The President of India has vast powers. They can be classified as Executive powers; Legislative powers; judicial powers; financial powers; and Emergency powers.

1. Executive Powers:

(i) The President is the head of the Republic of India;

(ii) He appoints the Prime Minister and his council of ministers;

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(iii) He appoints Governors of the states, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts, and the Attorney General;

(iv) He appoints the chairman and members of the Union Public Service Commission;

(v) He appoints the three chiefs of the armed forces. He himself is the supreme commander of the armed forces;

(vi) He appoints ambassadors and other diplomats to other countries;

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(vii) He nominates two members to the Lok Sabha and twelve to the Rajya Sabha.

2. Legislative Powers:

(i) He can summon or prorogue the Parliament;

(ii) He can dissolve the sitting Lok Sabha and call for fresh elections;

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(iii) He addresses a joint session of both the houses of the Parliament and gives an inaugural speech;

(iv) He gives his assent to every bill to become an act;

(v) He issues ordinances when the Parliament is not in session.

3. Judicial Powers:

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(i) He has the power to grant pardon, reprieve, or remit the sentence of punishment passed by a court, on an appeal for mercy; and

(ii) He can commute a death sentence to a life imprisonment.

4. Financial Powers:

(i) The President is required to lay before the parliament the annual and the supplementary budget;

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(ii) He is in charge of the contingency fund from which he can lend money during an unforeseen calamity;

(iii) His sanction is required before a money bill is introduced in the Parliament.

5. Emergency Powers:

The President can declare an emergency when:

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(i) The Security of the country is threatened by a foreign aggression or by internal disturbances;

(ii) There is a breakdown of the constitutional machinery; and

(iii) There is a threat to the nation’s financial stability.