1. Existing Organizational Structure

Article 77 of the Indian Constitution specifies the power of the President in terms of the conduct of business of the Government of India. It vests the following powers in the President:

♤ All executive action of the Government of India shall be expressed to be taken in the name of the President

♤ Orders and other instruments made and executed in the name of the President shall be authenticated in such manner as may be specified in rules to be made by the President, and the validity of an order or instrument which is so authenticated shall nor be called in question on the ground that it is not an order or instrument made or executed by the President

♤ The President shall make rules for the more convenient transaction of the business of the Government of India, and for the allocation among Ministers of the said business

Exercising powers vested by virtue of Article 77, the President has made the “The Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules”. The Rules stipulate that the business of the Government of India shall be transacted in the Ministries, Departments, Secretariats and Offices specified in the First schedule to these rules. The Allocation of Business Rules, thus, forms the basis of the structure of Government of India by specifying the Departments among whom the functional division of work of Government of India has been done.

The Allocation of Business Rules comprises an exhaustive listing of the subjects and activities of various Departments of Government of India. It also enlists the attached and subordinate offices and other organizations, including Public Sector Undertakings. This detailed listing has the advantage of clearly demarcating the turf of individual departments so that there is no ambiguity with regard to their responsibilities. The allocation of Business has been kept up to date by a series of amendments and has stood the test of time.