President of india

President of india

President of India or Rashtrapati is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. With few exceptions, most of the authority vested in the President is in practice exercised by the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister.

The President is elected by the elected members of the Parliament of India (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) as well as of the state legislatures (Vidhan Sabhas), and serves for a term of five years. Incumbents are permitted to stand for re-election. A formula is used to assign vote as a result there is a balance between the population of each state and the number of votes assembly members from a state can cast, and to give an equal balance between State Assembly members and National Parliament members. If no candidate receives a majority of votes there is a system by which losing candidates are eliminate as of the competition and votes for them transfer to other candidates, until one gains a majority. The Vice-President is elected by a direct vote of all members (elected and nominated) of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

The president of India resides in an estate in New Delhi known as the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The 12th President of India is Her Excellency Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the first woman to serve in The the office, who was sworn in on 25 July 2007.

Qualifications required appropriate the President

A citizen of India who is of 35 years of age or above may be a Presidential candidate. The Presidential candidate should be qualified to become a member of the Lok Sabha and should not hold any office of profit under the government. Certain office-holders, but, are allowed to stand as Presidential candidates.

• The current Vice President.
• The Governor of any State.
• A Minister of the Union or of any State.

In the event that the Vice President, a State Governor or a Minister is elected President, they are considered to have vacate their previous office on the date they begin serving as President.

Election of the President

When the office becomes available, the new president is chosen by an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both houses of the Parliament and the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabha).

The election is held in accordance to the system of Proportional Representation by means of Single Transferable Vote method. The Voting takes place by secret ballot system. The manner of election of President is provided by Article 55.

Each elector casts a different number of votes. The general principle is that the total number of votes cast by Members of Parliament equals the total number of votes cast by State Legislators. And legislators from larger states cast more votes than those from smaller states. At last, the number of legislators in a state matters; if a state has few legislators, then each deputy have further votes.

In 2007, the President of India was elected in some way through the members of the Indian Parliament and by the individual States' Legislative Assemblies. Although Indian presidential elections involve actual voting by MPs and MLAs, they tend to vote for the candidate supported by their respective parties.

So the internal process for the election involved lobbying by parties for their respective candidates.

Electoral College

The value of votes cast by elected members of the state legislative assemblies and both houses of parliament were decided as per the provisions of article 55(2) of the Constitution of India. The details of number of voters and votes for this presidential election are given below.

• Presidential elections in India involve proportional representation from respective states. The number of votes assigned to a particular voter from a state assembly is decided as follows.

Constitutional role

Constitutional role of the Indian Constitution states "There shall be a President of India". Article 53(1) vests in the President the director power of the Union which are exercise also directly or through assistant officer in agreement through the organization. Even though the Constitution explicitly says that the president is the executive head of the state, real executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister.

The same President's decision and action are concerned no one can challenge such decision or action on the ground that it is not in accordance with the advice tender through the Ministers or that it is based on no advice

Salary & Amenities

The President of India used to receive Rs 10,000 (US$ 200) per month as per the Constitution. This amount was increased to Rs 50,000 (US$ 1,100) in 1998. On September 11, 2008 the Government of India increased the salary of the President to Rs. 1.5 lakh (US$ 3,200). However, almost everything that the President does or wants to do is taken care of by the annual Rs 225 million (US$ 4.8 million) budget that the Government allots for his or her upkeep.

Administrative power

The Constitution vests in the President of India all the executive powers of the Central Government. The President appoints the Prime Minister the person most likely to command the support of the majority in the Lok Sabha.

The President is responsible for making a broad selection of actions.

• Governors of States
• The Chief Justice, other judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts of India.
• The Attorney General
• The Controller and Auditor General
• The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners
• The Chairman and other Members of the Union Public Service Commission
• Ambassadors and High Commissioners to other countries.

The President also receives the credentials of pass on with High commissioner from other countries.The President is the de jure chief of the Indian Armed Forces.

The President of India can grant a pardon to or reduce the sentence of a convicted person for one time, particularly in cases involving punishment of death.

The decisions involving forgiving in addition to extra rights by the president are independent of the opinion of the Prime Minister or the Lok Sabha majority.

Financial powers

Money bills can be introduced in the Parliament only on the prior recommendation of the President. He/she also cause to be lay by the Parliament the annual financial statement which is the Union Budget. Further no demand for grant shall be made except on his approval. He/She can also make advances out of the emergency Fund of India to meet any unexpected spending. Too, he\she constitute the Finance Commission every 5 years to suggest the allocation of taxes between the States and the Centre.

