| Government of India | |
|---|---|
| ISO: Bhāratīya Sarkāra | |
 State Emblem of India version used by the Government of India as of August 2024 | |
| Overview | |
| Established | 26 January 1950 (in its current form, see Constitution) |
| State |  Republic of India |
| Leader | Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) |
| Appointed by | President (Droupadi Murmu) on the advice of the prime minister |
| Main organ | Council of Ministers |
| Ministries | 54 ministries and 93 subordinate departments |
| Responsible to | Parliament of India |
| Annual budget | ₹45.03 trillion (equivalent to ₹53 trillion or US$640 billion in 2023) |
| Headquarters | Central Secretariat, New Delhi |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of India |
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The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India[1] and colloquially known as the Central Government) is the government of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territories. The government is led by the prime minister (currently Narendra Modi since 26 May 2014) who exercises the most executive power and selects all the other ministers.[2] The country has been governed by a NDA-led government (a coalition of the BJP and its allies) since 2014.[3] The prime minister and their senior ministers belong to the Union Council of Ministers—its executive decision-making committee being the cabinet.[4]
The government, seated in New Delhi, has three primary branches: the legislative, the executive and the judiciary, whose powers are vested in a bicameral Parliament,[5] a prime minister,[2] and the Supreme Court[6] respectively, with a president as head of state.[4]
The Council of Ministers are responsible to the House in which they sit, they make statements in that House and take questions from fellow members of that House. For most senior ministers this is usually the directly elected Lok Sabha rather than the (mostly) indirectly elected Rajya Sabha. As is the case in most parliamentary systems, the government is dependent on Parliament to legislate, and general elections are held every five years to elect a new Lok Sabha. The most recent election was in 2024.
After an election, the president selects as prime minister the leader of the party or alliance most likely to command the confidence of the majority of the Lok Sabha. In the event that the prime minister is not a member of either House upon appointment, he/she is given six months to be elected to either House of Parliament.
- ^ "Constitution of India » 300. Suits and proceedings". Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ a b Sharma, Ram (1 January 1950). Cabinet Government in India. Parliamentary Affairs. pp. 116–126.
- ^ D'Souza, Shanthie Mariet (10 July 2024). "Narendra Modi | Biography & Facts". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ a b Sharma, B. K. (1 August 2007). Introduction to the Constitution of India. Prentice Hall. p. 31.
- ^ Gledhill, Alan (1970). The Republic of India: The Development of its Laws and Constitution. Greenwood. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-8371-2813-9.
- ^ Burt, Neuborne (2003). The Supreme Court of India. International Journal of Constitutional Law. p. 478.