The Parliament of India is primarily based on the model of
- (a)German Parliament
- (b)British Parliament
- (c)American Congress
- (d)French Parliament
Correct — B, British Parliament. India adopted the parliamentary (Westminster) model from Britain — a bicameral legislature, a Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the popularly elected house, and a nominal head of state who acts on ministerial advice. The Parliament of India is therefore primarily based on the British model.
- (a)German Parliament — Germany's parliamentary system, shaped after the Second World War, was not the template for India; India's framework was drawn from the British Westminster system.
- (c)American Congress — The US Congress belongs to a presidential system with a strict separation of powers; India instead fuses the executive and legislature on the British pattern, so its model is not American.
- (d)French Parliament — France has a semi-presidential system with a powerful directly elected President; this is not the model on which India's Parliament is built.
India follows the parliamentary or 'Westminster' form of government inherited from British practice and the Government of India Act, 1935. Its defining feature is that the real executive (the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister) is drawn from and collectively responsible to the legislature, while the President is the nominal head of state.
The framers borrowed institutions from many constitutions, but the working of Parliament and the executive's relationship with it came chiefly from Britain. The American option tempts because both are large democracies, but the US model separates powers, whereas India fuses them like Britain.
- India uses the parliamentary (Westminster) model borrowed from Britain.
- The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha (Article 75).
- The President is the nominal executive; real power rests with the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
- Parliament is bicameral: the Lok Sabha (Lower House) and Rajya Sabha (Upper House).
- Confusing the parliamentary (British) model with the presidential (American) one.
- Assuming a large federal democracy must follow the US Congress model.
A direct recall of which country's model shaped India's Parliament.
There is a Parliamentary System of Government in India because the
- (a) Lok Sabha is elected directly by the people
- (b) Parliament can amend the Constitution
- (c) Rajya Sabha cannot be dissolved
- (d) Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha
Answer(d) Council of Ministers is responsible to the Lok Sabha
Same concept — the defining trait of India's British-model Parliament. That UPSC item identifies collective responsibility to the Lok Sabha as what makes the system parliamentary; this one names the country whose model India follows.
Which one of the following statements about the Parliament of India is correct?
- (a) A majority of members of Rajya Sabha are elected by a system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote
- (b) The Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha is nominated by the President from among the members of the Rajya Sabha
- (c) The Lok Sabha cannot be dissolved before the completion of its five year term
- (d) The members of Lok Sabha also vote in the election of the members of Rajya Sabha
Answer(a) A majority of members of Rajya Sabha are elected by a system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote
Same institution — the structure and working of India's Parliament. That NDA item tests specific facts about the two Houses; this one tests which country's model that Parliament follows.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The principle of collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers is borrowed from the constitutional practice of
- (a)the United States
- (b)Britain
- (c)Ireland
- (d)Canada
Answer(b) Britain — the Westminster convention of collective responsibility.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In the Indian parliamentary system, real executive power is exercised by the
- (a)President
- (b)Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister
- (c)Chief Justice of India
- (d)Vice-President
Answer(b) Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister — the real executive.