India - Political

The Indian federation, or union, is a dual polity with a single citizenship and a single judiciary. It is organized into 26 federative states and 6 centrally administered union territories. The capital of the union government is situated at New Delhi. The states and the union territories have their own separate capitals or headquarters.

Under the Constitution, three lists demarcate the areas of jurisdiction of the union and the states: the union list, the state list and the concurrent list. The union list, for which the union parliament has exclusive power to make laws, contains matters of importance to all of India, such as defense, foreign affairs, citizenship, railroads, postal and telegraph services, customs duties, and taxation of income. The state list, for which the state legislatures have exclusive authority to make laws, includes local law enforcement, local government, land, and agriculture. The concurrent list covers such matters as labor welfare, social security and price controls, over which both the union and the state legislatures have legislative authority. Residuary powers for matters not enumerated in the three lists are vested exclusively in the union parliament.

India has a parliamentary form of government based on universal adult franchis3 and patterned more on the U.K. parliamentary system than on the U.S. legislative system. The central legislature, which is called Parliament, is bicameral. It is headed by the president and consists of the two houses, the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of People). The Lok Sabha, whose normal term is five years, consists of members directly elected on the basis of adult suffrage. Elections to the Rajya Sabha are indirect. All legislation requires the consent of both houses of Parliament, but the Lok Sabha is the more powerful, and its will prevails in the case of money bills and financial legislation.

The union executive branch consists of the President, the Vice-President and the Council of Ministers. The President and the Vice-President are elected indirectly for five-year terms by a separate electoral college. The President, who is the constitutional head of the union executive, invites the leader of the majority or the coalition of parties commanding a parliamentary majority to form the Council of Ministers (cabinet). Real executive power is vested in the Council of Ministers, with the Prime Minister at its head. Although the Prime Minister is appointed by the President and the Council of Ministers holds office at the President's pleasure, the Council is responsible to the Lok Sabha.

The systems of government of the states closely reseble that of the union. A state executive branch consists of the Governor , who is appointed by the President, and the Council of Minister , with Chief Minister at its head. -
some state legislatures are bicameral, patterned after the two houses of Parliament.