Editing Politics of India (section)

==== Office of the Council of Ministers ====
{{main|Union Council of Ministers}}
The Union Council of Ministers is the [[Cabinet (government)|principal executive organ]] of the [[Government of India]], which functions as the senior decision-making body of the executive branch. It is chaired by the prime minister and consists of the heads of each of the executive government ministries.

A smaller executive body called the '''Union Cabinet''' is the supreme decision-making body in India; it is a subset of the Union Council of Ministers who hold important portfolios and [[Ministry (government department)|ministries]] of the government.

Pursuant to Article 75, a minister who works at the pleasure of the [[President of India|President]], is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
There are five categories of the council of ministers as given below, in descending order of [[Indian order of precedence|rank]]:

* [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]: Leader of the Union Council of Ministers.
* [[Deputy Prime Minister of India|Deputy Prime Minister]] (if any): Presides as prime minister in his absence or as the senior most cabinet minister.
* Cabinet Minister: A member of the Union cabinet; leads a [[Ministry (government department)|ministry]].
* Minister of State (Independent charge): Junior minister not reporting to a Cabinet Minister.
* [[Minister of State]] (MoS): Deputy Minister reporting to a Cabinet Minister, usually tasked with a specific responsibility in that ministry.