Judicial powers

The head appoint the Chief Justice of the Union Judiciary and other jury on top of the advice of the Chief Justice. Apply these judges are actually selected by the Union cabinet. The President dismisses the judges if and only if the two Houses of the Parliament pass decision toward so as to result in two-thirds majority of the members present.

If they consider a issue of law or a matter of public importance has arise they can ask for the advisory opinion of the Supreme Court. They may or may not accept that opinion.

Governmental powers

The President summons both houses of the Parliament and prorogues them. He or she can even dissolve the Lok Sabha. These powers are formal, and by convention, the President uses these powers according to the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

They open the Parliament by addressing it after the general elections and also at the opening of the first session each year. Their address on these occasions is usually intended toward chart the new policies of the government.

A bill that the Parliament has passed can become a law only after the President gives his/her assent to it. The President can return a bill to the Parliament, if it is not a money bill, for reconsideration. Yet, if the Parliament sends it back to them for the second time, the President is obliged to assent to it.

Armed powers

The President is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India, in this capacity the president can appoint Army, Navy & Air Chiefs. The President can declare war or finish calm, subject to the approval of parliament only under the decision of the Council of Ministers

Emergency powers

The President can declare three types of emergencies: national, state and financial.

National emergency

National emergency is caused by war, external aggression or armed rebellion in the whole of India or a part of its territory.

Under Article 352 of the India Constitution the President can such a declaration should be there approve through the Parliament within one month. Such an emergency can be imposed for six months. It can be extended by six months by repeated parliamentary approval, up to a maximum of 3 Years.

In such an emergency, Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens can be suspended. The six freedoms under Right to Freedom are automatically suspended. Though, the Right to Life and Personal Liberty cannot be suspended.

State emergency

State emergency, also known as President's rule, is declared due to breakdown of constitutional equipment inside a state.

On 19 January 2009, President's rule was imposed on the Indian State of Jharkhand making it the latest state where this kind of emergency has been forced.

A State Emergency can be forced using the following:

1. By Article 356:-If that state failed to run constitutionally i.e. legal equipment have fail
2. By Article 365:-If that state is not working according to the given direction of the Union Government.

This type of emergency needs the approval of the parliament within 2 months. This type of emergency can last up to a maximum of 3 years via extensions after each 6 month period. However, after one year it can be extended only if

1. A state of National Emergency has been declared in the country or in the particular state.
2. The Election Commission finds it difficult to organize an election in that state.

Financial emergency

If the President is fulfilled to here be an economic situation in which the financial strength or credit of India is helpless, he/she can declare economic urgent situation because for every the Constitutional Article 360. Such an emergency must be approved by the Parliament within two months. It has never been declared.

A state of financial emergency remains in force indefinitely until revoked by the President.

In case of a financial emergency, the President can reduce the salaries of all government officials, including judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. All money bills are passed by the State legislatures is submitted to the President for his approval. They can direct the state to observe certain principles relating to financial matters.

Our parliament

Parliament is the supreme legislative body of a country. Our Parliament comprises of the President and the two Houses Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The President has the power to summon and prorogue either House of Parliament or to dissolve Lok Sabha.

The Constitution of India came into force on January 26, 1950. The first general elections under the new Constitution were held during the year 1951-52 and the first elected Parliament came into being in April, 1952, the Second Lok Sabha in April, 1957, the Third Lok Sabha in April, 1962, the Fourth Lok Sabha in March, 1967, the Fifth Lok Sabha in March, 1971, the Sixth Lok Sabha in March, 1977, the Seventh Lok Sabha in January, 1980, the Eighth Lok Sabha in December, 1984, the Ninth Lok Sabha in December, 1989, the Tenth Lok Sabha in June, 1991, the Eleventh Lok Sabha in May, 1996, the Twelfth Lok Sabha in March, 1998 and Thirteenth Lok Sabha in October, 1999.

