The present article brings you the updated order of precedence of the Government of India. The article aims to help the readers grasp the general information, strengthen their knowledge on Indian Polity about the order of ranks of government officials in our country, and make them aware of it that will help them in preparation of various exams. It is hoped and expected that the article will help the students and researchers of the subject.
Introduction
The order of precedence is referred to the protocol list which lists all the officials and functionaries of the country in accordance with their rank and office in the Government of India. Order of Precedence is meant for State and Ceremonial occasions and has no application in the day-to-day business of government.
In India, the Order of Precedence is established by the President of India and is maintained by the Ministry of Home Affairs in the country. The President of India holds a higher rank in the Indian Order of Precedence.
The Constitution of India presently doesn’t specify the maximum size of the ministry of government either at the Centre or in the States. Therefore, in the absence of a constitutional cap on the size of the government ministry, there obviously, remains a room for larger ministries that may bring inevitable consequences on the structure of public administration in the country.[1] Hence, a structural order of precedence is necessary to make the administrative process easier and smoother.
Background
An Order of Precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance with regard to individuals, groups, or organizations. The term is occasionally used to represent the order of succession in the process of determining, in the event of a change in position or vacancy, which replaces the head of the state. Change in the position may happen because of the removal of the person from office or being incapacitated.
The sequence of the order may be regulated through descent or by a statute in respect of hereditary government or elected government respectively. It is often used by different governments and organizations in the context of persons, especially those who are diplomats for ceremonial or formal occasions. For instance, when the position of the President of India becomes vacant, the Vice-President carries out the essential functions of the presidency, until a successor is elected for the Presidential position.
Additionally, the Order of Precedence[2] is also used in the context of decorations, awards, and medals. Historically, an order of precedence was categorically used widely to represent courts and aristocratic hierarchy. However, a person’s position in the order of precedence does not necessarily indicate their functional position and importance; it also denotes ceremonial or historical relevance.
List of Precedence
Following is the updated list of the Table of Precedence of Indian Government:[3]
| RANK | PERSONS | |
| Rank 1 | The President of India | |
| Rank 2 | The Vice President of India | |
| Rank 3 | The Prime Minister of India | |
| Rank 4 | The Governors of states in their respective states | |
| Rank 5 | Former Presidents | |
| Rank 5(A) | The Deputy Prime Minister | |
| Rank 6 | – The Chief Justice of India
– The Lok Sabha Speaker |
|
| Rank 7 | Cabinet Ministers of the Union | |
| Chief Ministers of states in their respective states | ||
| Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission | ||
| Former Prime Ministers | ||
| Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha | ||
| Rank 7(A) | Holders of Bharat Ratna decoration | |
| Rank 8 | – Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries accredited to India
– Governors of States outside their respective States – Chief Ministers of States outside their respective States |
|
| Rank 9 | The Supreme Court Judges | |
| Rank 9(A) | – Chairman, Union Public Service Commission
– Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) – Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) |
|
| Rank 10 | The Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha | |
| Deputy Chief Ministers of States | ||
| The Deputy Speakers of the Lok Sabha | ||
| Members of the Planning Commission | ||
| Members of state of the Union (and any other ministers in the Ministry of Defence for Defence matters) | ||
| Rank 11 | The Attorney General of India | |
| Cabinet Secretary | ||
| Lieutenant Governors in their respective Union Territories | ||
| Rank 12 | Chiefs of Staff having the grade of full General or equivalent rank | |
| Rank 13 | Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary accredited to India | |
| Rank 14 | – Chairmen and Speakers of State Legislatures within their respective States
– Chief Justices of High Courts outside their respective jurisdictions |
|
| Rank 15 | Cabinet Ministers in States in their respective States | |
| Chief Ministers of Union Territories and Chief Executive Councillor, Delhi within their respective Union Territories | ||
| Deputy Ministers of the Union | ||
| Rank 16 | Officiating Chiefs of Staff having the rank of Lieutenant General or equivalent rank | |
| Rank 17 | The Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal | |
| The Chairman of Minorities Commission | ||
| The Chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Castes
The Chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes |
||
| Chief Justices of High Courts outside their respective jurisdictions | ||
| Puisne Judges of High Courts within their respective jurisdictions | ||
| Rank 18 | Cabinet Ministers of the States outside their respective States | |
| The Chairmen and Speakers of State Legislatures outside their respective States | ||
| Chairman MRTP Commission | ||
| The Deputy Chairmen and Deputy Speakers of the State Legislatures within their respective States | ||
| Ministers of State in States within their respective States | ||
| Ministers of the Union Territories and Executive Councilors, Delhi, within their respective Union Territories | ||
| Speakers of the Legislative Assemblies of Union Territories and Chairman of Delhi Metropolitan Council within their respective Union Territories | ||
| Rank 19 | The Chief Commissioners of Union Territories not having Councils of Ministers, within their respective Union Territories | |
| Deputy Ministers of states within their respective States | ||
| Deputy Speakers of the Legislative Assemblies of Union Territories and Deputy Chairman of Metropolitan Council Delhi, within their respective Union Territories | ||
| Rank 20 | Deputy Chairmen and Speakers of the State Legislatures outside their respective States | |
| Ministers of State in States outside their respective States | ||
| Puisne Judges of High Courts outside their respective Jurisdictions | ||
| Rank 21 | Members of the Parliament | |
| Rank 22 | Deputy Ministers of States outside their respective States | |
| Rank 23 | Army Commanders / Vice Chief of the Army Staff or equivalent in other services | |
| Chief Secretaries to the State Governments within their respective States | ||
| The Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities | ||
| The Commissioner for SCs and STs | ||
| The Members of the Minorities Commission | ||
| The Members of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes
The Members of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes |
||
| Officers of the rank of full General or equivalent rank | ||
| Secretaries to the Government of India (including officers holding this rank ex-officio) | ||
| The Secretary of the Minorities Commission | ||
| The Secretary of the SC and ST Commission | ||
| Secretary to the President | ||
| Secretary to the Prime Minister | ||
| Secretary to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha | ||
| The Solicitor General of India | ||
| The Vice-Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal | ||
| Rank 24 | Officers of the rank of Lieutenant General or equivalent rank | |
| Rank 25 | Additional Secretaries to the Government of India | |
| The Additional Solicitor General | ||
| Advocate Generals of States | ||
| The Chairman of the Tariff Commission | ||
| Charge d’ Affairs and Acting High Commissioners a pied and ad interim | ||
| Chief Ministers of Union Territories and Chief Executive Councillor, Delhi outside their respective Union Territories | ||
| Chief Secretaries of the State Governments outside their respective States | ||
| The Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General | ||
| Deputy Speakers of Legislative Assemblies of Union Territories, outside their respective Union Territories | ||
| The Deputy Chairman of Delhi Metropolitan Council, outside their Union Territories | ||
| The CBI Director | ||
| The Director General of BSF | ||
| The Director General of CRPF | ||
| Director of Intelligence Bureau | ||
| Lt Governors of Union Territories outside their respective Union Territories | ||
| The Members of Central Administrative Tribunal | ||
| Members of the MRTP Commission | ||
| Members of UPSC | ||
| Ministers of Union Territories and Executive Councillors, Delhi, outside their respective Union Territories | ||
| Principal Staff Officers of the Armed Forces of the rank of Major General or equivalent rank | ||
| Speakers of Legislative Assemblies in Union Territories and Chairman of Delhi, Metropolitan Council, outside their respective Union Territories | ||
| Rank 26 | Joint Secretaries to the Government of India and officers of equivalent rank | |
| Officers of the rank of Major General or equivalent rank | ||
Conclusion
Governments or organizations without a hereditary or statutory order of precedence cannot perform their supposed functions in an efficacious manner. Therefore, immediate effective precedence planning is required for different roles and positions. If not done so, the lack of order of effective precedence may cause a vacuum in the administration system of the country or in operations of an organization that leads to uncontrolled and unsupervised power which is to be avoided at all cost. Aforementioned is the table of Precedence of the Government of India with the updated list of all the functionaries.
[1] Maheshwari, ‘Indian Administration’, 6th edn. (2001) pg. 8.
[2] Thorpe and Thorpe, General Studies: Vol-II – Indian Polity 2019. N.p., Pearson Education India.
[3] Table of Precedence, last assessed Jan 15th 2021, Available Here