UKPSC Prelims 2024 Q27: According to the Constitution of India, who among the

Q: What is the answer to UKPSC Prelims 2024 Q27?

B. Correct — B, President. Article 52 creates the office and Article 53 vests the executive power of the Union in the **President**. Article 77 adds that the Union's executive action is expressed to be taken in the President's name. The office in which power is vested, and in whose name it is exercised, is the Head of State. The idea to carry away is that **the President is the constitutional head, while the Prime Minister is the head of government**. Article 74 requires the President to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, so the ministry exercises the power but it legally belongs to the President. The same office holds the supreme command of the Defence Forces (Article 53(2)), appoints the Prime Minister (Article 75), is elected by an electoral college of elected MPs and MLAs (Article 54) and serves a five-year term (Article 56).

UKPSC Prelims 2024 General Studies Paper-I · Question 27 of 147

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Answers from UKPSC's provisional answer key. The Commission publishes a provisional key for UKPSC Prelims 2024 and invites objections before issuing a final key. Every answer shown here is the Commission's own provisional answer (key PDF), not our derivation. If the final key changes an answer, this page is updated to match.

According to the Constitution of India, who among the following is the Head of the State?

(a)Prime Minister
(b)President
(c)Home Minister
(d)Vice-President

Answer

Why

Correct — B, President.

Article 52 creates the office and Article 53 vests the executive power of the Union in the President. Article 77 adds that the Union's executive action is expressed to be taken in the President's name. The office in which power is vested, and in whose name it is exercised, is the Head of State.

The idea to carry away is that the President is the constitutional head, while the Prime Minister is the head of government.

Article 74 requires the President to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, so the ministry exercises the power but it legally belongs to the President.

The same office holds the supreme command of the Defence Forces (Article 53(2)), appoints the Prime Minister (Article 75), is elected by an electoral college of elected MPs and MLAs (Article 54) and serves a five-year term (Article 56).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Prime Minister — The Prime Minister is the real executive, not the constitutional one. Article 74 places the Prime Minister at the head of the Council of Ministers that advises the President, Article 75(1) has the President appoint the Prime Minister, and Article 75(3) makes the Council answerable to the Lok Sabha.
This option is the right answer to who is the Head of Government of India, or who heads the Council of Ministers.
The Constitution vests the executive power in the President, so 'Head of the State' points to the office in which the power is vested, not the one that wields it day to day.
(c)
Home Minister — The Home Minister is one of the Ministers appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's advice under Article 75(1). The Home portfolio itself is assigned through the rules the President makes under Article 77(3) for allocating government business among Ministers. It is a ministry, not a constitutional headship.
This option is the right answer to who heads the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the ministry responsible for internal security, the central armed police forces and Centre–State administrative relations.
(d)
Vice-President — Article 63 creates the Vice-President and Article 64 makes the holder the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Under Article 65 the Vice-President acts as President during a vacancy or when the President is unable to function, and a vacancy has to be filled by a fresh election within six months (Article 62).
This option is the right answer to who is the ex officio Chairman of the Council of States. Standing in for the Head of State during a gap is a different thing from being the Head of State.

Concept

In a parliamentary system the Head of State and the Head of Government are two different offices. The Head of State is the formal, constitutional executive in whom the law vests power; the Head of Government leads the ministry that actually exercises that power and is responsible to the legislature.

India's Constitution follows this model. Article 53 vests the executive power of the Union in the President, Article 74 obliges the President to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, and Article 75(3) makes that Council collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.

India adopted the parliamentary form of government from Britain, where the monarch is Head of State and the Prime Minister heads the government. The Constituent Assembly put an elected President in place of a hereditary monarch but kept the same division of roles between the two offices.

The pattern repeats at the level of a State. The Governor is the constitutional head under Articles 153 and 154 and acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister (Article 163). Reading 'Head of the State' therefore depends on whether the question concerns the Union or a State.

Key facts

Article 52 says there shall be a President of India; Article 53(1) vests the executive power of the Union in the President.
Article 53(2) makes the President the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces of the Union.
Article 74: a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister aids and advises the President, and the 42nd Amendment (1976) made that advice binding.
The 44th Amendment (1978) let the President send advice back for reconsideration once; the advice given after reconsideration binds.
Article 54: the President is elected by the elected members of both Houses of Parliament and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States, Delhi and Puducherry.
Article 66: the Vice-President is elected by the members of both Houses of Parliament, nominated members included; State legislatures take no part.
Article 56 gives the President a five-year term; Article 61 provides removal by impeachment for violation of the Constitution.
Articles 63 to 65: the Vice-President is ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and acts as President during a vacancy in that office.
Article 75(1): the President appoints the Prime Minister, and appoints the other Ministers on the Prime Minister's advice.
Article 77(3): the President makes rules for allocating the business of the Government of India among Ministers, which is how the Home portfolio is assigned.
Droupadi Murmu was sworn in as President on 25 July 2022, succeeding Ram Nath Kovind; the oath is administered by the Chief Justice of India (Article 60).

