Executive: The President of India is the head of state[171] and is elected indirectly by a national electoral college[172] for a five-year term.[173] The Prime Minister of India is the head of government and exercises most executive power.[174] Appointed by the president,[175] the prime minister is by convention supported by the party or political alliance holding the majority of seats in the lower house of parliament.[174] The executive branch of the Indian government consists of the president, the vice-president, and the Council of Ministers—the cabinet being its executive committee—headed by the prime minister. Any minister holding a portfolio must be a member of one of the houses of parliament.[171] In the Indian parliamentary system, the executive is subordinate to the legislature; the prime minister and his council are directly responsible to the lower house of the parliament.[176]