The Cabinet and Council of Ministers

India is a country with the largest constitution and democracy in the world. The constitution, a living document, has given every person equal rights and responsibilities. All these steps lead to one basic motive, the growth and upliftment of all the people of India. But every person can’t be wise enough or have the time to focus on its overall development irrespective of their rights and responsibilities. This is why people elect their representatives who look after the different aspects of the country’s growth. 

The people who represent the country in different fields in the parliament are the council of ministers. The council of ministers has various parts, but the core is the cabinet of ministers. The meaning of both is discussed below, as it is important to know the basics before knowing the differences between the two.

Council of Ministers

The group of representatives at the national level who contribute to the country’s development and take decisions on behalf of the people in the council of ministers. In India, it is the legislature’s core and has the most crucial responsibility of running the country. 

The head of the legislature is the Prime minister, who is appointed by the ruling party by the president and advises him on all the decisions. The prime minister also chooses the people to represent the various portfolios and assigns them their responsibilities. The salaries and perks of all the ministers are also decided in the parliament itself. The strength of the council of ministers will remain less than 15% of the total strength of the lower house and fluctuates depending upon the choice of the prime ministers. The council of ministers is known to take all the decisions on behalf of the president, but the core advisors are the cabinet of ministers. The president is a nominal head in the country and most of the functions are carried out by the prime minister and his council.

Cabinet of Ministers

The council of ministers consists of many organs and the most important of all is the cabinet of ministers. The cabinet consists of all the senior ministers or the ministers who control the key sectors in the parliament. It consists of the home minister, defence minister, finance minister, and railway minister. One should always keep in mind that the country’s prime minister heads both the council and the cabinet of ministers because the council of ministers includes the cabinet as well and is not a different body. 

The key to the country’s development lies in the hands of the cabinet ministers who are few in number, as much as 15 to 20, but most of the work is done by them. The cabinet runs its own portfolios and participates in all the activities regarding the decisions for the country taken by the prime minister. Therefore, the prime minister is dependent on the cabinet for the effective and smooth functioning of the country.

Difference between the Council and Cabinet of Ministers

Although most of the decisions lie with the cabinet and the council as the whole body of the ministers, they are different in many aspects, some of which are discussed below.

• Constitutional significance

The council of ministers has always been acknowledged by the constitution of India, but the cabinet was not privileged with the same since its inception. It was more like a formal body created for convenience. But as the significance of this body increased, it was acknowledged as a constitutional body in 1978. As of today, both bodies are a part of the constitution.

• Number of Members 

The council of ministers is large and has as many as 55 to 60 members because it consists of many organs, including the cabinet of ministers. On the other hand, the cabinet of ministers is smaller in size as much as 15 to 20 members because it has the key ministers of the parliament who have sectors such as defence, finance and home ministry.

• Powers 

The council of ministers represents a whole legislative body, but it does not exercise any actual powers as significant as the cabinet of ministers. It is more like a little body. On the other hand, the cabinet of ministers is the most significant and powerful organ of the council of ministers and has all the actual powers.

• Decisions

 The council of ministers does not participate in decision-making and is an implementing authority in the parliament because the cabinet of ministers takes all the key decisions.

• Physical position

 Although the cabinet of ministers takes most of the key decisions, it is an organ of the council of ministers and is smaller than it. The council of ministers has various organs, including the cabinet but has nominal powers.

Conclusion

This article can understand that the council of ministers is the body of ministers in the parliament, which has many organs and the cabinet is one of these organs. The cabinet is the council’s core but is much smaller in number. To sum up, the council of ministers is the nominal decision-making body that is larger in size. The cabinet is the actual decision-making body that is smaller in size but holds the key portfolios.