POWERS & FUNCTIONS OF THE PRESIDENT

Article 53 reads: The executive powers of the Union shall be vested in the President and shall be exercised by him either directly or through the officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution.

The constitutional powers and functions of the President of India may be classified as :

1. Executive Powers and Functions
2. Legislative Powers and Functions
3. Financial Powers and Functions
4. Judicial Powers of President
5. Diplomatic Powers of President
6. Military Powers of President
7. Emergency Powers of the President
8. Ordinance Making Power of President

Executive Powers of President

1. For every executive action that the Indian government takes, is to be taken in his name
2. He may/may not make rules to simplify the transaction of business of the central government
3. He appoints the attorney general of India and determines his remuneration
4. He appoints the following people:
   1. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
   2. Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners
   3. Chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
   4. State Governors
   5. Finance Commission of India chairman and members
5. He seeks administrative information from Union government
6. He requires PM to submit, for consideration of the council of ministers, any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but, which has not been considered by the council
7. He appoints National Commissions of:
   1. Scheduled Castes
   2. Scheduled Tribes
   3. Other Backward Classes
8. He appoints inter-state council
9. He appoints administrators of union territories
10. He can declare any area as scheduled area and has powers with respect to the administration of scheduled areas and tribal areas

Legislative Powers of President

1. He summons or prorogues Parliament and dissolve the Lok Sabha
2. He summons a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in case of deadlock
3. He addresses the Indian Parliament at the commencement of the first session after every general election
4. He appoints speaker, deputy speaker of Lok Sabha and chairman/deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha when the seats fall vacant He nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha
5. He can nominate two members to the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian Community
6. He consults Election Commission of India on questions of disqualifications of MPs.
7. He recommends/ permits the introduction of certain types of bills He promulgates ordinances
8. He lays the following reports before the Parliament:
   • Comptroller and Auditor General
   • Union Public Service Commission
   • Finance Commission, etc.

Financial Powers of President

1. To introduce the money bill, his prior recommendation is a must
2. He causes Union Budget to be laid before the Parliament
3. To make a demand for grants, his recommendation is a pre-requisite
4. Contingency Fund of India is under his control
5. He constitutes the Finance Commission every five year

Judicial Powers of President

1. Appointment of Chief Justice and Supreme Court/High Court Judges are on him
2. He takes advises from Supreme Court however, those advises are not binding on him
3. He has pardoning power.

Diplomatic Powers of President

1. International Treaties and agreements that are approved by the Parliament are negotiated and concluded in his name
2. He is the representative of India in international forums and affairs

Military Powers of President

He is the commander of defence forces of India. He appoints:

1. chief of the Army
2. chief of the Navy, and
3. chief of the Air Force

Emergency Powers of President

He deals with three types of emergencies given in the Indian Constitution:

1. National Emergency (Article 352)
2. President’s Rule (Article 356 & 365); and
3. Financial Emergency (Article 360)

Ordinance Making Power of President

Article 123 deals with the ordinance making power of the President. President has many legislative powers and this power is one of them. President promulgates an ordinance on the recommendation of the union cabinet.