Vice President of India

GS 2 – Polity

The Vice President of India is the second-highest constitutional authority in the country

1. Constitutional Provisions

• The Vice President (VP) of India is mentioned in Articles 63 to 71 of the Indian Constitution.
• The Vice President is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (Article 64).
• The office of the Vice President is modeled on the US system, but with some differences.

2. Election of the Vice President

• Article 66: The Vice President is elected by an Electoral College consisting of:
  • Members of both Houses of Parliament (Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha).
  • Nominated members of both houses also participate in the election (unlike the Presidential election).
  • Election follows the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote (STV).
  • Voting is done through a secret ballot.

Eligibility Criteria (Article 66(3))

A candidate must:

1. Be a citizen of India.
2. Be at least 35 years old.
3. Be qualified to be a member of the Rajya Sabha.
4. Not hold any office of profit under the Government of India, State Government, or any public authority.

Tenure & Removal

• The Vice President has a tenure of 5 years but can continue in office until the successor assumes charge.
• Can resign by submitting a letter to the President.
• Can be removed by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha passed by an absolute majority and agreed upon by the Lok Sabha (does not require impeachment like the President).

3. Powers & Functions

• Chairman of Rajya Sabha: Presides over the upper house but does not vote except in case of a tie.
• Acts as the President in case of vacancy (due to resignation, removal, death, or incapacity) until a new President is elected.
• Unlike the President, the Vice President does not have executive powers.

4. Comparison with US Vice President

Feature	Indian Vice President	US Vice President
Election	Indirectly elected by MPs	Indirectly elected with the President
Term	5 years	4 years
Role in Legislature	Presides over Rajya Sabha	Presides over Senate
Succession	Becomes Acting President	Becomes President permanently if President dies