Notes on the Formation of Council of Ministers of India
The Constitution of India provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as its head to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and other ministers are appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
However, in actual practice, the President appoints that person as Prime Minister who is the leader of the party or coalition of parties having absolute majority in the House of People (Lok Sabha). After that, the Prime Minister prepares a list of other ministers and they are formally appointed by the President.
The President cannot appoint any Minister against the wishes of the Prime Minister. The number of the members of Council of Ministers is not fixed by the Constitution. However, the number of Ministers cannot exceed 15 percent of the strength of Lok Sabha i.e., it cannot exceed 82 members.