12/25/23, 10:55 AM CBSE Notes Class 9 Political Science Chapter 4 - Working of Institutions

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CBSE Notes Class 9 Political Science Chapter 4 -

Working of Institutions

CBSE Notes Class 9 Political Science Chapter 4 Working of Institutions PDF(https://byjus.com/cbse-notes/cla

In the previous chapters, you have studied how people elect their government. Democracy is
not just about people electing their rulers. In this chapter, you will get to know that rulers have to
follow some rules and procedures within institutions to run a democratic government. The CBSE
Notes Class 9 Political Science Chapter 4 – Working of Institutions begins with the manner in
which major decisions are taken and implemented in India. You will come across 3 institutions
that play a key role in major decisions, i.e., the legislature, executive and judiciary.

As you have already studied about these institutions in earlier classes, we have quickly
summarised them. Here, you will find the answers to various questions which often come to
mind, such as what do these institutions do? How are these institutions connected? What
makes their functioning more or less democratic? Go through these CBSE Class 9 Social
Science Notes (https://byjus.com/cbse-notes/class-9-social-science-notes/) and get an in-
depth understanding of these topics.

Chapter 4 Working of Institutions 

CBSE Notes Class 9 Political Science Chapter 4 – Working of

Institutions PDF

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How Is a Major Policy Decision Taken?
A Government Order

On August 13, 1990, the Government of India issued an order which was called an Office
Memorandum. The order says that other than SC and ST, the 27% job reservation benefit will be
given to a new third category called Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC). Only
persons who belong to backward classes were eligible for this quota.

The Decision Makers

Who decided to issue the Memorandum? Such a major decision would have involved other
major functionaries in India, which involves the following points:

1. The President is the head of the state and is the highest formal authority in India.

2. The Prime Minister is the head of the government and takes most of the decisions in the
Cabinet meetings.

3. Parliament consists of the President and two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The
Prime Minister must have the support of a majority of Lok Sabha members to pass a
memorandum.

When the Office Memorandum was passed in India, it was a hot debate issue. Some felt that
this was unfair as it would deny equality of opportunity to those who did not belong to
backward communities. At the same time, others felt that this would give a fair opportunity to
those communities which so far had not adequately been represented in government
employment. This dispute was finally resolved by the Supreme Court of India by hearing all the
cases. This case was known as the ‘Indira Sawhney and Others Vs Union of India case’. The
Supreme Court judges in 1992 declared that this order of the Government of India was valid.
Thus, the dispute came to an end, and this policy has been followed since then.

Need for Political Institutions

Several arrangements are made in modern democracies, which are called Institutions.
Democracy works well when these institutions perform functions assigned to them.

1. Institutions involve meetings, committees and routines. This often leads to delays and
complications.

2. Some of the delays and complications introduced by institutions are very useful as they
provide an opportunity for a wider set of people to be consulted.

3. Institutions make it difficult to have a good decision taken very quickly, but they also
make it equally difficult to rush through a bad decision.

Parliament
Decisions are not directly taken in Parliament, but parliamentary discussions on the report
influence and shape the decision of the government. These discussions bring pressure on the
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go ahead and cannot implement the decision.

To know about the Powers Of The Parliament, watch the below video

5,915

Why Do We Need the Parliament?

An assembly of elected representatives is called Parliament, which exercises supreme political

authority on behalf of the people. At the state level, this is called the Legislature or Legislative
Assembly. The name may vary in different countries, but such an assembly exists in every
democracy.

Parliament exercises political authority on behalf of the people in many ways, as listed below:

1. The Parliament is the final authority for making laws in any country.

2. Those who run the government can take decisions only when they get the support of the
Parliament.

3. Parliaments control all the money that governments have.

4. The Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and
national policy in any country.

Two Houses of Parliament

Most large countries divide the role and powers of Parliament into two parts which are called
Chambers or Houses.

1. One house is usually directly elected by the people and exercises real power on behalf of
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2. The second house is usually elected indirectly and performs some special functions. The
most common work for the second house is to look after the interests of various states,
regions or federal units.

In India, Parliament consists of 2 houses. The two houses are known as:

1. The Council of States (Rajya Sabha)

2. The House of the People (Lok Sabha)

The President of India is a part of the Parliament, although they are not a member of either
house. All laws made in the houses come into force only after receiving the assent of the
President.

The Indian Constitution does give the Rajya Sabha some special powers over the states. But on
most matters, the Lok Sabha exercises supreme power. Here are some points that illustrate this:

1. Any ordinary law needs to be passed by both the Houses. But if there is a difference
between the two Houses, the final decision is taken in a joint session in which members of
both houses sit together. The view of the Lok Sabha is likely to prevail in such a meeting
since there are a lot many members of the Lok Sabha.

2. Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters.

3. Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers.

Political Executive
At different levels of any government, functionaries take day-to-day decisions but do not
exercise supreme power on behalf of the people. All these functionaries are collectively known
as the executive. This executive is in charge of the ‘execution’ of the policies of the government.
Thus, when we talk about the government, we usually mean the executive.

Political and Permanent Executive

In a democratic country, two categories make up the executive.

1. One that is elected by the people for a specific period is called the political executive.
Political leaders who take big decisions fall into this category.

2. People who are appointed on a long-term basis are called permanent executives or civil
services. People working in civil services are called civil servants. They remain in office
even when the ruling party changes. These officers work under the political executive and
assist them in carrying out the day-to-day administration.

