Who decides what: India.

A take-home sheet for people at the session. Other countries: United States · United Kingdom · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · Philippines.

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Who decides what: India

Handout · moraph.org/commons/sessions/voice/who-decides-what

Government comes in layers, and each one handles different things. This sheet helps you work out who decides an issue where you live, and how to check.

The layers

National government handles matters for the whole country.
Many countries also have states, provinces or regions.
Local councils run the services you see every day, sometimes in more than one tier.
Special bodies may run schools, water, transport or libraries.

Who does what

Elected members set policy and approve budgets.
Staff run services and can explain how things work now.
To change something, contact elected members. To understand something, start with staff.

Finding out who decides

Start with your local government’s website.
Ask: who decides this, and when will it next be discussed?
Ask in writing and keep the reply.

Voting

For registration, deadlines and polling places, use only your official election office.
Don’t rely on messages, posts or calls for voting information.

In India

Three tiers. India has the Union Government and the State Governments. Since the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution, power has also passed to local self-governments: panchayats at village level, and municipalities and municipal corporations in towns and large cities.
Panchayats. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj looks after decentralisation and local governance through Panchayati Raj Institutions. Each state has its own Panchayati Raj Acts and rules, which the Ministry’s website links to.
Parliament. Parliament has two Houses. The Lok Sabha, the lower House, is made up of representatives chosen by direct election on the basis of adult suffrage. The Rajya Sabha, the upper House, is made up of representatives of the States and Union Territories and members nominated by the President.
Find your representative. The Lok Sabha pages of the Digital Sansad website have a “Find your Representative” link.
Problems with a public service. CPGRAMS is an online platform for lodging grievances about service delivery with public authorities. It connects to all Government of India ministries and departments and to the States, gives you a registration number to track your grievance, and has an appeal option. The government does not charge a fee for filing a grievance.

Official places to check:

Ministry of Panchayati Raj: panchayat.gov.in/en/about-mopr
Ministry of Panchayati Raj: panchayat.gov.in/en/panchayati-raj-institutions
Digital Sansad (Parliament of India): sansad.in/ls
Digital Sansad (Parliament of India): sansad.in/rs
Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances: pgportal.gov.in

More free official help in India: moraph.org/commons/help/civic-engagement/in

General information, not advice about your own situation. Checked 20 October 2026. If an official source says something different, it is right. Free to copy and adapt. moraph.org/commons/sessions/voice/who-decides-what