Revision summary
Articles 74 and 75 make the Prime Minister the hinge of Cabinet government. A majority, a centralised party, and the PMO have increased the office beyond first among equals. Cabinet, Parliament, and the President feel that concentration in advice, whip, and ratification. States and All-India Services feel Union political gravity through schemes and postings. Constitutional bodies remain independent in law; their room depends on political distance. The growth is historically contingent: coalitions constrain, single-party majorities expand.
Model answer
Introduction
The Prime Minister is the real executive under Article 74 and the leader of the majority in the Lok Sabha. The office has grown from a first among equals into the centre of the Union system. A critical examination must separate that constitutional design from extra-constitutional concentration in the PMO and the party, and must show how other institutions are squeezed or merely coordinated.
Body
Constitutional and political sources of growth
- Articles 74 and 75 make the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha, but the Prime Minister chooses, shuffles, and recommends dismissal of colleagues, so the Cabinet’s life is the Prime Minister’s confidence.
- The Forty-fourth Amendment made the President bound by the Cabinet’s advice, which in practice is the Prime Minister’s advice once a majority is stable.
- A single-party majority, a centralised party high command, and a large PMO with Cabinet Secretariat support turn the Prime Minister from chair of a collegium into the daily principal of government.
- National Security Council, Cabinet Committees, and direct media communication further personalise crisis and policy, which coalition-era Prime Ministers could not do as freely.
Impact on other institutions
- The Cabinet becomes a ratifying body when big files are pre-decided in the PMO; collective responsibility survives as a vote, not as a debate.
- Parliament’s calendar, ordinance use, and the whip reduce the House to a confidence machine, so Question Hour and committees lose bite when the Prime Minister’s majority is large.
- The President’s residual discretion shrinks to hung-House and dismissal moments; day-to-day the head of State signs what the Prime Minister advises.
- State Chief Ministers, All-India Services postings, and centrally sponsored schemes feel Union political gravity, which looks like cooperative federalism when interests align and like over-centralisation when they do not.
- Constitutional bodies—Election Commission, CAG, CBI supervision debates, and information commissions—remain legally independent, yet public perception of their room depends on whether the Prime Minister’s government practises distance.
Critical balance
- A strong Prime Minister can deliver coherent reform, disaster response, and foreign policy that a weak collegium cannot.
- The same strength risks policy capture, weak intra-Cabinet dissent, and a hollowed Parliament, which is the cost the question asks to examine.
- Coalition phases (1989–2014 in several spells) showed the opposite pathology: a constrained Prime Minister and stronger regional bargainers, so “increasing power” is historically contingent, not a one-way ratchet.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD A[Arts 74-75 majority] --> PM[Prime Minister] PMO[PMO and party] --> PM PM --> CAB[Cabinet] PM --> PAR[Parliament] PM --> PR[President] PM --> ST[States and AIS] LIM[Coalitions and constitutional bodies] --> PM
Conclusion
The Prime Minister’s powers have increased because the Constitution already made the office the hinge of Cabinet government and because majority politics and the PMO have concentrated that hinge. Other institutions still stand in law, but they operate in the Prime Minister’s political weather. The examination is therefore of degree: necessary leadership, dangerous if Cabinet, Parliament, and constitutional bodies are reduced to spectators.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
How does the federal structure in India accommodate the diverse needs and aspirations of different states? Are there any challenges; if yes, then how are they addressed?
Next question in the 2023 paper (Q12). View answer →
-
Is the Prime Minister first among equals in the Cabinet?
In Westminster theory, yes. In a single-party majority with a strong PMO, the Prime Minister is first among unequals; coalition cabinets come closer to equals.
-
Does a strong Prime Minister abolish other institutions?
No. Parliament, the President, courts, and constitutional bodies remain. The impact is on their effective room, not on their legal existence.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2025 · Q2 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
How does Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) strengthen efficient governance and enhance the effectiveness of the justice delivery system in India? Analyze. -
2025 · Q17 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
Critically evaluate the need for coordination among support institutions, donors and institutional stakeholders in the development process and practical realities. -
2023 · Q13 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
What alternative mechanisms of dispute resolution have emerged in recent years? How far have they been effective? -
2020 · Q18 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
Despite a cordial Mamallapuram Summit between Prime Minister Modi and the Chinese President, the dispute on the Line of Actual Control has deepened after a gap of several years. What do you think are the reasons behind it? -
2018 · Q19 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
Write a short note on the emergence and use of alternative dispute redressal mechanisms in India.
More from this paper
Q1 · UPSC Mains 2023 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Why the Preamble is called the Philosophy of the Indian Constitution?
Indian Constitution
The Preamble compresses Nehru’s Objective Resolution into the Constitution’s moral charter. It names popular sovereignty and a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic. Justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity guide Fundamental Rights, DPSPs, and duties. Kesavananda uses the Preamble as a key to the basic structure. It aids interpretation; it does not itself confer enforceable rights.
Q2 · UPSC Mains 2023 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Why the 42nd Amendment is called a revision of the Indian Constitution?
Indian Constitution
The Forty-second Amendment Act, 1976, is called a mini-Constitution because of its range. It changed the Preamble and added Article 51A duties and new DPSPs. It bound the President, extended House terms, and moved several subjects to the Concurrent List. It tried to shield constitutional amendments from judicial review. The Forty-fourth Amendment and Minerva Mills rolled much of that rewriting back.
Q3 · UPSC Mains 2023 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Mention three demerits of Judicial Activism.
Indian Constitution
Judicial activism uses Articles 32 and 226 and PIL to fill governance gaps. First demerit: it blurs the separation of powers and lets judges write policy. Second demerit: PIL can be abused and crowd out ordinary criminal and civil work. Third demerit: courts lack ministerial data, so sweeping directions often fail on the ground. The cost is weaker Cabinet accountability and later political backlash.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.