The Prime Minister and his Council of Ministers formulate and implement the policies which govern the country. In this context, answer the following questions:
Name the three categories of the Council of Ministers.
Topic: Categories of ministers
Answer
(1) Cabinet Ministers — the senior-most ministers, holding the important portfolios; they attend Cabinet meetings and decide policy. (2) Ministers of State — who may hold independent charge of a department or assist a Cabinet Minister; they do not ordinarily attend Cabinet meetings. (3) Deputy Ministers — the junior-most rank, who assist the Cabinet Ministers and the Ministers of State and are not members of the Cabinet.
One mark per category. Name them in order of seniority and add one line on what each does — the ranking is what the examiner checks. The distinction to keep clear throughout this chapter: the COUNCIL OF MINISTERS is the whole body of all three ranks, while the CABINET is only the top tier that actually meets and decides policy. Confusing the two terms is the commonest error here.