Features of Cabinet Committees

The characteristics of Cabinet Committees include the following

1. They emerged outside of the Constitution. They are not listed in the Constitution, in other words. But their establishment is allowed by the Rules of Business. They come in two varieties: standing and ad hoc. While the latter are only transitory, the former are of a permanent character. The ad hoc committees are occasionally formed to address unique issues. Once their mission is accomplished, they are broken up.
2. The Prime Minister establishes them in accordance with the demands of the circumstance and the time constraints. As a result, their number, nomenclature, and makeup change with time.
3. They can have three to eight members. Typically, they are limited to Cabinet Ministers. Non-cabinet Ministers are not excluded from membership, though.
4. They comprise senior Ministers in addition to the Ministers in charge of the relevant issues.
5. The Prime Minister presides over them for the most part. Other Cabinet members occasionally serve as their chairman, most notably the Home or Finance Ministers. However, the Prime Minister always serves as its chair if he or she is a committee member.
6. They make choices in addition to sorting out problems and creating ideas for the Cabinet to examine. The Cabinet can, however, reconsider their choices.
7. They serve as a management tool to lessen the Cabinet’s considerable workload. They also make effective cooperation and in-depth analysis of policy concerns possible. They are founded on the concepts of efficient delegation and the division of labor.

Cabinet Committees List

There were the 13 Cabinet Committees listed below in 1994:

1. Cabinet Political Affairs Committee
2. The Cabinet Committee on Natural Disasters
3. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Matters
4. The Cabinet’s Appointments Committee
5. Cabinet Accommodation Committee Comittee of the Cabinet on Foreign Investment No.
6. Cabinet Commission on Drug Abuse Prevention
7. Cabinet Price Committee
8. Cabinet Minority Welfare Committee
9. Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee
10. Cabinet Trade and Investment Committee
11. Cabinet Expenditure Committee
12. Infrastructure Cabinet Committee

There were the following 10 Cabinet Committees in 2013:

1. Cabinet Economic Affairs Committee
2. Cabinet Price Committee
3. Cabinet Political Affairs Committee
4. The Cabinet’s Appointments Committee
5. Cabinet Security Committee Sixth Cabinet Committee on World Trade Organization (WTO) Issues
6. Cabinet Investment Committee
7. Concerns raised by the Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
8. Parliamentary Affairs Cabinet Committee
9. Cabinet Accommodation Committee

The following 8 Cabinet Committees are active as of this writing (2019):

1. Cabinet Political Affairs Committee
2. Cabinet Committee on Economic Issues
3. The Cabinet’s Appointments Committee
4. Cabinet Security Committee
5. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Matters
6. Cabinet Accommodation Committee
7. Cabinet Committee on Growth and Investment
8. Cabinet Committee on Skill Development and Employment

Cabinet Committees Purpose

The four cabinet committees listed below are the most significant:

1. The Political Affairs Committee handles all local and international policy issues.
2. The Economic Affairs Committee oversees and plans all government initiatives related to the economy.
3. All higher level appointments in the Central Secretariat, Public Enterprises, Banks, and Financial Institutions are decided by the Appointments Committee.
4. The Parliamentary Affairs Committee monitors the progress of parliamentary business.
   The Prime Minister presides over the first three committees, and the Home Minister over the fourth. The Political Affairs Committee, frequently referred to as a “Super-Cabinet,” is the most influential of all Cabinet Committees.