{"id":1130,"date":"2026-08-09T18:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T13:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/pyq\/prime-ministers-office-pmo-has-emerged-as-the-most-powertul-upsc-psir-2019-1905\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T21:24:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T15:54:01","slug":"prime-ministers-office-pmo-has-emerged-as-the-most-powertul-upsc-psir-2019-1905","status":"publish","type":"psir_pyq","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/psir-pyq\/prime-ministers-office-pmo-has-emerged-as-the-most-powertul-upsc-psir-2019-1905\/","title":{"rendered":"Prime Minister&#8217;s Office (PMO) has emerged as the most powertul institution in India. Discuss."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pq-flow\">\n<div class=\"pq-flow-h\">Flow snapshot <em>\u2014 how the answer moves<\/em><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p1\"><span>Intro routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> Extra-constitutional, recognised only under the Allocation of Business Rules <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> PM (political) + Principal Secretary (admin) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> \u201cmost powerful\u201d claim rests on growth beyond the brief<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> PMO built only to assist the PM <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> real weight has outgrown that mandate <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> power is real, but not institutionally supreme<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p2\"><span>Body flow<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p>Strength tracks PM\u2019s style\/mandate <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> modest (Nehru) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> decision-centre (Indira) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> strong again (Modi, single-party majority) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Gupta<\/b> + <b class=\"pq-sc\">Jaffrelot<\/b>: centralisation tied to mandate <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> appointments + flagship programmes + foreign policy + crisis management <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> rivals Cabinet Secretariat + erodes ministerial autonomy + parallel cabinet <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Baru<\/b>: court-like concentration around the PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p3\"><span>Counter-view<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p>Power derivative + conditional <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> shrank under coalitions (Manmohan Singh) <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> no independent constitutional standing <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> dominance only mirrors executive centralisation <span class=\"pq-ar\">\u2192<\/span> <b class=\"pq-sc\">Arendt<\/b>: concentration weakens plurality + collective responsibility<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-fb\">\n<div class=\"pq-pill p4\"><span>Conclusion routes<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"pq-ft\">\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 1<\/i> PMO\u2019s rise = personalisation \/ centralisation of executive power, not the supremacy of an autonomous institution<\/p>\n<p class=\"pq-r\"><i class=\"pq-rt\">Route 2<\/i> Democratic balance needs Cabinet deliberation + transparency + a restored Cabinet Secretariat role<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"pyq_year":[37],"pyq_marks":[35],"pyq_topic":[60],"pyq_paper":[33],"class_list":["post-1130","psir_pyq","type-psir_pyq","status-publish","hentry","pyq_year-37","pyq_marks-15-marks","pyq_topic-principal-organs-of-the-union-and-state-government","pyq_paper-paper-1"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/psir_pyq"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1130\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4724,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/psir_pyq\/1130\/revisions\/4724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"pyq_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_year?post=1130"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_marks","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_marks?post=1130"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_topic?post=1130"},{"taxonomy":"pyq_paper","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pyq_paper?post=1130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}