The Indian President is the head of the state and he is also called the first citizen of India. He is a part of Union Executive, provisions of which are dealt with Article 52-78 including articles related to President (Article 52-62). Under these articles, information on how a President is elected, his powers and functions, and also his impeachment process is given.
President of India – Indian Polity Notes
Download PDF Here
President is a vital part of Union Executive which again is important for the IAS Exam and its three stages – Prelims, Mains and Interview.
This article will mention in detail about the President of India, how a president is elected, his qualifications, a term of office, impeachment process, pardoning power of President and vacancy in his office. All this with reference to the UPSC CSE Syllabus. You may also download the topic ‘President of India’ notes PDF below.
Table of Contents:
The Indian President is the head of the state. He is the first citizen of India and is a symbol of solidarity, unity, and integrity of the nation. He is a part of Union Executive along with the Vice-President, Prime Minister, Council of Ministers, and Attorney-General of India.
There is no direct election for the Indian President. An electoral college elects him. The electoral college responsible for President’s elections comprises elected members of:
Note:
To know who has been the Indian President, IAS aspirants can check the list of Presidents of India in the linked article.
The following group of people is not involved in electing the President of India:
Once President is elected, he holds office for five years. He sits in the office even after the completion of five years given no new election has taken place or no new President has been elected till then. He can also be re-elected and there is no cap on his re-election.
There are a few facts that an IAS aspirant must know for UPSC 2024. Those facts are in given in a question-answer format in the table below:
What is the principle of election used in the President’s election? | Proportional Representation with means of a single transferable vote |
How does voting take place in the election of Indian President? | It is a secret ballot system of voting |
What is a quota of votes in President’s elections? | |
How is the Supreme Court (SC) involved in the President’s election? | Any dispute related to his election is taken up by SC. SC’s decision is final. |
UPSC aspirants must know about the role and responsibilities of the President as they too work for the development progress of the country, tough at a beginner level. Aspirants must also review the Salary of an IAS Officer along with the perks provided to them.
A candidate has to meet some qualifications to be elected as the president. Those qualifications of the President are:
There are a few conditions for the candidate running for the President’s elections:
The only condition for the initiation of impeachment of the Indian president is the ‘violation of the constitution.’
Note: Indian Constitution contains no definition of ‘violation of the constitution.’
The impeachment process of President is given below. (We have taken Lok Sabha as the first house to initiate the impeachment charges, however, Rajya Sabha too can initiate the impeachment charges against President and in that case, it will pass the resolution and send the charges to Lok Sabha which will investigate and pass it if it finds those charges valid.)
Yes, his office can be vacant in the following ways:
Note: Vice-President discharges the duties as President; if the latter’s office falls vacant in the circumstances mentioned above, except by the expiry of the term. As per the President’s Act 1969; if the Vice-President office is vacant too, Chief Justice of India (CJI) (or in his absence); Supreme Court’s senior-most judge, discharge the functions of the President (till new President is elected.)
Note: Pardoning powers of the president includes the following types:
He is the commander of the defence forces of India. He appoints:
He deals with three types of emergencies given in the Indian Constitution:
Article 123 deals with the ordinance making power of the President. The President has many legislative powers and this power is one of them. He promulgates an ordinance on the recommendation of the union cabinet. To read more on Ordinance Making Power of the President, check the linked article.
When a bill is introduced in the Parliament, Parliament can pass the bill and before the bill becomes an act, it has to be presented to the Indian President for his approval. It is on the President of India to either reject the bill, return the bill or withhold his assent to the bill. The choice of the President over the bill is called his veto power. The Veto Power of the President of India is guided by Article 111 of the Indian Constitution. To continue reading Veto Power, check the linked article.
President of India – Indian Polity Notes
Download PDF Here
Furthermore, aspirants must also carefully review the civil services syllabus and exam pattern for a better understanding of the UPSC CSE and accordingly chalk out the preparation strategy.
To learn about the best strategy to be followed that can help in guiding through the exam preparation, candidates can refer to the UPSC topper list and check out their success stories.
Also, read other important polity articles:
The chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court of India and state/union territory high courts. The Comptroller and Auditor General. The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
Some of the Legislative Powers of the President of India are, he summons or prorogues Parliament and dissolves the Lok Sabha, he summons a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in case of deadlock, he addresses the Indian Parliament at the commencement of the first session after every general election, he nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha, he consults the Election Commission of India on questions of disqualifications of MPs, President of India appoints speaker, deputy speaker of Lok Sabha, and chairman/deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha when the seats fall vacant, President of India can nominate 12 members of the Rajya Sabha.