How the State Government Works? Online Test 8th Social Science Lesson 8 Questions in English

There are 29 state Governments in India which have its own administration. Every state government has its own judiciary, executive and Legislature.

The State executive consists of the Governor and the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister.

In India there are two sets of Government is followed. The Central Government and the State Government.

The Governor is an integral part of the State legislature. The state government includes the Governor and the council of ministers.

The Governor is the Head of states in India; he is the constitutional head of a State. The Governor is appointed by the President of India.

The Governor of a State is appointed for a term of five years. Before the expiry of his full term, the President can dismiss him from Office. His term can be extended or transferred to another state. He can also resign on his own interest.

To be a Governor of a State, a person must be a Citizen of India and should have completed 35 years of age. And he cannot be a member of the Parliament or the State legislature. He should not hold any office of profit also.

The Constitution provides for the post of the Governor as the Head of a State in India. He is the Constitutional Head of a state.

While appointing the Governor, the President acts as per the advice of the Union Cabinet.In general a person is not appointed as The Governor in his own state.

The Governor is the chief Executive in a State. All the executive powers of the state are vested upon him and decisions are taken in his name.

The Governor has the executive powers of the state. He appoints the Chief Ministers and the Council of Ministers.

The President imposes emergency in a State under Article 356 on the basis of the report of the Governor.

The Governor summons and prorogues the sessions of the State Legislature and he have the rights to dissolve the Legislative assembly.

The Governor may nominate one member from the Anglo-India community to the legislative Assembly. He may also nominate 1/6 members of the legislature council from the fields of science, Literature, Arts, Social Services and Co-operative movement. The Money Bills can be introduced in the State Assembly only after the approval of the Governor.

The Position of the State Governor is compared to the President of India as a nominal executive. But he can exercise his powers in the real sense on some occasions.

The Governor of a State acts as an agent of the Central Government in a state. He is responsible for maintaining the relation between the Central Government and the State Government.

The Governor appoints the Leader of the majority party in the State legislative assembly as the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister is the Head of State Council of Ministers.

The Chief Minister has no fixed term of office. He remains in the office so long as he gets support from the members of the Legislative Assembly.

The Resignation of the Chief Minister actually means the resignation of the whole Council of Ministers in the State.

The Chief Minister is the chief administrator of the state. All major decisions of the state are taken under his leadership.

The Chief Minister plays an important role in the formation of the council of Ministers. On the advice of the Chief Minister, the Governor appoints the other Ministers.

The Chief Minister of a State plays an important role in making policies of the State government. He has to ensure that the policies of the government are not against Public interest. His voice is final in policy decisions of the State Government.

In India the State Legislature consists of the Governor and one or two houses. The upper house is called as the Legislative Council and the lower house is called the Legislative Assembly.

At present only seven states in India have two houses in their Legislature. They are Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka, Jammu& Kashmir. The constitution provides that the total strength of the legislative council must not be less than 40 and not more than 1/3 of the total strength of the state Legislative assembly.

The members of the Legislative Council are elected indirectly. 1/3rd of the members are elected by Local Government bodies. Another 1/3rd by the elected members of the legislative assembly. 1/12th is by graduates and another 1/12th by teachers of secondary schools, colleges and universities.

The legislative Council is a permanent house. 1/3rd of its members retire every two years and elections are held to fill the vacant seats.

The members of a Legislative Council must be a citizen of India and should have completed 30 years of age. They are elected for a term of six years.

The Chairman is the presiding officer of the Legislative Council, in his absence the Deputy Chairman presides over the meetings. They are elected from among the members of that house.

The people who make the laws of a State Government are called ‘Members of the Legislative Assembly’ (MLA).

MLA’s are chosen from different constituencies. One MLA is chosen from each legislative constituency.

For the member of legislative elections the state is divided into different constituencies. One Legislative constituency may have one lakh or even more people.

A person has to be at least 25 years old to contest for election to the legislative assembly. Even if a person does not belongs to apolitical party can contest election.

Every political party which contests for the Elections has its own Symbol, Independent candidates who does not belong to any political parties can also contest in the elections. These Members are elected directly by the people. All people who are 18 years of age can cast a vote in the legislative assembly elections.According to the constitution, a legislative assembly cannot have more than 500 members and not less than 60 members.

Some seats in the Legislative Assembly are reserved for Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes. The Governor can nominate one member from the Anglo-Indian community.

The members of the Legislative Assembly are elected for a term of five years. But the Governor can dissolve the house before the expiry of its term and can call for fresh elections.

