Examine the ceremonial and functional roles performed by the Vice-President of India beyond presiding over the Rajya Sabha.

Article 63 creates the office of the Vice-President, and Article 64 makes him ex officio Chairman of the Council of States [1]. Yet the Rajya Sabha chair is only one facet: the office also carries a substitute-executive function, institutional duties and a wide representational role, though none confers independent executive power.

Substitute-executive (constitutional) role

• Under Article 65, the VP acts as President when that office falls vacant by death, resignation or removal, until a newly elected President takes office [1].
• He also discharges the President's functions during the President's absence, illness or other incapacity [1].
• During such a period he does not perform the Chairman's duties; the Deputy Chairman presides over the House instead [2].
• The President (Discharge of Functions) Act, 1969 supplements this chain, providing for discharge of presidential functions when the offices of both President and Vice-President are vacant [3].

Democratic legitimacy underpinning these roles

• The VP is elected by an electoral college of members of both Houses, including nominated members, by proportional representation through the single transferable vote — a national, cross-party mandate that makes him a credible stand-in head of State [4].

Representational and ceremonial functions

• The office fronts national policy launches: on 9 July 2026 at Bhubaneswar, the Vice-President launched the national programme for Letters of Authorisation for Sustainable Harnessing of Fisheries in the High Seas, along with the Odisha Deep Sea Fishing Mission document [5].
• Such appearances, alongside university convocations and commemorative events, lend symbolic weight to Centre–State and sectoral initiatives without partisan involvement [5].

Critical note

• These roles are derivative, not autonomous — the VP has no ministerial advice binding on him, no independent portfolio, and acts only on the Union Executive's initiative.

The Vice-Presidency thus blends a constitutional safety-valve for executive continuity with a dignified, unifying public presence. Strengthening conventions around neutrality and clearer institutional support would let the office serve, in Ambedkar's spirit of constitutional stability, as a dependable bridge between Parliament, the Union Executive and the citizen.