Who holds the power and who exercises it

Head of State→President: the office in which the Union's executive power is vested (Art. 52–53)

Head of Government→Prime Minister: heads the Council of Ministers that advises the President (Art. 74–75)

Who appoints whom→President appoints the Prime Minister; other Ministers on the PM's advice (Art. 75(1))

Vice-President→Ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha; acts as President during a vacancy (Art. 64–65)

Home Minister→One Minister in the Council; portfolio allotted under rules made under Art. 77(3)

State-level mirror→Governor is the constitutional head; Chief Minister heads the Council of Ministers (Art. 153, 163)

The Constitution vests the Union's executive power in the President, who acts on the Prime Minister's advice; the other two options are a Minister and the Rajya Sabha's Chairman.

Study next

Election of the President (Articles 54–55) and how the value of an MP's and an MLA's vote is worked outPowers of the President: ordinances (Article 123), pardons (Article 72) and assent to Bills (Article 111)Vice-President: election (Article 66), removal (Article 67) and functions (Articles 64–65)Article 74 after the 42nd and 44th Amendments and the binding nature of ministerial adviceImpeachment of the President under Article 61: the charge, the two-thirds majorities and the investigating HouseGovernor as the head of a State (Articles 153–163) and the discretionary powers the Governor has that the President lacks

Common traps

'Head of the State' in this stem means the Union; if a question is about a State of the Union, the constitutional head is the Governor (Article 153), and the President is then the wrong pick.
Reading 'head' as the person who runs the government leads to the Prime Minister; the Constitution vests the power in the President, and the Prime Minister exercises it under Article 74.
Treating the Vice-President's role under Article 65 as a deputy headship; acting as President during a vacancy is a stand-in function, and the office itself is Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Assuming that a Minister in charge of a powerful ministry holds a constitutional headship; the Home Minister is one of the Ministers under Article 75 with a portfolio allotted under Article 77(3).

The same fact can be set without the words 'Head of the State' at all: 'the executive power of the Union is vested in', 'the nominal or de jure executive', 'the Supreme Commander of the Defence Forces', or 'who appoints the Prime Minister'. Each of those points to the President.

It can also be framed as a comparison — President against Vice-President on electoral college, oath, term and removal, or President against Prime Minister on who holds the power and who exercises it. An article-number item (52, 53, 54, 61, 74) is a third possible shape.

Related PYQs

No eligible match among this question's citable set.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Under the Constitution of India, the executive power of the Union is vested in the
- (a)Prime Minister
- (b)Council of Ministers
- (c)President
- (d)Parliament
Answerc — Article 53(1) vests the executive power of the Union in the President, to be exercised directly or through officers subordinate to the President.
(a) The Prime Minister heads the Council of Ministers that advises the President under Article 74 but is not the office in which the power is vested. (b) The Council of Ministers aids and advises; the text of Article 53 names the President, not the Council.
(d) Parliament is the Union's legislature (Article 79) and makes laws; it does not hold the executive power.
practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following takes part in the election of the President of India but has no vote in the election of the Vice-President?
- (a)Elected members of the Lok Sabha
- (b)Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha
- (c)Elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies
- (d)Elected members of the Rajya Sabha
Answerc — Article 54 puts the elected members of the State Legislative Assemblies (with Delhi and Puducherry) in the President's electoral college, while Article 66 confines the Vice-President's electoral college to the members of the two Houses of Parliament.
(a) and (d) Elected MPs of both Houses vote in both elections.
(b) Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha are the reverse case: Article 66 says 'members of both Houses', so they vote for the Vice-President, but Article 54 says 'elected members', so they have no vote for the President.
practice — not a real PYQ
The Constitution of India provides for the removal of the President by impeachment on the ground of
- (a)proved misbehaviour or incapacity
- (b)violation of the Constitution
- (c)loss of majority in the Lok Sabha
- (d)conviction for an offence involving moral turpitude
Answerb — Article 61(1) allows impeachment 'for violation of the Constitution', with the charge preferred by either House and investigated by the other.
(a) 'Proved misbehaviour or incapacity' is the ground for removing a Supreme Court judge under Article 124(4), not the President. (c) Loss of majority in the Lok Sabha ends a Council of Ministers under Article 75(3); the President is not responsible to the House.
(d) Article 61 sets out a single ground, violation of the Constitution; a criminal conviction is not the test it lays down.
practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India lays down that there shall be a President of India?
- (a)Article 51
- (b)Article 52
- (c)Article 53
- (d)Article 54
Answerb — Article 52 reads 'There shall be a President of India'.
(a) Article 51 is a Directive Principle on the promotion of international peace and security. (c) Article 53 vests the executive power of the Union in the President; it presupposes the office rather than creating it. (d) Article 54 sets out the electoral college that elects the President.