Compare the powers and function of the president of USA and the Prime Minister of India.
The powers and functions of US President:
i. Commander in chief -The president is the highest-ranking officer in the armed services.
ii. Chief of state - Acting as chief of state is a president's most visible function, whether meeting the heads of other countries, welcoming astronauts or college football champions to the White House, or opening the Olympic Games. Although largely ceremonial, the role of chief of state makes an important statement to the world and the nation about the president as a leader.
iii. Diplomat - The president not only decides the direction of American foreign policy but also plays an important role in carrying it out.
iv. Chief executive - The president is the chief administrator, or chief bureaucrat, of the nation and is ultimately responsible for all the programs in the executive branch. Responsible for seeing that 'all laws are faithfully executed,' a president sets the broad policy for the executive departments and agencies rather than managing their day-to-day operations.
v. Legislator - A president does not simply propose legislation but is actively involved in seeing that it becomes law. The White House staff maintains close contacts with Congress, while the president meets with Congressional leaders to press for passage of bills and calls individual members of Congress to ask for their vote. In instances of a divided government, in which the White House and Congress are controlled by different political parties, the president can appeal directly to the people for support.
The functions and power Prime Minister:
i. Head of Government: The Prime Minister is Head of Government. Although the President of India is vested with many executive powers, in actual practice he or she acts only at the advice of the Prime Minister and the cabinet. All major appointments of the Union Government are virtually made by the Prime Minister and all the major decision-making bodies likes the Union Cabinet, Planning Commission, Cabinet Committee functions under his supervision and direction.
ii. Leader of the Cabinet: The Prime Minister is the leader of the cabinet. It is he who presides over meetings of the cabinet and determines what business shall be transacted at these meetings. The Prime Minister, as Chairman of the cabinet can influence cabinet decisions which are made by consensus more often than by voting. It is for the Prime Minister to sum of the sense of the meeting and declare the consensus. His resignation involves the resignation of all ministers.
iii. Link between President and the cabinet: Article 78 of the constitution defines the duties of the Prime Minister, and in the discharge of those duties reacts as a link between the President and the cabinet. The duties defined in this Article are. (a) to communicate to the President all decisions of the council of ministers, (b) to furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the union and proposals for legislation as the President may call for; and (c) if the President so requires, to submit for the consideration of the council of ministers any matter of which a decision has been taken by a minister but which has not been considered by the council.
iii. Leader of the Parliament: The Prime Minister is the leader of the Parliament. He determines the dates of its meetings, as also its programmes for the session. He decides when the Houses is to be prorogued or dissolved. He is the chief spokes man of the Government in the House and it is he who usually keeps it informed about the Government's intentions. As leader of the House, the Prime Minister is in a special position of special advantage. He makes announcement of principal Government policies and answers questions on super-departmental lines.
