write about the article 74(1 of the constitution class 11)

• IAS Questions
• IAS Polity Questions
• What Does Article 74 Say

What does Article 74 say?

Article 74 of the Constitution says that there shall be a council of ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who ‘shall’, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. 

Further Reading:

• President of India – Article 52-62
• Prime Minister & Council of Ministers

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Constitution of India

• Constitution of India (Full Text)

India, also known as Bharat, is a Union of States. It is a Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of government. The Republic is governed in terms of the Constitution of India which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949 and came into force on 26th January, 1950. The Constitution provides for a Parliamentary form of government which is federal in structure with certain unitary features. The constitutional head of the Executive of the Union is the President. As per Article 79 of the Constitution of India, the council of the Parliament of the Union consists of the President and two Houses known as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha). Article 74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head to aid and advise the President, who shall exercise his/her functions in accordance to the advice. The real executive power is thus vested in the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head.

Constitution of India

Council of Ministers to aid and advise President

(1) There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President who shall, in the exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice:

Provided that the President may require the Council of Ministers to reconsider such advice, either generally or otherwise, and the President shall act in accordance with the advice tendered after such reconsideration.

(2) The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by Ministers to the President shall not be inquired into in any court.

Article 61, Draft Constitution 1948

(1) There shall be a Council of ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions.

(2) The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by ministers to the President shall not be inquired into in any court.

Article 74, Constitution of India 1950

(1) There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister at the head to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions.

⁠(2) The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by Ministers to the President shall not be inquired into in any court.

Draft Article 61 (Article 74) was discussed on 30 December 1948 . This article regulated the exercise of the President’s power.

A member moved an amendment to regulate the selection of Cabinet ministers and restrict the number to 15 ministers. He proposed that the ministers be elected by the houses of the Parliament on the basis of proportional representation. This would prevent a majoritarian government. He also invoked the system in Switzerland to illustrate how the election of cabinet ministers would not result in any oppression or revolution. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee disagreed with these proposals. He argued that the Prime Minister must not be constitutionally mandated to have 15 ministers in the Cabinet; he/she might find it practical and efficient to have fewer ministers. On the proposal to elect ministers based on proportional representation, he urged that the Instrument of Instructions for President, that the Drafting Committee would draft, would take care of minority representation in the Cabinet.

There was another proposal to delete ‘ with the Prime Minister at the head ’. The mover wanted to keep the Prime Minister out of the Constitution. He argued that though the institution of Prime Minister was essential to carry out government business, it should not be mentioned in the Constitution. This would also prevent the power from centralising in the hands of one Minister. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee argued that the Prime Minister was indispensable to achieve collective responsibility of the Cabinet and to prevent undue influence of the President on the ministers. Further, in England too, the office of Prime Minister which had previously been recognised through convention, gained statutory recognition.

A member introduced amendments to allow the President to use his/her discretionary power without the Cabinet’s aid. He argued that the Draft Constitution provided with a similar provision for the Governor and the same should be extended to the President. The Chairman of the Drafting Committee pointed out that this proposal relied on the Government of India Act, 1935 which had given the Governor-General power to act according to his discretion. He reminded that under the Indian Constitution the President merely has certain prerogatives and not functions. Therefore, this proposal was unnecessary.

The Assembly negatived all the amendments. The Draft Article as introduced by the Assembly was adopted on 30 December 1948.

• The Indian Constitution
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• Introduction

The Indian Constitution of Class 8

About the indian constitution.

The Constitution provides for a Parliamentary form of government which is federal in structure with certain unitary features. The constitutional head of the Executive of the Union is the President.  As per Article 79 of the Constitution of India, the council of the Parliament of the Union consists of the President and two Houses to be known as the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).  

Article 74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers with a Prime Minister as its head to aid and advise the President, who shall exercise his functions in accordance to the advice.  The real executive power is thus vested in the Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head.

The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of the People (Lok Sabha).  Every State has a Legislative Assembly.  Certain States have an upper House called State Legislative Council. Governor is the Head of a State.  There shall be a Governor for each State and the executive power of the State shall be vested in him.  

The council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as its head advises the Governor in the discharge of the executive functions.  The Council of the Ministers of a state is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State.

The Constitution distributes legislative powers between Parliament and State legislatures as per the lists of entries in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.  The residual powers vest in the Parliament.  The centrally administered territories are called Union Territories.

• Meaning of Constitution
• Why Do We Need a Constitution
• Key Features of the Indian Constitution
• Subjective Questions For Indian Constitution

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