LOK SABHA

Lok Sabha, as the name itself signifies, is the body of representatives of the people. Its members are directly elected, normally once in every five years by the adult population who are eligible to vote. The minimum qualifying age for membership of the House is 25 years. The present membership of Lok Sabha is 545. The number is divided among the different States and Unio Territories as follows:

(1) Andhra Pradesh 42

(2) Arunachal Pradesh 2

(3) Assam 14

(4) Bihar 40

(5) Chhattisgarh 11

(6) Goa 2

(7) Gujarat 26

(8) Haryana 10

(9) Himachal Pradesh 4

(10) Jammu & Kashmir 6

(11) Jharkhand 14

(12) Karnataka 28

(13) Kerala 20

(14) Madhya Pradesh 29

(15) Maharashtra 48

(16) Manipur 2

(17) Meghalaya 2

(18) Mizoram 1

(19) Nagaland 1

(20) Orissa 21

(21) Punjab 13

(22) Rajasthan 25

(23) Sikkim 1

(24) Tamil Nadu 39

(25) Tripura 2

(26) Uttaranchal 5

(27) Uttar Pradesh 80

(28) West Bengal 42

(29) Andaman & Nicobar Islands 1

(30) Chandigarh 1

(31) Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1

(32) Daman & Diu 1

(33) NCT of Delhi 7

(34) Lakshadweep 1

(35) Pondicherry 1

(36) Anglo-Indians (if nominated 2 by the President under Article 331 of the Constitution)

RAJYA SABHA

Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of Parliament. It has not more than 250 members. Members of Rajya Sabha are not elected by the people directly but indirectly by the Legislative Assemblies of the various States. Every State is allotted a certain number of members. No member of Rajya Sabha can be under 30 years of age.

Twelve of Rajya Sabha members are nominated by the President from persons who have earned distinction in the fields of literature, art, science and social service.

Rajya Sabha is a permanent body. It is not subject to dissolution but one-third of its members retire every two years. Rajya Sabha was duly constituted for the first time on April 3, 1952 and it held its first sitting on May 13, that year.

There are at present 245 members in Rajya Sabha, distributed among different States and Union Territories as follows:

(1) Andhra Pradesh 18

(2) Arunachal Pradesh 1

(3) Assam 7

(4) Bihar 16

(5) Chhattisgarh 5

(6) Goa 1

(7) Gujarat 11

(8) Haryana 5

(9) Himachal Pradesh 3

(10) Jammu & Kashmir 4

(11) Jharkhand 6

(12) Karnataka 12

(13) Kerala 9

(14) Madhya Pradesh 11

(15) Maharashtra 19

(16) Manipur 1

(17) Meghalaya 1

(18) Mizoram 1

(19) Nagaland 1

(20) Orissa 10

(21) Punjab 7

(22) Rajasthan 10

(23) Sikkim 1

(24) Tamil Nadu 18

(25) Tripura 1

(26) Uttaranchal 3

(27) Uttar Pradesh 31

(28) West Bengal 16

(29) NCT of Delhi 3

(30) Pondicherry 1

(31) Nominated by the President under 12 Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution

Presiding Officers

Lok Sabha elects one of its own members as its Presiding Officer and he is called the Speaker. He is assisted by the Deputy Speaker who is also elected by Lok Sabha. The conduct of business in Lok Sabha is the responsibility of the Speaker.

The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament. Rajya Sabha also elects one of its members to be the Deputy Chairman.

Functions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

The main function of both the Houses is to pass laws. Every Bill has to be passed by both the Houses and assented to by the President before it becomes law. The subjects over which Parliament can legislate are the subjects mentioned under the Union List in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. Broadly speaking, Union subjects are those important subjects which for reasons of convenience, efficiency and security are administered on all-India basis. The principal Union subjects are Defence, Foreign Affairs, Railways, Transport and Communications, Currency and Coinage, Banking, Customs and Excise Duties. There are numerous other subjects on which both Parliament and State Legislatures can legislate.

Under this category mention may be made of economic and social planning, social security and insurance, labour welfare, price control and vital statistics.

Besides passing laws, Parliament can by means of resolutions, motions for adjournment, discussions and questions addressed by members to Ministers exercise control over the administration of the country and safeguard people’s liberties.

Difference between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

(1) Members of Lok Sabha are directly elected by the eligible voters. Members of Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of State Legislative Assemblies in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.

(2) The normal life of every Lok Sabha is 5 years only while Rajya Sabha is a permanent body.

(3) Lok Sabha is the House to which the Council of Ministers is responsible under the Constitution. Money Bills can only be introduced in Lok Sabha. Also it is Lok Sabha which grants the money for running the administration of the country.

(4) Rajya Sabha has special powers to declare that it is necessary and expedient in the national interest that Parliament may make laws with respect to a matter in the State List or to create by law one or more all-India services common to the Union and the States.

kssp

KSSP

Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad

History

Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad is a People's Science Movement of Kerala, India. Founded in 1962. It started its works at the science society interface with about 40 members as an organisation of science writers in Malayalam. Over the past four decades it has grown into a mass movement with a membership over 40000, distributed in more than two thousand units spread all over Kerala.

Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP) literally means The Kerala Forum for Science Literature. In fact it was founded in 1962 as a forum of science writers with the limited objective of publishing science literature in Malayalam, the local language, and popularizing science. However it was soon realized that mere publication of literature or taking science classes was not enough, if the blessings of science were to reach the common people. KSSP became convinced that at present a privileged minority was monopolize the benefits of science and technology, and it results in their enrichment, at the expense of the majority. KSSP chose as its mission, the challenge of arming the people with the tools of science and technology so that they can reverse this process. Thus in 1972, KSSP decided to become a People's Science Movement and adopted "Science for Social Revolution'' as its motto

How to become a member

Any person who has attained 18 years age can be a member of KSSP. Membership form will be obtained from Unit Secretaries of the concerned locality. The normal membership time is November - January. The membership has to be renewed every year. Fee for new membership is Rs 10/- and for renewal is Rs11/-. The membership application will be scrutinized and accepted by the Zonal committee of the concerned locality.

Organization structure

The KSSP has a four line structure: Units functioning at the village level in an area of 5 - 10 esq., sub-regional committees catering to about 10-30 units; 14 district committees and a state committee. KSSP is a member of the All India People’s Science Network (AIPSN). President, Vice-presidents, General Secretary, Treasurer and Secretaries are the Office bearers. Elections are held every year. No one holds any office for more than two terms.

Each unit has a unit executive committee elected every year. Annual unit meet also elects the members of zonal council as per proportional representation system.( the number of Zoanl council members limited to 100 and each unit get a due of zonal council members according to its membership strength.) Each zonal council meets every year called the zonal (Mekhala in Malayalam) conference in which the Zonal committee and District Council members are elected. In turn, the District council members elect the State Council Members and the District Committee Members at the District conference held every year. The sequence of organizational conferences ends every year with the State Conference in which the Central Executive Committee of KSSP is elected.

To start a Kssp unit

A KSSP unit can be started at any locality provided there are at least 10 persons willing to be members or activists of KSSP. During the membership time, (December - January) the unit can be registered in the Zonal Committee of that area. The annual conference of the unit should be convened every year, normally in November /December, and office bears should be selected. The Unit executive committee is comprised of 7 members at least, with a president, Secretary, Vice president and Joint secretary and minimum 3 members. Sub organizations like Beloved, Women’s Forum etc can also be formed in the locality to conduct activities relating to a respective area.

Awards

KSSP has been conferred with a number of national and international awards in recognition of its achievements in various fields of activities.

1983Vikram Sarabhai Memorial Award by Indian Council of Social Science Research for its work in Science

1989 Indira Pariyavaran Puraskar and the Vriksha Mitra Puraskar for its work in the field of environment, both awards by Government of India.

1990 Global 500 Roll of Honor of the UNEP for its work in the environment field.

1991 The King Sejong Literacy prize for its work in science popularization and literacy.

1996 Right Livelihood Award (often called "Alternative Nobel Prize") by the Right Livelihood Award Foundation (Stockholm, Sweden) for its pioneering work in the fields of health, piece and development.

1999 Best R&D Institution Award at State Level to Integrated Rural Technology Centre, R&D institution in the field of energy conservation studies.

Balavedi

Balavedi is the children's organisation of KSSP. It is an unofficial gathering of children where they play, sing, conduct experiments, observe things and come across the methodology of science. As far as KSSP is concerned it is a children's forum as well as a workshop where new innovative educational experiences and models are molded.

At present the term "Balavedi" refers not only to the children's organisation but also to all the activities performed by KSSP in the field of children coordinating and clustering various organisation and institutions of children.

When eminent personalities of different walks of life in Kerala recollects their collaboration in childhood with Balavedi, Urea and Sastrakeralam as a guiding factor in their life, KSSP realists the value of Balavedi activities conducted in the early decades of the organisation.

Kssp and development

KSSP has been involved in building up models for sustainable and equitable development; campaigning for decentralized planning and local level planning; initiating a large number of field experiments in local level planning; empowering the local communities through volunteer based resource mappings, socio-economic survey, data analysis etc; formulation of people's structures like "Neighborhood groups" and village committees for transparent democracy; analyzing the "Kerala Model" of development to arrive at general conclusions and seeking its improvement. With the help of its members and friends, KSSP undertakes regular studies on developmental issues of Kerala and publish papers, monographs and reference books.

