Cabinet Secretariat

‘The Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister is responsible for the entire administration of the government of India (central administration). In this task, the Cabinet is assisted by the Cabinet Secretariat. ‘The Cabinet Secretariat is a staff agency to the Cabinet, operating under the direction and leadership of the Prime Minister of India. It has an important coordinating role in the process of policy-making at the highest level in the government. ‘The Cabinet Secretariat enjoys the position of a Department of the government of India under the Allocation of Business Rules 1961. It is headed administratively by the Cabinet Secretary, who controls, the whole administration. Under the leadership of the hard task master Prime Minister, Narendra Modi’s emphasis has been on the effective implementation. As a first step, the Cabinet Secretary has asked all the secretaries of various ministries to list achievements and failures together with their goals for the coming two-three years. It is after this that the cabinet secretariat may determine its future directions.

Organisation:

‘The Cabinet Secretariat has three wings’ Civil, Military and Intelligence. ‘The civil wing is the one which provides aid, advice and assistance to the Union Cabinet; the military wing provides secretariat assistance to the defence minister’s committee, the military affairs committee, the chiefs of staff committee, national defence council; while, the intelligence wing deals with matters related to the Joint Intelligence Committee of the Union Cabinet. ‘The Directorate of Public Grievances, headed by a Director, was created, in 1988, as an organ of the Cabinet Secretariat. ‘The directorate deals with the grievances of the people, relating to the organisations of the Union Government. Under the Cabinet Secretary, there are a large number of other secretaries to assist him in the discharge of his functions and responsibilities.

‘These secretaries belong to various ranks ranging from Under Secretary to Secretary. In addition, the Cabinet Secretariat has subject related advisors to the Prime Minister. ‘The functions of the Cabinet Secretariat are:

(1) preparing the agenda of the cabinet and providing the necessary information and material for its deliberations,

(2) keeping a record of the discussions and decisions of the Cabinet and Cabinet Committees and circulating them to all the concerned ministries,

(3) providing Secretariat assistance to the Cabinet Committees ‘ Political Affairs Committee (described sometimes as super cabinet), Economic Affairs Committee. Appointments committee (all the three are chaired by the Prime Minister) and Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (chairman’Home Minister),

(4) keeping the President, the Vice President and all the Central Ministers informed of the main activities of the Central Government,

(5) finalizing the rules of business of the government while allotting the business of the government among ministries/ departments of the Union Government with the President’s approval,

(6) coordinating all the functioning of the Central Government, settling, in the process disputes between the ministries,

(7) supervising the implementation of Cabinet decisions by the concerned ministries/departments and other executive agencies,

(8) handling the work pertaining to appointment and resignation of ministers, allotment of portfolios to the ministers and organisation and re-organisation of ministries.

‘The Cabinet Secretary is the administrative head of the secretariat. Being secretary of the cabinet secretariat, he, as a rule, attends the meetings of the cabinet and is present at all the cabinet committees:

(a) providing assistance to the Council of Ministers;

(b) acting as advisor and conscience keeper of the civil services;

(c) handling senior appointments;

(d) preparing the agenda of the Cabinet;

(e) attending the meetings of the Cabinet;

(f ) ensuring that the Cabinet decisions are implemented;

(g) advising the Prime Minister;

(h) acting as the Chairman of the Chief Secretaries Committee; and

(i) providing an element of continuity and stability.

As Cabinet Secretary, he is the ex-office chairman of the Civil Services Board, and therefore the head of the Indian Administrative Service. As a matter of convention, he is the senior most civil servant. He or she belongs to the Indian Administrative Service. He is, in fact, India’s most powerful bureaucrat.