The parliamentary form of government adopted by India is also referred to as the:

India's parliamentary form of government is modelled on the British system, which is called the Westminster model after the Palace of Westminster in London, the seat of the British Parliament.

Features of the parliamentary system in India:

• There is a nominal executive (the President) and a real executive (the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers).
• The majority party or coalition in the Lok Sabha forms the government.
• Ministers must be members of Parliament, or must become members within six months.
• The government is collectively responsible to the lower House, which can remove it by a vote.
• The Prime Minister is the leader of the government and plays a central role.
• The lower House can be dissolved before its term ends on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Advantages:

• There is harmony between the executive and the legislature, because the government is drawn from the legislature.
• The government is responsible to elected representatives and can be removed if it loses support.
• It allows a wide representation of different groups.

Disadvantages:

• Governments can be unstable, especially when there is no clear majority.
• The executive may dominate the legislature when it has a large majority.

Why India chose this model:

• Indians were familiar with the parliamentary system through the legislatures set up under British rule.
• The framers felt that a responsible government was more suited to Indian conditions than a presidential system.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar said that the American system offered more stability, while the British system offered more responsibility, and the Constitution preferred responsibility.

Differences from the British system:

India has a written Constitution, an elected President instead of a hereditary monarch, and judicial review of laws.

Why not the other options?

• ✗The presidential model, as in the United States, separates the executive from the legislature.
• ✗The Swiss model has a plural executive.
• ✗The Soviet model was based on a single-party system.