Laxmikanth Summary: Cabinet Committees | Indian Polity for UPSC CSE PDF Download

What is the Cabinet Committee?

A Cabinet committee is a group of ministers that can make collective decisions that are binding across various ministries/departments. They are an organizational device to reduce the enormous workload of the Cabinet which also facilitates in-depth examination of policy issues and effective coordination.

Features 

The following are the features of Cabinet Committees:

• They are extra-constitutional in emergence. In other words, they are not mentioned in the Constitution.
• They are of two types standing and ad hoc. The former is permanent while the latter is temporary. The ad hoc committees are constituted from time to time to deal with special problems.
• They are set up by the Prime Minister according to the exigencies of the time and requirements of the situation.
• Their membership varies from three to eight. They usually include only Cabinet Ministers.
• They not only include the Ministers in charge of subjects covered by them but also include other senior Ministers.
• They are mostly headed by the Prime Minister. Sometimes other Cabinet Ministers, particularly the Home Minister or the Finance Minister, also act as their Chairman.
• They not only sort out issues and formulate proposals for the consideration of the Cabinet but also take decisions. However, the Cabinet can review their decisions. 

List of Cabinet Committees

At present, there are 8 Cabinet Committees:

• Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.
• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.
• Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
• Cabinet Committee on Security.
• Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs.
• Cabinet Committee on Accommodation.
• Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth.
• Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development.

Functions

(a) Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.

• It addresses problems related to Centre-state relations.
• It also examines economic and political issues that require a wider perspective but have no internal or external security implications.

(b) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

• It is supposed to review economic trends, problems, and prospects for evolving a consistent and integrated economic policy, coordinate all activities requiring policy decisions at the highest level, and deal with the fixation of prices of agricultural produce and prices of essential commodities.
• It considers proposals for investment of more than Rs 1,000 crore, deals with industrial licensing policies, and reviews rural development and the Public Distribution System.

(c) Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

• It makes appointments to posts of the three service chiefs, Director General of Military Operations, chiefs of all Air and Army Commands, Director General of Defence Intelligence Agency, etc.
• It decides on all important empanelments and shifts of officers serving on Central deputation.

(d) Cabinet Committee on Security

• It deals with issues relating to law and order, internal security, and policy matters concerning foreign affairs with internal or external security implications and also goes into economic and political issues related to national security.
• It considers all cases involving capital defense expenditure of more than Rs 1,000 crore and also issues related to the Department of Defence Production and the Department of Defence Research and Development, Services Capital Acquisition plans, and schemes for procurement of security-related equipment.

(e) Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs

• It draws the schedule for Parliament sessions and monitors the progress of government business in Parliament.
• It scrutinizes non-government businesses and decides which official Bills and resolutions are to be presented.

(f) Cabinet Committee on Accommodation

• It determines the guidelines or rules about the allotment of government accommodation.
• It also takes a call on the allotment of government accommodation to non-eligible persons and organizations as the rent to be charged from them.
• It can consider the allotment of accommodation from the General Pool to Members of Parliament.
• It can consider proposals for shifting existing Central Government Offices to locations outside the capital.

(g) Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth

• It will identify key projects required to be implemented on a time-bound basis, involving investments of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or any other critical projects, as may be specified by it, with regard to infrastructure and manufacturing.
• It will prescribe time limits for giving requisite approvals and clearances by the ministries concerned in identified sectors and will also monitor the progress of such projects.

(h) Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development

• It is supposed to provide direction to all policies, programs, schemes, and initiatives for skill development aimed at increasing the employability of the workforce for effectively meeting the emerging requirements of the rapidly growing economy and mapping the benefits of demographic dividend.
• It is required to enhance workforce participation, foster employment growth and identification, and work towards the removal of gaps between requirements and availability of skills in various sectors.
• It will set targets for expeditious implementation of all skill development initiatives by the ministries and periodically review the progress in this regard.
• The Cabinet Committees except for the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation and Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs are headed by Prime Minister.
• Currently, the Cabinet Committee on Accommodation is headed by the Home Minister and the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs is the Defence Minister.
• Of all the Cabinet Committees, the most powerful is the Political Affairs Committee, often described as a Super-Cabinet.

Criticism Of Cabinet Committees

• Sometimes, they are established on very trivial issues.
• Non-cabinet ministers are rarely appointed and memberships depend more on political considerations.

Groups of Ministers

1. Purpose of Groups of Ministers (GoMs): GoMs are formed to address specific issues and provide recommendations or make decisions on behalf of the Cabinet.

2. Temporary and Ad Hoc Nature: GoMs are temporary bodies created for emergent issues, and they disband once their advice is finalized.

3. Coordination Among Ministries: GoMs serve as effective instruments for coordinating activities among ministries, involving ministers heading the relevant departments.

4. Recommendations by the Administrative Reforms Commission: The Second Administrative Reforms Commission made key observations and recommendations regarding the functioning of GoMs.

5. Issues with a Large Number of GoMs: A significant number of GoMs led to irregular meetings and substantial delays in addressing major issues.