Which among the following is/are the function/functions of the Cabinet Secretariat? 1. To ensure interministerial coordination 2. Management of major crisis situations in the country Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Correct — C, Both 1 and 2. The Cabinet Secretariat's own statement of functions covers both. It says the Secretariat 'assists in decision-making in Government by ensuring Inter-Ministerial coordination, ironing out differences amongst Ministries/Departments and evolving consensus through the instrumentality of the standing/adhoc Committees of Secretaries', and it goes on that 'Management of major crisis situations in the country and coordinating activities of various ministries in such a situation is also one of the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat.'

• (a)1 only — Inter-ministerial coordination is indeed a function, but it is not the only one on this list — crisis management is stated just as explicitly.
• (b)2 only — Crisis management is a function, and so is coordination; picking one and rejecting the other loses the mark either way round.
• (d)Neither 1 nor 2 — Both statements come almost word for word from the Secretariat's published account of its own work, so 'neither' cannot stand.

The Cabinet Secretariat works directly under the Prime Minister. It is charged with secretarial assistance to the Cabinet and its Committees and with the Rules of Business, and it administers the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961 and the Allocation of Business Rules, 1961, both framed under Article 77(3). The Cabinet Secretary heads it and is ex officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board.

Candidates often draw the Secretariat too narrowly, as a body that circulates papers and takes minutes. Its real weight is coordination — the Committees of Secretaries it convenes are where inter-ministerial disagreements are settled before a proposal reaches the Cabinet — and the crisis-management role that follows from being the one office with a line into every ministry at once.

• The Cabinet Secretariat functions directly under the Prime Minister.
• It administers the Transaction of Business Rules, 1961 and the Allocation of Business Rules, 1961, framed under Article 77(3).
• The Cabinet Secretary is the senior-most civil servant and ex officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board.
• Allocation of financial resources belongs to the Ministry of Finance, not to the Cabinet Secretariat.

• Confusing the Cabinet Secretariat with the Prime Minister's Office; both serve the Prime Minister, with different charges.
• Adding financial allocation to its functions, which belongs to the Finance Ministry.

As an 'is/are' list of functions, where one plausible-sounding item is planted from another ministry's work.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules and (Transaction of Business) Rules are framed under which Article?

  • (a)Article 74
  • (b)Article 75
  • (c)Article 77(3)
  • (d)Article 78

  Answer(c) Article 77(3) — it lets the President make rules for the more convenient transaction of business and its allocation among ministers.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Cabinet Secretariat functions under the direction of

  • (a)the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs
  • (b)the Ministry of Home Affairs
  • (c)the President of India
  • (d)the Prime Minister

  Answer(d) the Prime Minister — the Secretariat works directly under the Prime Minister, with the Cabinet Secretary as its administrative head.