Institutions

Election Commission of India

The Election Commission of India is the permanent constitutional body that runs the country's elections. Under Article 324 of the Constitution it holds the superintendence, direction and control of the electoral rolls and of elections to Parliament, the State Legislatures, and the offices of the President and Vice-President. A three-member commission — a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners with equal powers — it also enforces the Model Code of Conduct once polls are called. It is the referee of Indian democracy, and its independence is the institution's central claim.

Parliament of India

Parliament of India is the union legislature and the only body that can make law for the whole of India, amend the Constitution, and authorise the spending of public money. It is bicameral: a directly elected Lok Sabha that commands the purse and can alone unseat a government, and an indirectly elected Rajya Sabha that represents the states and never dissolves. Every other seat of power in the union — the executive's budget, the size of the Supreme Court, the boundaries of constituencies — is defined by an Act that passed through these two chambers.

Reserve Bank of India

The Reserve Bank of India is India's central bank and monetary authority. It sets the policy interest rate through its Monetary Policy Committee, regulates and supervises banks, manages the currency and foreign-exchange reserves, and acts as banker to the government. Established in 1935 and headquartered in Mumbai, it is the institution that steers the price of money in India.