With reference to Union Government, consider the following statements : 1. The Ministries/Departments of the Government of India are created by the Prime Minister on the advice of the Cabinet Secretary. 2. Each of the Ministries is assigned to a Minister by the President of India on the advice of the Prime Minister. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

Statement 2 is correct: Article 75 makes clear that the President appoints the other ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister, which implies that allocation of ministries/portfolios to ministers follows the President acting on the Prime Minister’s recommendation [1]. Statement 1 is incorrect: the Cabinet Secretariat and secretaries are described as assisting and coordinating the work of ministries and providing background to ministers, not as the constitutional authority that creates ministries or departments; creation or reorganisation of ministries is an executive decision, not something formally ‘created by the Prime Minister on the advice of the Cabinet Secretary’ as stated [2]. Thus only statement 2 is accurate based on the cited provisions and administrative role descriptions [2].

Sources

1. [1] Laxmikanth, M. Indian Polity. 7th ed., McGraw Hill. > Chapter 21: Central Council of Ministers > Article 75-O ther Provisions as to Ministers > p. 213
2. [2] Democratic Politics-I. Political Science-Class IX . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 4: WORKING OF INSTITUTIONS > Prime Minister and Cer and Cer Council of Ministers > p. 66