RAS question
Article 78 imposes a duty on the Prime Minister to:
Correct answer: (A) Communicate decisions of the Council of Ministers to the President and furnish information as required.
Article 78 makes it the Prime Minister's duty to communicate Council of Ministers decisions to the President and furnish information that the President calls for.
Explanation
Article 78 is not a general list of prime ministerial powers; it is a precise constitutional duty to keep the President informed. It requires the Prime Minister to communicate all Council of Ministers decisions on Union administration and legislative proposals to the President, furnish information on those matters when the President asks for it, and, if the President so requires, place before the Council any ministerial decision that the Council has not considered. That is why option A is the right fit: it captures the information channel between the Council of Ministers and the President, which is the core of Article 78.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Recommending dissolution of the Lok Sabha is not one of the duties listed in Article 78, which deals with communicating decisions and furnishing information to the President.
- (C) The Attorney-General is appointed by the President under Article 76, so this is outside the Prime Minister's duties under Article 78.
- (D) Presiding over Cabinet meetings may describe how Cabinet business is usually run, but Article 78 states duties towards the President, not chairing Cabinet meetings.
Concept
This tests the Union Executive, especially the constitutional link between the President, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. It recurs in RAS-style polity because the trap is the difference between a written constitutional duty and a political convention or a separate article.