Many a time we have this question as though Bharat ke rashtrapati kaun hai and what are the functions and responsibilities which he has to fulfil. Also, there are some special rights in the hands of the 1st citizen of the nation. Read along to know more about the President’s powers. Ramnath Kovind is serving as the present President of India and was elected by the electoral college that constitutes of the Parliament of India (Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) along with Legislative Assembly from every state and union territory of India.
The post of Presidency in India is very eminent and prestigious and the President is the ceremonial head of State in our country and the 1st citizen of India. The roles and responsibilities of the President are always ambiguous and many people have many thoughts about the office job of the President.
Let us look at some of the responsibilities that the President has –
1) Executive Powers
The President is the head of the state in India and according to the Art 53 of Constitution of India, all the decisions to be taken by union shall be taken by informing the President and he should have all the information about all the affairs related to the union. The executive power also includes the authority to select or remove the highest authority of the constitution in the country. With this authority, he is able to appoint the PM and other Union Ministers and then provide them with their portfolios. The president also assigns the High Court Judges as well as Supreme Court Judges in India. Along with this, the president of the nation also appoints the state Governors, CAG of India, Election Commission of India’s Chief Commissioner along with different members of ECI, the Attorney General, chairman of UPSC and its key members and the finance commission. The president has also got the special authority to remove PM or any other minister on the addressed request made by the parliament.
2) Military Powers
Our constitution gives the supreme authority of the Defense Powers to the President of India. He has the authority to appoint the heads of all the branches of Indian Defense System – The Air Force, Armed Force and the Naval Force. He also has the authority to declare war or conclude the peace but he alone cannot do all these things and he needs the support from Parliament.
3) Judicial Powers
The Indian President has the authority over the judicial system of the country, similar to other democratic nation. He can grant pardons, respites or remission the punishment of any culprits. He can also suspend or commute the sentence given to a person by a court in the form of death punishment or court-martial. He appoints the judge of the Supreme Court as well as High Court and transfers them based upon the requirement. He has also the right to seek the advice of the Supreme Court on any legal issue regarding any state, people or national interest.
4) Legislative Powers
Indian President is a strong part of the Indian Parliament System and democratic India. None of the houses can operate without involving him and he has the power to send any message to either of the houses regarding any national issue or public interest or related to the constitution. He also addresses both the houses in the inaugural session of a new government in the centre and proposes the agenda of the elected government. All the bills that have been passed in the parliament need his sanction to make it an Act. The president also plays his role in the nomination of Rajya Sabha members and he elects them from different segments of the industry. Some of the reports like CAG, UPSC, Language Commission and Finance Commission are submitted to the President first and then shown in the parliament.
5) Diplomatic Powers
The responsibilities of the President are not limited to India only, but he has many roles to play at the international level as well. Being the head of the state in India, the president represents the nation in various International affairs. He has got many powers to manage the international affairs and for this, he assigns many Ambassadors or High Commissions in different countries and takes initiatives to strengthen the relations of India with different nations all over the globe.
6) Emergency
The makers of the constitution of India took care of everything while constructing the constitution. By the virtue of this, they have given the special power of declaring the emergency situation to the President. He can declare three kinds of emergencies in India –
- National Emergency – The national emergency is called under the section of Article 352 in which if the president is sure that the National Security is challenged either because of war or aggression, then he can call the emergency by taking the support of both the houses.
- State Emergency – This kind of emergency is also termed as a political emergency and President’s rule. This kind of emergency is evoked when any legislative assembly failed to work as per the constitution, then with the support of the state governor, the president implements such an emergency.
- Financial Emergency – Under the Act 360 of the constitution of India, if the president feels that the financial stability of India is disturbed or seriously damaged, then he has got the authority of calling Financial Emergency. Lots of financial decisions are taken during the phase under the observation of President and once the situation becomes normal, it can be revoked by the President.
These are some of the major roles and responsibilities of the President of India.
