India is the largest democracy in the world, its population of 1.3 billion is expected to surpass China's in the coming years. The structure of its government was heavily influenced by its former colonial administrator, Great Britain. As such, India has a parliamentary system similar to that of Great Britain. As with other democracies, it has three main branches of government, the legislature, the judiciary and the executive. Whereas the prime minister of Great Britain...
India is the largest democracy in the world, its population of 1.3 billion is expected to surpass China's in the coming years. The structure of its government was heavily influenced by its former colonial administrator, Great Britain. As such, India has a parliamentary system similar to that of Great Britain. As with other democracies, it has three main branches of government, the legislature, the judiciary and the executive. Whereas the prime minister of Great Britain stands alone as the highest office in the land (putting aside for purposes of discussion the role of the British Crown), in India there is both a president and a prime minister and both, at least on paper, wield considerable power.
Part V of the Constitution of India sets forth the powers of the presidency, which include the authority to appoint judges and to grant clemency and pardons to those convicted of crimes. The President of India is officially head of State, and is nominally Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. He or she (currently, Ram Noth Kovind, a he) can impose a "state of emergency" under certain dire circumstances, such as when a foreign nation threatens its security or when the economy spirals into crisis. In short, the president of India, despite the relative obscurity of this position with respect to foreign perceptions, enjoys considerable power.
The prime minister of India, despite the president's constitutional authorities, is the most powerful office in the country. Currently Narendra Modi, the prime minister is head of the federal government of India. As with other prime ministers, the holder of this office is elected by the members of the majority party in parliament and, as such, can fall victim to poorly timed national elections that result in a transfer of political power from one party to another. The prime minister, as head of government, sets national policy and oversees its implementation. The prime minister is a much more visible official than the president, especially in the area of foreign policy.
So, the head of state of India is the president. The head of the federal government, and the more powerful figure in a practical sense, is the prime minister.
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