Kssp and education

With a strength of several thousand teachers among its members, KSSP organizes in-service teachers training to make them enjoy teaching; promotes pedagogic innovations to make learning an enjoyable activity for children; assesses curriculum and text books; organizes massive children's science festivals, teacher exchange programmes and talent festivals for children; publishes science journals and books for children and organizes mass movement for quality improvement and mass literacy campaigns. KSSP played ahead role in making Kerala totally literate. KSSP has established aspirate centre to do research and in-depth studies in the field of education viz., Education Research Unit (ERU) with three campuses, at thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikkod.

Kssp and energy

From 1975 onwards, KSSP has been campaigning for a rational energy plan for Kerala. KSSP is involved in large scale energy conservation programmes-both electricity and heat energy. It’s Research and Development Unit has developed a high efficiency wood-burning stove which saves more than 50% of firewood. More than half a million homes have installed these "Paris hath Oven" as they are called. KSSP has initiated a programmed to replace a substantial portion of the nearly 20 million 60W lamps with compact flu recent lamps and high quality electronic ballasts. KSSP is also helping the district level local Governments to develop small hydro-electric stations within their territory. KSSP advocates for an Integrated Rural Energy Planning with an implementation package for Local Self Governments; components identified and tested by its Research and Development Wing.

Kssp and environment

One of KSSP's objectives is to raise the environment awareness level of the entire Kerala Society, through campaigns popularizing good environmental practice. KSSP's concern about the environment is linked with the concept of sustainable development. Among the multitude of activities, the major ones are: protection of forests (long-drawn and successful campaign to protect the famous "Silent Valley" Forest.); campaign against pollution; especially by chemical industries; education on environmental impact of wrong land use; popularizing Agro forestry methods of soil protection; developing the three dimensional environment concept; Physical, Biological, Socio-economic and cultural ethical environments and acting as a consistent champion of protecting the environment for the future generations.

Kssp and health

Over the last few decades KSSP has actively campaigned for People oriented approaches to health. Led by a dedicated band of doctors, health workers and activists, the organisation has conducted village level classes and discussions on common health problems and scientific and cost effective solutions. The campaigns also sought to expose the role of multinational corporations and big business in promoting and perpetuating ill health. The KSSP health study of 1987- published as "Health and Development in Rural Kerala"- and the follow-up study of 1996 helped to define the morbidity load and its relationship to socio-economic variables. The health policies of Central and State Governments were critically examined and alternative people's health policy formulated. The era of globalization, dominated as by the World Bank and the WTO has brought forth new challenges like the mindless imposition of intellectual property regimes. Parishad continues the struggle for better health for the poor and oppressed, along with like-minded organisation in India and abroad.

Science propagation

KSSP uses several media to communicate; printed word, posters, spoken word, theatre and to a limited extent electronic media. It has organized massive leaflet campaigns on many subjects. KSSP has developed a unique form of theatre, which is a combination of street, folk and proscenium theatre called "KALAJADHA" or Art Caravan. KSSP is the India's largest science publisher, having published more than 1,000 titles and producing 30-40 new titles per year. KSSP is also publishing three Science Magazines separately for primary school students, high school students and the general public. KSSP also organizes every now and then massive lecture campaigns on a variety of topics and each campaign will result in several thousand lectures, which reach out to hundreds of thousands of people.

Women issues

Kssp and women issues

Even though KSSP was formed in 1962, the woman's wing started functioning only in the 1980s. The low percentage of participation of Kerala women in social activities like Politics, Trade Union, Service organisation, Cultural organisation and NGOs (5 to 10%) in spite of a better sex ratio and educational status attracted the attention of KSSP.

The activities organized by KSSP in the woman's front are two fold.

1. The woman should be empowered so that they became aware of their problems and be able to tackle them successfully.

2. Society should be gender sensitized so that women are recognized as individuals and their rights are considered as human rights.

Various activities like publication of booklets and leaflets, organizing Vanitha Kalajdha, Samatha Vijnanothsavam etc were taken up with this end in view. Training for employment and income generating activities like production of soap etc are also being provided to women. Even a small income of their own, results a much desired change in the status of women in family and society.

Current Pro grammes

At present the most important initiative of KSSP on women issues is a comprehensive study on the status of women in Kerala. The study focuses of find 'how Kerala women think and how Kerala women live'. The sample survey based on the question are prepared by experts is over. The data is being analyzed. Focus Group discussions are being also organized, besides the survey.

The Women Study is a sequel to the KSSP is much acclaimed study on How Kerala thinks and How Kerala lives, based on the survey conducted in 6000 households all over Kerala.