UPSC Prelims 2015 · Question 44 of 98
UPSC Prelims 2015 question on Union Executive Power Civil Services Board
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2015
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectPolity
- TopicConstitutional Bodies
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
Consider the following statements:
1. The Executive Power of the Union of India is vested in the Prime Minister.
2. The Prime Minister is the ex officio Chairman of the Civil Services Board.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: D. Neither 1 nor 2
Verdict
The answer is neither 1 nor 2. Executive power is vested in the President, and the Cabinet Secretary chairs the Civil Services Board.
Analysis
Statement 1 is INCORRECT. Article 53 vests the executive power of the Union in the President, and Article 77 provides that all executive action is expressed to be taken in the President's name. The Prime Minister heads the Council of Ministers that actually exercises that power, but the vesting is in the President. Statement 2 is INCORRECT. The Civil Services Board, constituted to advise on postings and tenure of civil servants, is chaired ex officio by the Cabinet Secretary, not by the Prime Minister.
Source
M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity, page 220, with news reporting on the constitution of Civil Services Boards.
How to crack it
Whenever a statement places the Prime Minister in a formal constitutional slot, treat it as suspect, because the Constitution names the President for almost every formal vesting. Then apply the second rule for administrative bodies: a board dealing with the civil service is chaired by the head of the civil service, which is the Cabinet Secretary. Both statements fail on the same underlying habit of confusing political leadership with formal or administrative office.