In all the twenty-nine states and two union territories on India, the Chief Minister is the head of the elected government. While the constitution of India recognizes the Governor as the de jury head of the state, the de facto executive authority exists with the Chief Minister. General Elections are conducted for the Vidhan Sabha or the State Legislative Assembly and the Governor invites the winning party or the coalition that has got the majority of seats to form the government. During a ceremonial proceeding, the Governor appoints the Chief Minister who takes charge of the State Assembly along with the Council of Ministers. If the Chief Minister can successfully retain the confidence of the Assembly, he or she can last as the executive head of the state for a term of six years in case of Jammu and Kashmir and five years in case of all the other states in India. Here we discuss the powers and role of the Governor of a state in choosing the chief minister of the state. Powers of the Governor In India, the Governor of a state enjoys three kinds of powers namely executive powers, legislative powers and discretionary powers. The Executive powers of the Governor empower him to administrate, appoint and remove. It works as follows. Appointment of the Chief Minister The Constitution of India vests a set of executive powers in the Governor of the State. The Governor appoints the Chief Minister following the general elections. Once the general elections are over for the state assembly, the process of forming the government begins. The Governor invites the person who has the support of the majority of members in the Legislative Assembly to take charge as the Chief Minister. Once the Chief Minister is appointed, the Governor also appoints the Council of Ministers and as per the advice of the Chief Minister, distributes the portfolios to the appointed ministers. The Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers cannot be dismissed as long as they enjoy a majority in the Legislative Assembly. If no party has won the majority seats in the Assembly during the General Elections, the Governor can use his discretionary powers to select a candidate to become the Chief Minister who will have to prove his or her majority at the earliest possibility. The other powers of the Governor The Governor has the power to appoint a large number of top-level officials in the state including the Advocate General, Chairman and Members of the State Public Service Commission, and the State Election Commissioner. The President of India consults the Governor in the appointment of High Court Judges while the Governor appoints the judges of the District Courts himself. Where the powers of the Governor supersede the powers of the Chief Minister The Chief Minister has no powers to advise the Governor on the functions that he exercises under his discretion. Article 192 empowers the Governor to disqualify a given member of the state Legislature if the Election Commission finds that the legislator is not complying with the provisions found in the article 191. Enabled by the powers given to the Governor by Articles 165 and 177, the Governor can depute the Advocate General to watch the proceedings of both the houses of the State’s Legislature and report if there had been any unlawful functioning.

What are the powers of a Governor?

<keyword id="7730956" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="article-371-of-the-indian-constitution">Article 371 of the Indian Constitution</keyword> is connected to granting special provisions for some states of the Indian Union. As part of XXI and XXII of the Constitution of India, <keyword id="1088013" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Article-371">Article 371</keyword> grants some temporary, transition and special provisions to some states in the country. Ranging from Article 371-A to Article 371-J, this Article gives special provisions for the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka. The main objectives behind the Article 371 granting special provisions to some states are to meet the unique needs of the backward regions of these states, protect the economic and cultural interests of these regions, combat the local challenges and protect the customary laws in these regions. Article 371 – Provision for Gujarat and Maharashtra This article provides special powers to the governors of Gujarat and Maharashtra to create independent development boards for Vidarbha, Marathwada and the rest of Maharashtra and Saurashtra, Kutch and the rest of Gujarat. It gives room to provide more facilities for employment opportunities, vocational and technical education in the state. Article 371-B – Special provisions for Assam This article empowers the President to include a committee of the elected tribal representatives of the Assam Legislative Assembly for the constitution. Article 371-C – Special provisions for Manipur It provides for creating a committee for the constitution and functions of the legislative assembly with the members elected from the hilly regions of the state. The governor will have the responsibility to secure the powers of this committee and the central government can instruct the state government on the administration of the hilly areas. Article 371-D – Special Provisions for Andhra Pradesh The President can provide equal opportunities for the local populace in public education and employment. The President can ask the state to create an administrative tribunal to solve all the disputes with regard to appointments and promotions to civil posts in the state. Via Article 371-E, a Central University was established in Andhra Pradesh. Article 371–G – Provisions for Mizoram This article says without the consent of the State Legislative Assembly, the Parliament cannot decide on the matters of the religious and social practices of the Mizos, civil and criminal law of the land, land ownership transfer, and customary law procedures. Article 371-H – Special provisions for Arunachal Pradesh This article gives special powers to the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, on the directions from the President with regard to the law and order in the state. Though the Governor will consult the Council of Ministers, the governor’s decision will be final. Only when the President directs, the special powers of the Governor can cease. Article 371-I – Special provision for Goa As per this article, the State Legislative Assembly of Goa will consist of not less than 30 members. Article 371-J – Special provisions for Karnataka This Article gives room for some special provisions to the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. The President gives special responsibilities to the Governor of Karnataka to create a separate board to develop the Hyderabad-Karnataka regions. Every year, a report regarding the working of this board will be presented before the State Legislative Assembly. Equitable funds must be allotted for developing these regions. There will be reservation of seats for the education and vocational training of the students from this region besides reservation in the jobs with the state government for persons hailing from this region.

What is Article 371 of the Indian Constitution - All you need to know

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50982238.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
 The appointment of ex-IAS officer and World Bank expert <keyword id="3245163" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Parameswaran-Iyer">Parameswaran Iyer</keyword> as secretary in the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, which pilots the <keyword id="6361202" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Swachh-Bharat">Swachh Bharat</keyword> Mission, may be seen as unconventional but lateral entry of private-sector technocrats has for long been the norm in key government positions requiring a certain skill. 
 Iyer joins the league of experts technocrats like Mantosh Sondhi, a Bokaro Steel import who went on to become steel secretary in seventies; Lovraj who was brought from Burmah Shell and was petroleum secretary between 1981and 1983; BEST's R V Shahi who was hired as power secretary by then power minister Suresh Prabhu; economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia who was hand-picked by then PM Manmohan Singh to serve as deputy chairman of Planning Commission; economist Raghuram Rajan who is now RBI governor; chief economic adviser to government of India Arvind Subramanian who comes from Peterson Institute for International Economics; and Infosys <keyword id="44604" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nandan-Nilekani">Nandan Nilekani</keyword> who piloted the Unique Identification Authority of India, to name a few. 
 
Even though lateral recruitment of private sector experts and technocrats in top secretary-level government posts, especially those demanding a given set of skills and expertise, has been upheld by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission as well as in the 7th Pay Commission report, the regular refrain form the civil services associations is that it saps the morale of IAS officers. 
 
"But, ultimately , it is up to the government and UPSC to decide who to hire...if a certain private-sector candidate is very good and has the right type of qualification and skills for that post, they have every right to recruit him," Former cabinet secretary Naresh Chandra said. However, the general feeling is that lateral recruitment should be an exception rather than the rule.The government, incidentally , is on board with this. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

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What are the powers of a Governor?

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What is Article 371 of the Indian Constitution - All you need to know

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Parameswaran Iyer, new Swachh head joins long list 'outsiders' in the government

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