Which one of the following powers of the Prime Minister of India is co

Which one of the following powers of the Prime Minister of India is codified in the Constitution of India itself ?

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The power of advising the President as regards the appointment of other Ministers

The power to allocate business amongst the Ministers

The power to summon the meeting of the Cabinet

The power to transfer a Minister from one Department to another

Answer is Right!

Answer is Wrong!

This question was previously asked in

UPSC NDA-2 – 2016

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Let’s examine each power:
A) The power of advising the President as regards the appointment of other Ministers: Article 75(1) explicitly states, “The Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.” This power is directly codified in the Constitution.
B) The power to allocate business amongst the Ministers: This is a key function of the Prime Minister in the parliamentary system, but it is exercised under the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, which are made under Article 77(3), rather than being a power directly codified in the main Articles as belonging specifically to the PM.
C) The power to summon the meeting of the Cabinet: The Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet and summons its meetings. This is a fundamental aspect of the functioning of the Council of Ministers/Cabinet under parliamentary conventions and rules of procedure, but not explicitly codified as a specific power of the PM in the Articles themselves.
D) The power to transfer a Minister from one Department to another: This is also done by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister, similar to the initial allocation of portfolios. It falls under the PM’s role in organizing the Council of Ministers but is not a power directly codified in the Constitution’s articles as distinct from the appointment advice.
Comparing the options, the power to advise the President on the appointment of other ministers (A) is the most clearly and directly codified power of the Prime Minister mentioned in the text of the Constitution (Article 75).

While the Prime Minister holds many crucial powers as the head of government and the Council of Ministers, not all of these are explicitly detailed in the Constitution. Many powers are derived from parliamentary conventions and rules of business established under constitutional provisions. The question asks for a power *codified* in the Constitution itself.

Article 78 outlines the duties of the Prime Minister regarding furnishing information to the President, but the specific powers related to running the government, like allocating business or summoning cabinet, are part of the operational framework of the parliamentary system, guided by rules and conventions, stemming from the PM’s position as the head of the Council of Ministers responsible to the Lok Sabha.

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