The Government in India

The largest democracy in the world, India is defined by its Constitution as a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic. India has a federal form of government and a bicameral parliament operating under a Westminster-style parliamentary system.

The President is the official head of state elected indirectly by an electoral college for a five-year term. The Prime Minister is, however, the de facto head of government and exercises most executive powers. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, with the requirement that they enjoy the support of the party or coalition securing the majority of seats in the lower house of Parliament.

The legislature of India is the bicameral Parliament, which consists of the upper house called the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the lower house called the Lok Sabha (House of People). The 250 members of the Rajya Sabha are elected indirectly by the state and territorial legislatures in proportion to the state's population while the 545 members of the Lok Sabha are directly elected by popular vote to represent individual constituencies.

The executive branch consists of the President, Vice-President, and the Council of Ministers (the Cabinet being its executive committee) headed by the Prime Minister.

India's independent judiciary consists of the Supreme Court, headed by the Chief Justice of India. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over disputes between states and the Center, appellate jurisdiction over the twenty-one High Courts of India, and the power to declare union and state laws null and void if in conflict with the basic structure of the Constitution of India. Since 1959, criminal trials have had no jury in India.

APJ Abdul Kalam, a scientist and the architect of the country's missile programme, was sworn in as India's President in 2002 while India’s Prime Minister is Manmohan Singh, who was sworn in after the Congress Party's unexpected success in general elections in 2004.