/ Indian Polity Notes / By

Cabinet Committees Notes


Cabinet Committees are extra-constitutional bodies created to reduce the burden on the Cabinet by dividing work into smaller, manageable parts.


Legal Status

Feature Detail
Constitutional Basis None – Not mentioned in the Constitution
Based On Rules of Business, 1961 (under Article 77)
Status Extra-constitutional but legitimate
Nature Ad-hoc or permanent


Types of Cabinet Committees


A. Standing (Permanent) Committees
  • Constituted routinely.
  • Deal with regular policy issues.

B. Ad hoc Committees
  • Formed for specific purposes (e.g. crisis management, special events).
  • Disbanded after the task is over.


Membership and Composition

Criteria Detail
Members Only from the Council of Ministers (mostly Cabinet Ministers)
Chairperson Usually the Prime Minister
Special Invitees Experts/Ministers may be invited
Secretariat Provided by Cabinet Secretariat


Current Cabinet Committees

Committee Name Headed by
Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) Prime Minister
Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) Prime Minister
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) Prime Minister
Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs Defence Minister / Senior Minister
Cabinet Committee on Employment & Skill Development Prime Minister
Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth Prime Minister


Committee Key Functions
CCS Defense policy, internal security, atomic energy, terrorism
CCPA Centre-State relations, foreign affairs, political issues
CCEA Economic policy, infrastructure, subsidies
CC on Parliamentary Affairs Schedules Parliament sessions, legislative planning
CC on Investment & Growth Fast-tracks mega infrastructure and industrial projects
CC on Employment & Skill Dev. Job creation, vocational training, and skill programs


Features of Cabinet Committees

Feature Explanation
Reduces Burden Helps Cabinet focus on strategic issues
Flexible PM can form, abolish, or change their composition
Efficient Decision-Making Specialization improves policy formulation
Secrecy Maintained Meetings and decisions are confidential


Key Takeaways for UPSC

Key Point Detail
Not in Constitution Based on executive rules, not constitutional mandate
Headed by PM PM chairs most powerful committees
Includes Cabinet Ministers Some may include MoS by special invitation
Important Committees CCS, CCEA, CCPA, etc.
Dynamic in Nature Can be changed anytime by PM
Not Answerable to Parliament Unlike full Cabinet or CoM


Revision Table

Topic Summary
Status constitutional
Head Prime Minister (mostly)
Purpose Divide Cabinet workload, focused decision-making
Types Standing & Ad hoc
Powerful Committees CCS, CCEA, CCPA
Membership Mostly Cabinet Ministers
Flexibility PM can modify anytime
Secrecy High-level confidentiality maintained


Scroll to Top