- The (Indian) Union Government or the Central Government (as opposed to State Governments) governs the union of 28 states and 7 Union Territories (UTs). This union is the Republic of India. The seat of the government is the Indian Capital – New Delhi.
- The government has three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.
- Indian has a Parliamentary form of government.
- The constitutional head of the Indian Executive is the President.
- The council of the Parliament consists of the President, the Upper House – the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and the Lower house, the House of the People (Lok Sabha). Lok Sabha Members –
- Members of Parliament or MPs – are democratically elected.
- A Council of Ministers selected by the Prime Minister, with the Prime Minister as the head advise the President, who exercises his functions in accordance with the advice.
- The Prime Minister with the Ministers are the real executive power and the President is more of a ceremonial role.
- Each state has a similar structure, with the Governor of the state reporting to the president acting on his behalf and a state Legislative Assembly which consists of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs). MLAs like the MPs are democratically elected representives.
- A council of ministers with the Chief Minister as the head of the Legislative Assembly, advice the Governor in discharging executive functions.
- Legislative powers are distributed between Parliament (Central Government) and State legislatures (State Government) as per the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.
- Indian President is the head of the state and exercises his or her power directly or through officers subordinate to him.
- Lok Sabha, the lower house and Rajya Sabha, the upper house, form the legislative branch.
- The Supreme Court, 21 High Courts, and many civil, criminal and family courts at the district level form the Judiciary.
- The Civil Procedure Code, the Indian Penal Code, and the Criminal Procedure Code laid down by parliamentary legislation form the basic Civil and Criminal laws.
- Just like the central government, state governments too consist of the executive, the legislative and the judicial branches. The legal system is based on the English Common and Statutory Law.
- The Panchayat Raj system for local governance has been institutionalized by the 73rd and 74th constiturional amendments.
- International Court of Justice jurisdiction is accepted by India, with some reservations.