Glossary and Important Information - Working of Institutions - Social Studies (SST) Class 9

Glossary and Important Information

1.  Bureaucracy : Large number of government officials who help the ministers to run the machinery of administration.

2.  Council of Ministers : A body of minister collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.

3.  Cabinet : A body of senior minister who control important ministries.

4.  Collective Responsibility : For any decision or action of the Cabinet, the Council of Ministers are collectively responsible. If any of the cabinet decisions are not approved by the Parliament the centire Council of Ministers has to resign.

5.  Emergency : Extraordinary or abnormal situation in a country.

6.  Ex-officio : By virtue of the position held.

7.  Electoral College : A specially constituted elected body to elect the President and vice president of India.

8.  Emergency Powers : Powers given to deal with an unexpected and critical situation.

9.  First among Equals : Ranking equal to other yet holding a position of pre-eminence.

10.  Impeachment. : A special parliamentary procedure to prosecute or to remove the President and Judges etc. for violation of the constitution.

11.  Money Bills. : Bills dealing with money matters like taxes, income, expenditure and grants.

12. No Confidence Motion : A motion moved by the opposition to prove that it has no confidence in the Council of Ministers. If such a motion is passed by the majority of members of the Lok Sabha the ministry has resign.

13. Ordinace. A : direction issued by the president when Parliament is not session. It has the form of law for six months.

14. Parliamentary form of Government : A system of government where parliament is supreme and the Council of Minister are collectively responsible to Parliament.

15. Planning Commission : An autonomous body headed by the Prime Minister and concerned with  matters related to five-year plans or economic planning.

16. President Rule : If the President gets a report from the Governor or any other source that the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution, he can imporse president’s rule. Government then becomes unitary in nature

17. Prorogue : To discontinue a meeting of Parliament for a time without dissolving it.

18. Starred Question : A question marked with a star for oral answer by a minister in parliament.

19.  Question Hour : During a parliamentary session, a time is fixed for asking questions and answer them orally.

20. Lok Sabha : The Indian Parliament is bicameral  in nature. The Lok Sabha also known as the lower House is composed of the elected representatives of the people.

21. Rajya Sabha : The Rajya Sabja or Upper House represents the interests of the states and Union Territories.

22. Speaker : He is the presiding officer of the Lok Sabha and is responsible for the efficient conduct of business in the Lok Sabha.

23. Executive : It is an organ of government which implements the laws passed by the legislature.

24. Legislative : It is the organ of government which makes laws and keeps a check on the executive.

25. Judiciary : It is the organ of government which ensures that justice is meted out impartially and settles disputes between the individuals and the state.

26. Apellate Jurisdiction : The power of a Superior Court to hear and decide appeals against the judgment of lower courts.

27. Civil Cases : Cases relating to property, taxes contracts etc.

28. Criminal Cases : Cases involving violation of penal laws such as murder, theft, assault etc.

29. Court of Record : The Supreme Court and the High Courts of Record. All their decisions and proceeding are recorded which can be used or cited in similar cases in future.

30. Independence of the Judiciary : The Constitution has made provisions to keep the judiciary independent of the control of the executive so that the judiciary is not biased in favour of the government.

31. Jurisdiction : Refers to the territorial limits within which the court’s authority can be exercised. Area of authority is called jurisdiction.

32. Original Jurisdiction : Type of cases which come directly before the supreme Court.

33. Lok Adalats : The People’s courts set up for the purpose of speedy settlement of certain disputes. They are like family courts.

34. Subordinate Courts : The courts which function under the supervision and order of the High court.

35. Unified judiciary : India has a single judicial system for the ent