya Janata Party
• North: Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party
• South: All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Party
• East: Trinamul Congress, Communist Party of India, Samta Party, Rashtriya Janta Dal
• West: Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party

The present Government that came into power in 2009 is a coalition of several parties called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), led by the Indian National Congress Party.

The Judiciary

• The main sources of Indian Law are the Constitution, Statutes, Customary Laws and Case Laws.
• A single integrated system of courts administers both Union and State laws.
• The apex court is the Supreme Court of India, and each state has its High Court to control the lower judiciary.

The legal system enjoys significant autonomy, and the President appoints the Chief Justices as well as other Supreme Court judges directly. The law provides independence to Supreme Court judges, who cannot be removed (barring cases of misdemeanor) except by a presidential order following a 2/3rds-majority vote in Parliament.

Defence

• The supreme command of the Armed Forces (more than one million strong) is vested in the President of India.
• The Chiefs of Staff of Army, Navy and Air Force are the administrative and operational heads with the administrative support of the Ministry of Defence.
• The Prime Minister under National Emergencies can also summon the Army.
• The Army also assists in relief work and restoring law and order in special circumstances.