Q. With reference to Cabinet Committees in Indian polity, consider the following statements:
1. All the Cabinet Committees are chaired by the Prime Minister.
2. Currently, there are twenty-four Cabinet Committees functioning in India.
3. No Cabinet Committee can take any binding decisions on any ministries/ departments without the approval of the full Cabinet.
How many of the above given statements are correct?
Exp) Option d is the correct answer.
Statement 1 is incorrect: Most (not all) of the Cabinet Committees are chaired by the Prime Minister. Especially those cabinet committees of which PM is a part, he/she is the chairman by default. However, other important Ministers like those of Finance or Home are also chairman of some important Cabinet Committees, for example the cabinet committee on Parliamentary Affairs is chaired by the Home Minister.
Statement 2 is incorrect: As of 2022, there are eight Cabinet committees functioning namely:
- Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
- Cabinet Committee on Accommodation
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
- Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs
- Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs
- Cabinet Committee on Security
- Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth
- Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development
Statement 3 is incorrect: Cabinet committee is a group of ministers which can take collective decisions that are binding across various ministries/departments. Cabinet Committees do make recommendations for the Cabinet to act upon, however, some of the Cabinet committees are also empowered to take decisions on their own. The decisions of Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs or the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is quite final and does not need the approval of the full Cabinet.
