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.