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UPSC Prelims 2013 · Polity · President, PM & Union Executive
Consider the following statements:
- The Council of Ministers in the Centre shall be collectively responsible to the Parliament.
- The Union Ministers shall hold the office during the pleasure of the President of India.
- The Prime Minister shall communicate to the President about the proposals for legislation.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
Responsibility is to the Lok Sabha (so 1 fails); 2 is Art. 75(2); 3 is Art. 78.
Statement by statement
1. ✗ WRONG — Art. 75(3) Art. 75(3): collectively responsible to the House of the People (Lok Sabha), not to Parliament as a whole. The Rajya Sabha cannot remove a government.
2. ✓ CORRECT — Art. 75(2) Ministers hold office during the President’s pleasure — in practice, while they keep the PM’s and the Lok Sabha’s confidence.
3. ✓ CORRECT — Art. 78 Art. 78: the PM must communicate to the President all decisions of the Council of Ministers on administration and proposals for legislation.
The idea
Collective responsibility (Art. 75(3)) is why a no-confidence motion can be moved only in the Lok Sabha, and why the whole Council falls together. Individual responsibility is to the President (Art. 75(2)).
Lok Sabha: collective responsibility (75(3)) → President: individual pleasure (75(2)) → PM: channel to the President (78)
Why the others are wrong
(a) Picks only the one false statement.
(c) Keeps the “Parliament” version of collective responsibility.
(d) “Parliament” in statement 1 is the deliberate error.
The trap
“Parliament” and “Lok Sabha” are used loosely in the news. In the Constitution they are different, and UPSC relies on the difference.
🔒 CoM → Lok Sabha collectively (75(3)) · Ministers → President’s pleasure (75(2)) · PM → duty to inform the President (78).
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