Class 5 Social Studies Chapter 21 Notes from the chapter – Our Government
Class 5 Social Studies Chapter 21 Notes
Levels of Government
It is not possible for a single government to look after the entire country properly. So, our government has three different levels. All three levels have some responsibilities of work.
- Local Level β Village, town or city
- State Level β Entire state
- National Level β Entire country
πRead more about the Structure of the government in India
The Local Government
- works at the local level.
- Based in the villages (Rural Administration)
- Based in the towns or cities (Urban Administration)
The State Government
- works at the state level.
- Based in the capital city of a state. (example; Gandhinagar of Gujarat)
The Central Government (or Union Government)
- works at the national level.
- Based in the capital city of our country. (New Delhi)
Types of Local Government
(Class 5 SST Chapter 21 Notes) Villages β Panchayati Raj System (Gram Panchayat, Block Panchayat, District Panchayat) Towns or cities β Municipal Boards (Municipal Council, Municipal Councils)
Responsibilities of the Government
Some of the responsibilities of a State Government
- Education facilities
- Health care facilities
- Transport
- Maintaining Law and Order
Some of the responsibilities of the Central Government
- Defense of the country
- Relationships with other countries
- Railways
Some of the responsibilities of a Local Government
- Water supplies
- Maintaining cleanliness
- Fire services
Relationship Between the Centre and the States
(Class 5 SST Chapter 21 Notes) The Central Government provides help to the state governments whenever required. All three levels work with cooperation and coordinate wherever required.
The relationship between different levels of government and their responsibilities are clearly mentioned in our Constitution. The constitution is a set of rules according to which our country is run.
The Central Government
(Class 5 SST Chapter 21 Notes) The main responsibility of the Central Government is to make laws for the country and implement them. The Lawmaking body of the Central Government is called the Parliament. Parts of the Parliament
- Lower House (Lok Sabha or the House of the people)
- Upper House (Rajya Sabha or the Permanent House or Council of States)
- The President
LOK SABHA
- Our country is divided into smaller divisions for fair elections. These divisions are called constituencies.
- One Representative (Leader) is elected from each constituency through the General Elections.
- People participate in the General Elections. (LOK refers to the people)
- The working period of Lok Sabha is 5 years.
- Max Strength of Lok Sabha is 552.
>> 530 constituencies from all the states.
>> 20 constituencies from all the Union Territories.
>> 2 Nominations from the Anglo-Indian Community. - Present Lok Sabha strength is 545. (according to 2019 elections)
The Lok Sabha Speaker ensures the smooth proceedings of the House.
Age Criteria
- For voting β 18+ years of age.
- For contesting Lok Sabha Elections β 25+ years of age
- For contesting the President elections β 35+ years of age
RAJYA SABHA
- The maximum number of seats (maximum strength) is 250 (=238+12).
- 238 are elected by the Members of Legislative Assembly of the states.
(Hence, also called the “Council of States“. - 12 members are nominated by the President.
- One-Third of the members retire every two years and new members replace them. After the next two years, another one-third of the members retire and new members join.
- Every member remains the member for 6 years.
- Rajya Sabha always has members in the house. Hence, it is also called the “Permanent House”.
THE PRESIDENT
- The president is elected for five years by
>> MLAs – The members of the legislative assemblies of all the states and UTs.
>> MPs – Members of Parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) - The President is the head of the country.
- The age criteria for the President is 35 years.
The General Elections
- It is called the general election (Aam Chunav) because everyone who is eligible participate in this election.
- The Lok Sabha members are elected by the General Election held every 5 years.
- There are two groups of Lok Sabha members – (Ruling Party and Opposition)
- Any political party (or Alliance of parties) with more than 50% seats will make the government.
- The political party will be the ruling party.
- The remaining members from other parties will be in opposition.
- The latest general elections were held in 2019. (17th General Elections)
- Earlier Ballot Paper voting was used but now EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) is used in elections.
The Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers
(Class 5 SST Chapter 21 Notes) The ruling party chooses some of its members and gives them the responsibilities of the work in the government.
- The implementation work is executed by a group of ministers called the Council of Ministers.
- The Prime Minister is the head of the Central Government.
- The other ministers look after various departments like agriculture, finance, defense, industry, health, etc.
State Governments
- Laws for each state are made in the State Legislative Assembly.
- The members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) are elected for 5 years directly by the people of the state.
- The Chief Minister is the head of the State Government.
- The Governor is the head of the state.
- The Governor is appointed by the President.
Courts
- Courts in India make sure that all the laws and rules of the Constitution are followed properly.
- Courts give justice to anyone whose fundamentals rights have been denied.
- There are three levels of courts in India:
(1) National level – The Supreme Court (New Delhi)
(2) State level – The State High Court
(3) District level – The District and Session Courts
Class 5 SST Chapter 21 Notes
Also read:
Class 5 SST Chapter 21 Question Answers
Class 5 SST Chapter 21 Extra Questions
Class 5 SST Chapter 21 Online Test