The Meetings of the Assembly are presided over the speaker who is elected from among the members of the Assembly. In his absence, the Deputy Speaker conducts its meetings.

The Leader of the majority party in the elections is chosen as Chief Minister. In TamilNadu there are 234 Legislative Constituencies. The party with more than 118 elected candidates is invited by the Governor to form the Government.

Ministers for various departments headed by the Chief Minister are called the State Government. The Party which got majority seats in the elections forms the Government.

The main duty of the Legislative Assembly is to make laws for the state. It can make law on the subjects mentioned in the State List and the Concurrent List. During State emergency it cannot exercise its legislative power.

The State Assembly may pass No confidence motion against the Council of ministers and bring its downfall if it is not satisfied with the performance of the Council of Ministers.

The Assembly also takes part in the Amendment of the constitution on certain matters. The Government has three basic functions: Making Laws, Executing Laws and Ensuring Justice.

The State legislature follows the same procedure for passing an ordinary or a money bill like that of the parliament. In State Legislatures the Legislative Assembly which is the Lower house is more powerful than the Legislative Council which is the Upper House.

A Bill is presented in the Legislative Assembly then Debates and discussions are made on the possibilities of the Bill and if any changes needed for the benefits of the people it is done with consideration. If more than half of the MLA’s vote in favor of the bill it is said to be passed. The Bill needs to get assent of the Governor to become an Act.

The Place where a State’s legislative Assembly is located and where its council of ministers functions is called the Capital of that state.

The State Government has several employees to execute the laws made by the Legislative Assembly. Collectors, Tahsildars, Block development officers, Revenue Officers , Policemen, Teachers and Doctors.

The State High court consists of a Chief Justice and other Judges who are appointed by the President from time to time it necessary.

As per the Constitution there shall be a High Court for two or more States and UT’s. The number of Judges in the High Court is not Uniform and fixed. The President appoints the Chief Justice of High Court in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the State.

The Judge of High Court must be citizen of India; He must have at least ten years’ experience as head of the judicial office in India. He must have at least ten years’ experience as an advocate in one or more High Courts.

A Judge of High Court holds the Office until he completes the age of 62 years. A judge can be removed from office only for proven misbehavior or incapacity.

The High Court has been empowered to issue writs of Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo warranto for the enforcement of the fundamental rights and for other purposes.

The High Court has a general power of superintendence over all the lower courts and tribunals within its jurisdiction except military courts and tribunals.

The High Court controls all the subordinate courts in the state. Like the supreme court, the High court also acts as a Court of Record.

For the purpose of judicial Administration each state is divided into a number of districts, each under a District Judge. The district court Judges were appointed by the Governor.

The High court is responsible for the enforcement of the fundamental rights in the state level and for other purposes.

In the Legislative Assembly meetings, MLA’s discuss a number of topics like Public works, Education, law and order and various problems to know the activities of ministries. The MLA can ask questions to know the activities of ministries.

The Chief Minister must be a member of the State Legislature. He chooses Council of the Minister’s from the elected MLA’s. He is The Head of the State Government.

The Legislative assembly meets 2 or 3 times in a year. The Main duty of the Legislative Assembly is to make Laws. The Legislative Assembly has control over the Finances of the state. The state Government cannot impose, increase, lower or withdraw any tax without the approval of the Assembly.

The Legislative Assembly members are elected for the terms of Five years. But the Governor can dissolve the house before the expiry of its term and cam call for fresh Elections.

The Governor makes some important appointments in the State Government such as The Advocate General, Chairman and Members of State Public service Commissions.

The Article 153 under the Seventh Amendment, 1956 provides that there shall be a Governor foe each state. In certain circumstances the Governor is appointed for two or more states simultaneously.

The Chief Minister is the chief administrator of the State Government. He suggests the council of Ministers who is appointed by the Governor. The Chief Minister coordinates the activities of Different Ministers and their Ministries. He is the responsible person of the State Government to communicate the major issues with the Governor.

The Time limit to pass an Ordinary Bill with the council is three months. In case of no approval by the legislative council within 3 months, the assembly may pass the bill again with or without any amendments. It takes another one month to pass the bill. As the Legislative Assembly cannot reject a bill it can delay up to 4 months for approval.

The Chief Minister must be a member of the State Legislature. If he is not a member of the legislature at the time of his swearing he must be within a period of six months. The Annual Budget of the state Government is laid before the Legislature with the approval of the Governor of the State.