India is the world’s largest democracy and has the largest written constitution in the world. India’s political system is a lot more recent than that of US and Britain owing to the fact that it got independence in the year 1947. The political system of India is complex and has many levels of hierarchy.
It takes place within the framework of the constitution and follows federal system of political operations which has been borrowed from Canada, Australia and United States. To understand the Indian political hierarchy, you can go through the following given information:
A) Executive Branch
This is that branch of the government which administers the state bureaucracy and the division of power within this branch is divided into several wings and this is termed as separation of power. Separation of powers system helps in distribution of authority. The following is the hierarchy within this branch:
1. The president(the head of state)
The president has the right to all the constitutional powers and he is supported and advised by the Cabinet (the council of ministers) and the head of government (the prime minister).
2. The vice president
The Vice president of the Indian subcontinent is the second highest ranking official of the government of India within the executive branch. He is the chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
3. The cabinet-Includes The Prime Minister as well as 28 cabinet ministers.
4. Executive Departments
5. Agencies
B) Legislative Branch
The Power to legislature in India lies with the Parliament which consists of the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha and the President of India. Here’s the hierarchy within this branch:
1. The President of India
2. Rajya Sabha(upper house)
3. Lok Sabha(Lower house)
C) Civil Services
The Civil Services in India is an important leg of the political system and hierarchy and is also the permanent bureaucracy of the nation.
1. Cabinet Secretary-The cabinet secretary is the chairman of the Civil Services Board of the Republic of India, head of all civil services and the chief of the Indian Administrative services.
2. All India Services-IAS, IFS, IPS
3. Central civil services
D) Judicial Branch
The following is the hierarchy of the judicial branch of India’s political system:
- The supreme court
- State high court
- District court
- Public interest litigation
E) State and Local Governments
The state governments are the government bodies ruling the States in India and are headed by the respective chief minister of the states. It is divided as follows:
- Central Government
- Local Government-Function at local/basic level and consists of Panchayats and municipalities