The Tamil Nadu Council of Ministers is the executive wing of the Government of Tamil Nadu and is headed by the State's Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, who is the head of government and leader of the state cabinet. The current state council of ministers were sworn in on 7 May 2021, following the 2021 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election.[1] The term of every executive wing is for 5 years. The council of ministers are assisted by department secretaries attached to each ministry who are from the Tamil Nadu cadre of the IAS.[2] The chief executive officer responsible for issuing orders on behalf of the Government is the Chief Secretary to the State Government, with Thiru. Shiv Das Meena being the current holder of that position.[3]
Constitutional requirement
For the Council of Ministers to aid and advise Governor
# There shall be a Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his function, except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.
If any question arises whether any matter is or is not a matter as respects which the Governor is by or under this Constitution required to act in his discretion, the decision of the Governor in his discretion shall be final, and the validity of anything done by the Governor shall not be called in question on the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted in his discretion.
The question whether any, and if so what, advice was tendered by Ministers to the Governor shall not be inquired into in any court.
This means that the Ministers serve under the pleasure of the Governor and he/she may remove them, on the advice of the Chief Minister, whenever they want.
The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister, and the Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor: Provided that in the States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, there shall be a Minister in charge of tribal welfare who may in addition be in charge of the welfare of the Scheduled Castes and backward classes or any other work.
# The Council of Minister shall be collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly of the State.
Before a Minister enters upon his office, the Governor shall administer to him the oaths of office and of secrecy according to the forms set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule.
A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the Legislature of the State shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a Minister.
The salaries and allowances of Ministers shall be such as the Legislature of the State may from time to time by law determine and, until the Legislature of the State so determines, shall be a specified in the Second Schedule.
Like any Indian state, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is the real head of the government and responsible for state administration. He is the leader of the parliamentary party in the legislature and heads the state cabinet.
Like any state, Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is the deputy head of the government and senior minister of cabinet after the Chief Minister and mostly the position was vacant.
State Cabinet
As per Indian Constitution, all portfolios of state government is vested in Chief Minister, who distribute various portfolio to individual ministers whom he nominates to the State Governor. The state governor appoints individual ministers for various portfolios and departments as per advice of Chief Minister and together form the State Cabinet. As the original portfolios are vested with CM, who delegates to others upon his/her wish, actions of individual ministers are part of collective responsibility of the state cabinet and Chief Minister is responsible for actions of each minister. The state cabinet along with Chief Minister, prepares General policy and individual department policy, which will be guiding policy for day-to-day administration of each minister.
