How is a Major Policy Decision Taken

Working of Institutions

Major Policy Decision

• Government of India appointed a Commission in 1979, headed by B.P. Mandal, called Second Backward Commission.
• Commission gave a report in 1980. One of the suggestions was to reserve 27 percent of government jobs for Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC).
• This issue was discussed this for many years.
• Janata Dal won elections in 1989. V.P. Singh, the Prime Minister, decided to implement reservations.
• The President announced it in his address to the Parliament.
• On 6 August 1990, the Cabinet decided to implement and the Prime Minister announced it in both Houses of Parliament.
• The senior officers drafted an order, signed by an officer and it became the Memorandum issued on 13 August 1990.
• There was a heated debate on the issue and it was finally taken to the Supreme Court. The case was known as “Indira Sawhney and others vs Union of India case.”
• In 1992 Supreme Court declared the Mandal order as valid but asked for some modifications.

Need for Political Institutions

• A government has to perform various duties, formulate policies and implement them.
• Some have to formulate schemes, some have to take decisions, some have to implement the decisions.
• Hence the need for institutions to do all the above.
• The Constitution of a country lays down basic rules on powers and functions of each institution.
• The prime minister and the cabinet take all policy decisions.
• The civil servants take the steps to implement ministers decisions.
• Supreme court solves disputes between citizen and government.
• The institutions are the Legislative (Parliament), the Executive (the Government) and the Judiciary.