PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Organs of Government
Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has emerged as the most powertul institution in India. Discuss.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
rR! Extra-constitutional, recognised only under the Allocation of Business Rules → PM (political) + Principal Secretary (admin) → “most powerful” claim rests on growth beyond the brief R2 PMO built only to assist the PM → real weight has outgrown that mandate → power is real, but not institutionally supreme
Body flow
Strength tracks PM's style/mandate → modest (Nehru) → decision-centre (Indira) → strong again (Modi, single-party majority) → Gupta + Jaffrelot: centralisation tied to mandate → appointments + flagship programmes + foreign policy + crisis management → rivals Cabinet Secretariat + erodes ministerial autonomy + parallel cabinet → Baru: court-like concentration around the PM
Counter-view
Power derivative + conditional → shrank under coalitions (Manmohan Singh) → no independent constitutional standing → dominance only mirrors executive centralisation → Arendt: concentration weakens plurality + collective responsibility
Conclusion routes
R1 PMO’s rise = personalisation / centralisation of executive power, not the deed supremacy of an autonomous institution R2 Democratic balance needs Cabinet deliberation + transparency + a restored Cabinet Secretariat role
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
