Vice-President of India - General studies questions and answers
Vice-President of India - General studies questions for Prelims
After the President who occupies the highest ranked office in India, it is the Vice-President who occupies the second-highest office. Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was the first Vice-President of India, and the 14th and current Vice-President of India is Mohammad Hamid Ansari.
After Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, it is only Mohammad Hamid Ansari who has been elected for the post of Vice-President for two consecutive terms.
1. How is the Vice-President of India elected?
The post of the Indian Vice-President can be said to be analogous to that of the American Vice-President in many ways.
Vice-President of India is elected in a similar way to that of the President, by the system of Proportional Representation by means of a single transferable vote using secret ballot.
Unlike the election of the President, only the elected and nominated members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha participate in the voting process. The members of the State Legislative Assemblies do NOT participate participate in the voting process like they do for the President.
Only the Supreme court has the last word on any disputes arising on the election process of the Vice-President
If the Vice-President's election is found to be invalid, then any acts done by him prior to this date of invalidation are NOT considered invalid.
2. What is the eligibility for being the Vice-President of India?
Following are the necessary qualifications for being the Vice-President of India:
a) He should be a citizen of India
b) He should have completed 35 years of age
c) He should be qualified for election as a member of the Rajya Sabha (since his primary function is to be an ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha)
d) He should not hold any office of profit under the Union or state government or under any local authority of any public authority. However, a sitting President of Vice-President, governor, or a minister for the Union or state, are not deemed to hold an office of profit and are thus qualified contesting the Vice-Presidential election
3. What are the necessary conditions imposed upon the office of the Vice-President of India?
There are two necessary conditions:
a) The Vice-President cannot hold any other office of profit
b) If a member of either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha is elected to be Vice-President, then he is declared to have vacated his seat as a member of Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha starting from the date he enters the office of Vice-President
4. What are the Powers and Functions of the Vice-President of India?
a) The Vice-President acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha, and thus his scope of powers and duties is analogous to that of the Speaker of Lok Sabha.
b) Another important purpose of the post of Vice-President is that in the absence of the President due to any reason, the Vice-President acts as the President.
c) But the Vice-President can act as President only for a maximum period of 6 months only, after which the newly appointed President must take his charge.
c) The Vice-President acts as a temporary President when the latter can't fulfill his duties due to absence or illness or any such reason
5. What is the process of removal of Vice-President of India?
a) The Vice-President can be removed by a formal resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha which must be passed by an absolute majority. This means that the majority of the total capacity of the Rajya Sabha is needed in order to remove the Vice-President.
b) The above resolution must then be agreed to by the Lok Sabha too.
c) The primary power of removing the Vice-President of India is rested in the hands of the Rajya Sabha because the Vice-President is primarily concerned with the Rajya Sabha
d) Apart from removal, the Vice-President may also forward his resignation to the President.
6. What are the emoluments provided to the Vice-President of India?
a) According to the Salaries and Allowances of Officers of Parliament (Amendment) Act, 2008, the salary of the Vice-President is fixed at 1.25 lakh rupees per month.
b) Along with the above salary the Vice-President is also entitled to the following facilities: free furnished residence, medical, travel, daily allowances, etc.
c) Whenever the Vice-President is acting as the President, he will draw his salaries and benefits according to the post of the President.
