Discuss the role of the Vice-President of India as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
Approach · directive: “discuss”
What it asks · Explain the Vice-President's constitutional position as ex officio Chairman and how he presides, regulates and represents the House, with concerns about impartiality.
The question has 3 parts — answer each
- Discuss: the constitutional basis of the Vice-President's position as ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
- Discuss: the functions — presiding, regulating business, casting vote, committees, discipline and Tenth Schedule decisions
- Discuss: the concerns about impartiality and the conventions that sustain the office
Open with · The Vice-President is not a member of the Rajya Sabha but presides over it as ex officio Chairman (Articles 64 and 89) and votes only to break a tie.
Cover
- Presiding officer: maintains order and decorum, decides who speaks, and rules on points of order under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.
- Regulating business: decides the admissibility of notices, motions and questions and refers bills and subjects to committees.
- Casting vote: does not vote in the first instance, but has a casting vote when votes are equal (Article 100).
- Committees: chairs key committees such as the Business Advisory, Rules and General Purposes Committees and constitutes Department-related Standing Committees.
- Discipline: directs disorderly members to withdraw, may suspend them under the rules, and decides Tenth Schedule disqualification petitions, subject to judicial review.
- Continuity: the elected Deputy Chairman presides in his absence, and when the Vice-President acts as President he does not perform the Chairman's duties (Article 64).
- Concerns: the office can be removed only by a resolution of the House (Article 67(b)); recurring disputes over suspensions and divisions test its neutrality.
Close with · The office runs on convention: impartial, firm and consultative chairing preserves the Council's role as a deliberative and revising chamber.
Add value (verified)
- Article 89(1) makes the Vice-President ex officio Chairman of the Council of States (Rajya Sabha). The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2024), Article 89(1) — Legislative Department ↗“The Vice-President of India shall be ex officio Chairman of the Council of States.”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2022, GS Paper II — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer · 218 words (UPSC limit 150) · Minimalist IAS
The Vice-President is ex officio Chairman of the Council of States (Article 89), presides over a House of which he is not a member (Article 64), and votes only to break a tie.
Presiding over the House
- Maintains order and decorum, decides who speaks and for how long, and rules on points of order under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business.
- Regulates business: decides the admissibility of notices, motions and questions, and refers bills and subjects to committees.
- Casting vote: does not vote in the first instance, but has a casting vote when the House is equally divided (Article 100).
Committees and discipline
- Chairs the Business Advisory, Rules and General Purposes Committees and constitutes the Department-related Standing Committees.
- Directs disorderly members to withdraw, may suspend them under the rules, and decides disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule, subject to judicial review.
Continuity and concerns
- The elected Deputy Chairman presides in his absence; when the Vice-President acts as President he does not perform the Chairman's duties (Article 64).
- Removal only by a resolution of the Rajya Sabha (Article 67(b)) protects the office, yet recurring disputes over suspensions, divisions and anti-defection decisions test its neutrality.
The office runs on convention: impartial, firm and consultative chairing keeps the Rajya Sabha a deliberative and revising chamber rather than an arena.
Written by Minimalist IAS from facts checked at source (how we verify) — a little fuller than exam length, so every part of the question is covered; in the hall, keep the structure and trim the detail. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.