Working of Institutions Class 9 Notes: CBSE 9th Social Science Chapter 4, Download PDF Here

Working of Institutions Class 9 Notes: CBSE Class 9 Social Science revision notes for Chapter 4 Working of Institutions are available here. These notes are entirely according to the latest CBSE syllabus of Class 9 Social Science. Check these chapter notes for a quick revision of the chapter. 

CBSE Class 9 Social Science Working of Institutions Notes

Democracy is not just about people electing their rulers. In a democracy the rulers have to follow some rules and procedures. They have to work with and within institutions. This chapter is about the working of such institutions in a democracy.

Need for Political Institutions 

• Governing a country involves various activities. To attend to all those activities, several arrangements are made in all modern democracies. Such arrangements are called institutions.
•  A democracy works well when these institutions perform functions assigned to them. The Constitution of any country lays down basic rules on the powers and functions of each institution. Such as, 
• The Prime Minister and the Cabinet are institutions that take all important policy decisions.
• The Civil Servants, working together, are responsible for taking steps to implement the ministers’ decisions.
• Supreme Court is an institution where disputes between citizens and the government are finally settled.

Parliament

• In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives exercises supreme political authority on behalf of the people. In India such a national assembly of elected representatives is called Parliament. At the state level this is called Legislature or Legislative Assembly. 
• It exercises political authority on behalf of the people in many ways:
• Parliament is the final authority for making laws in any country. This task of law making or legislation is so crucial that these assemblies
• are called legislatures. Parliaments all over the world can make new laws, change existing laws, or abolish existing laws and make new ones in their place.
• Parliaments all over the world exercise some control over those who run the government. In some countries like India this control is
• direct and full. Those who run the government can take decisions only so long as they enjoy support of Parliament.
• Parliaments control all the money that governments have. In most countries the public money can be spent only when Parliament sanctions it.
• Parliament is the highest forum of discussion and debate on public issues and national policy in any country. Parliament can seek information about any matter.

Two Houses of Parliament 

• Since Parliament plays a central role in modern democracies, most large countries divide the role and powers of Parliament in two parts.
• They are called Chambers or Houses. One House is usually directly elected by the people and exercises the real power on behalf of the people. 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 our country, Parliament consists of two Houses. The two Houses are known as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). The President of India is a part of Parliament, although she is not a member of either House. That is why all laws made in the Houses come into force only after they receive the assent of the President.

Powers of Lok Sabha 

Our Constitution does give the Rajya Sabha some special powers over the states. But on most matters, the Lok Sabha exercises supreme power. 

• 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 the Houses sit together. Because of the larger number of members, the view of the Lok Sabha is likely to prevail in such a meeting.
• Lok Sabha exercises more powers in money matters. Once the Lok Sabha passes the budget of the government or any other money related law, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject it. The Rajya Sabha can only delay it by 14 days or suggest changes in it. The Lok Sabha may or may not accept these changes.
• Most importantly, the Lok Sabha controls the Council of Ministers. Only a person who enjoys the support of the majority of the members in the Lok Sabha is appointed the Prime Minister. If the majority of the Lok Sabha members say they have ‘no confidence’ in the Council of Ministers, all ministers including the Prime Minister, have to quit. The Rajya Sabha does not have this power.

Executive 

At different levels of any government we find functionaries who take day-to-day decisions but do not exercise supreme power on behalf of the people. All those functionaries are collectively known as the executive. They are called executive because they are 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. 

• Political Executive: It is elected by the people for a specific period. Political leaders who take the big decisions fall in this category. 
• Permanent Executive: In permanent executive, people are appointed on a long-term basis. Civil services fall in this category. Persons working in civil services are called civil servants. They remain in office even when the ruling party changes. These officers work under political executives and assist them in carrying out the day-to-day administration.

Prime Minister

• The Prime Minister is the most important political institution in the country. Yet 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 a 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.

Powers of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister has wide ranging powers: 

• He chairs Cabinet meetings. He coordinates the work of different Departments. 
• His decisions are final in case disagreements arise between Departments. 
• He exercises general supervision of different ministries.All ministers work under his leadership. The Prime Minister distributes and redistributes work to the ministers. He also has the power to dismiss ministers. When the Prime Minister quits, the entire ministry quits.

Thus, if the Cabinet is the most powerful institution in India, within the Cabinet it is the Prime Minister

Council of Ministers 

• After the appointment of the Prime Minister, the President appoints other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Ministers are usually from the party or the coalition that has the majority in the Lok Sabha. The Prime Minister is free to choose ministers, as long as they are members of Parliament. Sometimes, 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.
• 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.
• Cabinet Ministers: Cabinet Ministers are usually top level leaders of the ruling party or parties who are in charge of the major ministries. Usually the Cabinet Ministers meet to take decisions in the name of the Council of Ministers. Cabinet is thus the inner ring of the Council of Ministers. It comprises about 25 ministers.
• Ministers of State with independent charge: Ministers of State with independent charge are usually in-charge of smaller Ministries. They participate in the Cabinet meetings only when specially invited.
• Ministers of State: Ministers of State are attached to and required to assist Cabinet Ministers.
• Since it is not practical for all ministers to meet regularly and discuss everything, the decisions are taken in Cabinet meetings. That is why parliamentary democracy in most countries is often known as the Cabinet form of government. The Cabinet works as a team. No minister can openly criticise any decision of the government, even if it is about another Ministry or Department.

The President 

• While the Prime Minister is the head of the government, the President is the head of the State. In our political system the head of the State exercises only nominal powers. 
• The President of India is like the Queen of Britain whose functions are to a large extent ceremonial. The President supervises the overall functioning of all the political institutions in the country so that they operate in harmony to achieve the objectives of the State.
• The President is not elected directly by the people. The elected Members of Parliament (MPs) and the elected Members of the Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) elect her. 
• A candidate standing for President’s post has to get a majority of votes to win the election.

Powers of the President 

• All governmental activities take place in the name of the President. All laws and major policy decisions of the government are issued in her name. 
• All major appointments are made in the name of the President. These include 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. 
• All international treaties and agreements are made in the name of the President. The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India. 
• A bill passed by the Parliament becomes a law only after the President gives assent to it. If the President wants, she can delay this for some time and send the bill back to Parliament for reconsideration. But if Parliament passes the bill again, she has to sign it.

The President exercises all these powers only on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The President can ask the Council of Ministers to reconsider its advice. But if the same advice is given again, she is bound to act according to it.

The Judiciary 

• An independent and powerful judiciary is considered essential for democracies. All the courts at different levels in a country put together are called the judiciary. 
• The Indian judiciary consists of a Supreme Court for the entire nation, High Courts in the states, District Courts and the courts at local level. 
• India has an integrated judiciary. It 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 level.
• The Supreme Court is the highest court of appeal in civil and criminal cases. It can hear appeals against the decisions of the High Courts.
• The judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. 

Judicial Review

• The judiciary in India is also one of the most powerful in the world. Supreme Court is the guardian of Fundamental Rights.
• The Supreme Court and the High Courts have the power to interpret the Constitution of the country. They can declare invalid any law of the legislature or the actions of the executive, whether at the Union level or at the state level, if they find such a law or action is against the Constitution. Thus 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.

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