According to the Article 75 of the Indian Constitution, the total number of ministers (including the Prime Minister) in the Council of Ministers shall NOT exceed what percentage of the total members of the House of the People, i.e., Lok Sabha?
15%
Article 75 of the Indian Constitution deals with the appointment, tenure, and other conditions of service of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers at the Union level. Clause 75(1A), inserted by the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, introduced an upper limit on the size of the Council of Ministers for the first time — prior to this amendment, there was no constitutional cap, and cabinets at the Centre and in some states had at times grown very large.
Article 75(1A) states that the total number of Ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Council of Ministers shall not exceed fifteen per cent (15%) of the total number of members of the House of the People (Lok Sabha). An identical 15% cap was simultaneously introduced for state Legislative Assemblies under Article 164(1A), applying the same principle to state Councils of Ministers relative to their Assembly strength.
With the Lok Sabha's total strength at 543 members, the ceiling works out to approximately 543 × 15% ≈ 81 ministers, including the Prime Minister — meaning the Union Council of Ministers cannot legally exceed this number.
The 91st Amendment was enacted primarily to curb the practice of forming unusually large, unwieldy cabinets — often driven by the need to accommodate coalition partners or manage political pressures — which increased the burden on the public exchequer and diluted the effectiveness of cabinet decision-making. The same amendment also strengthened the anti-defection provisions in the Tenth Schedule, closing an earlier loophole that had allowed one-third of a party's legislators to defect without disqualification.
The other percentage figures suggested do not correspond to the constitutionally mandated ceiling; only fifteen per cent is the correct, explicitly stated limit under Article 75(1A) and its counterpart Article 164(1A) for the states.
Similar Questions
According to the Article 75 of the Indian Constitution, the total number of ministers (including the Prime Minister) in the Council of Ministers shall NOT exceed what percentage of the total members of the House of the People, i.e., Lok Sabha?
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Power Meaning 1. Commutation e. Substitution of one form of punishment for a lighter one (e.g., death → life imprisonment) 2. Reprieve d. Temporary stay on the execution of a sentence (delay, not cancellation) 3. Respite b. Award of a lesser sentence in special cases (e.g., pregnancy, disability) 4. Remission c. Reducing the period of sentence without changing its nature 5. Pardon a. Completely removes bold the sentence and the conviction Which of the following Articles states about the right of individual to form associations or unions or co-operative societies?
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Pardoning Power — Function
1. Commutation
2. Reprieve
3. Respite
4. Remission
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According to the Article 75 of the Indian Constitution, the total number of ministers (including the Prime Minister) in the Council of Ministers shall NOT exceed what percentage of the total members of the House of the People, i.e., Lok Sabha?
According to the Article 75 of the Indian Constitution, the total number of ministers (including the Prime Minister) in the Council of Ministers shall NOT exceed what percentage of the total members of the House of the People, i.e., Lok Sabha?
Which of the following Articles states about the right of individual to form associations or unions or co-operative societies?
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