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Question 66 of 78 · Union Executive: President, VP & PM
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Railway

The second-highest constitutional office in India is that of the:

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Answer: Option B — Vice-President

Detailed Solution

The Vice-President holds the second-highest constitutional office in India and ranks next to the President in the Table of Precedence.

Constitutional provisions:

  • Article 63 says that there shall be a Vice-President of India.
  • The office is modelled on the Vice-President of the United States.

Functions of the Vice-President:

  • He is the ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Article 64).
  • He acts as President when the office of President falls vacant because of death, resignation, removal or otherwise, until a new President is elected (Article 65).
  • He discharges the functions of the President when the President is unable to do so because of absence, illness or any other cause.
  • While acting as President, he does not perform the duties of Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Election:

  • He is elected by an electoral college consisting of all members of both Houses of Parliament, including nominated members.
  • Unlike in the presidential election, members of state legislatures do not take part.

Term and removal:

  • He holds office for five years.
  • He can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an effective majority and agreed to by the Lok Sabha.

Difference from the US Vice-President:

  • The American Vice-President succeeds the President for the rest of the term if the office falls vacant.
  • The Indian Vice-President acts as President only until a new President is elected.

Notable Vice-Presidents:

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the first Vice-President.

Dr. Zakir Husain, V.V. Giri, R. Venkataraman, Shankar Dayal Sharma and K.R. Narayanan, who later became Presidents.

Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned in July 2025 citing health reasons, and was succeeded by C.P. Radhakrishnan.

Salary:

The Vice-President does not get a separate salary for his office; he gets the salary of the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

Why not the other options?

  • ✗The Prime Minister is third in the Table of Precedence.
  • ✗The Chief Justice and the Speaker are sixth.

Quick tip

Remember: Vice-President = second-highest constitutional office; ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.

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Union Executive: President, VP & PM — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Union Executive: President, VP & PM, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers the Union Executive: the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, and the Attorney General. It includes their election or appointment, qualifications, powers, removal, and the relationship between the President and the Council of Ministers. Common questions cover the electoral college that elects the President, impeachment under Article 61, the President's ordinance-making power (Article 123) and pardoning power (Article 72), and the fact that the Vice-President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Lists of past Presidents and Prime Ministers are also tested. Practise the Union Executive questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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