Why Is the Minister More Powerful than the Civil Servant?

In a democracy, the will of the people is supreme. The minister is an elected representative of
the people and thus empowered to exercise the will of the people on their behalf. The minister is
finally answerable to the people for all the consequences of his/her decision. That is why the
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minister takes all the final decisions. The minister is not and is not expected to be an expert in
the matters of her ministry. The minister takes the advice of experts on all technical matters
and then takes the decision.

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers

There is no direct election to the post of the Prime Minister. The President appoints the Prime
Minister.

The President appoints the leader of the majority party, or the coalition of parties that
commands a majority in the Lok Sabha, as Prime Minister.

In case no single party or alliance gets a majority, the President appoints the person most
likely to secure majority support.

The Prime Minister does not have a fixed tenure. He continues in power so long as he
remains the leader of the majority party or coalition.

After the appointment of the Prime Minister, the President appoints other ministers on the
advice of the Prime Minister, which are usually from the majority party or the coalition that has
the majority in the Lok Sabha.

The Prime Minister is free to choose their ministers as long as they are members of
Parliament.

A person who is not a member of Parliament can also become a minister. But such a
person has to get elected to one of the Houses of Parliament within six months of
appointment as minister.

The Council of Ministers is the official name for the body that includes all the Ministers. It usually
has 60 to 80 Ministers of different ranks, as mentioned below:

1. Cabinet Ministers are usually top-level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in
charge of the major ministries. The cabinet is the inner ring of the Council of Ministers and
comprises about 25 ministers.

2. Ministers of State with independent charge are usually in charge of smaller Ministries.
They participate in Cabinet meetings only when specially invited.

3. Ministers of State are the junior ministers who are assigned to assist cabinet ministers
and the ministers of state with independent charge.

Parliamentary democracy in most countries is often known as the Cabinet form of government
because most of the decisions are taken in Cabinet meetings. Every ministry has secretaries
who are civil servants. The secretaries provide the necessary background information to the
ministers to take decisions. The Cabinet as a team is assisted by the Cabinet Secretariat.

Powers of the Prime Minister

As head of the government, the Prime Minister has wide-ranging powers, which are mentioned
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1. The Prime Minister chairs Cabinet meetings. He is the head of the government.

2. He coordinates the work of different departments.

3. His decisions are final in case disagreements arise between departments.

4. He exercises general supervision of different ministries.

5. All ministers work under his leadership.

6. The Prime Minister distributes and redistributes work to the ministers.

7. He has the power to dismiss ministers.

8. When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.

The President
The President is the Head of the State. The President supervises the overall functioning of all the
political institutions in India, so that they operate in harmony to achieve the objectives of the
state.

Election of President

The President is not elected directly by the people. A candidate standing for the President’s post
has to get a majority of votes from Members of Parliament (MPs) and the Members of the
Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) to win the election.

Powers of President

1. All governmental activities take place in the name of the President.

2. All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in the name of the
President.

3. All major appointments are made in the name of the President, which includes the
appointment of the Chief Justice of India, the Judges of the Supreme Court and the High
Courts of the states, the Governors of the states, the Election Commissioners,
Ambassadors to other countries, etc.

4. All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President.

5. The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India.

The President exercises all these powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The
President can only appoint the Prime Minister by his/her own will.

The Judiciary
All the courts at different levels in a country put together are called the judiciary. The Indian
judiciary consists of the following:

A Supreme Court for the entire nation

High Courts in the states

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The courts at the local level

India has an integrated judiciary which means the Supreme Court controls the judicial
administration in the country. Its decisions are binding on all other courts of the country. It can
take up any dispute,

Between citizens of the country,

Between citizens and government,

Between two or more state governments, and

Between governments at the union and state levels.

Independence of the judiciary means that it is not under the control of the legislature or the
executive. The judges do not act on the direction of the government or according to the wishes
of the party in power.

The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed by the President on the
advice of the Prime Minister and in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Once a person is appointed as judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court, it is nearly
impossible to remove him or her from that position. A judge can be removed only by an
impeachment motion passed separately by two-thirds of members of the two Houses of
Parliament.

For more information on the Indian Judiciary and the Court System, watch the
below video

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The judiciary in India is one of the most powerful in the world.

The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution of
the country.

They can determine the Constitutional validity of any legislation or action of the executive
in the country when it is challenged before them. This is known as the judicial review.

The Supreme Court of India has also ruled that the core or basic principles of the
Constitution cannot be changed by the Parliament.

The powers and the independence of the Indian judiciary allow it to act as the guardian of
Fundamental Rights. Anyone can approach the courts if the public interest is hurt by the
actions of the government. This is called public interest litigation.

We hope CBSE Notes Class 9 Political Science (https://byjus.com/cbse-notes/class-9-social-

science-political-science/) helped you in your studies. Keep Learning and stay tuned for more
updates on CBSE and NCERT. Download the BYJU’S App and subscribe to the YouTube channel
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Frequently Asked Questions on CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes

Chapter 4 Working of Institutions
Q1 What is the meaning of a ‘political institution’?

Political institutions are the organizations in a government that create, enforce and also
apply these laws.

Q2 What is a ‘memorandum’?

A memorandum is an informal communication between governments which often states

a particular diplomatic purpose or point of view.

Q3 What are the three parts of Parliament in India?

The Parliament of India has three constituents, namely, the President of India, the Rajya
Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People).

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