When the annual Union Budget is not passed by the Lok Sabha:

Answer: (d) The Prime Minister submits the resignation of Council of Ministers

The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. No money can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India without an appropriation law passed by Parliament. Defeat of the Budget in the Lok Sabha is therefore treated as a loss of confidence, and the Prime Minister submits the resignation of the whole Council of Ministers.

• ✓ (d) Article 75(3) makes the Council of Ministers collectively responsible to the House of the People. Article 114(3) bars withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund except under appropriation made by law. A government whose Budget is rejected by the Lok Sabha has lost its confidence and cannot fund its work. By the convention flowing from collective responsibility, the Prime Minister resigns along with the Council of Ministers.
• ✗ (a) The Constitution has no procedure for modifying a rejected Budget and presenting it again. A government that has lost the Lok Sabha's confidence cannot carry on.
• ✗ (b) Demands for grants are voted only by the Lok Sabha. On a Money Bill, the Rajya Sabha's role is limited to making recommendations, and the Lok Sabha is free to either accept or reject them. Sending a rejected Budget to the Rajya Sabha would not solve anything.
• ✗ (c) The responsibility is collective, not the Finance Minister's alone. The whole Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister, has to go.

Remember · Defeat of the Budget or a Money Bill in the Lok Sabha means loss of confidence. Because of collective responsibility under Article 75(3), the entire Council of Ministers resigns.

Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2011, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). · Report an error