Council of Ministers in a state is formed as follows: 

1. Appointment of Chief Minister: Appointment of the Chief Minister is the first step of formation of cabinet. Article 164 says that the Governor will appoint the Chief Minister and will appoint the ministers on advice of the Chief Minister. The accepted precedence on this matter is to appoint the leader of the majority party in the legislative assembly as the Chief Minister. 

2. Selection of Ministers: The Chief Minister selects other ministers and he sends a list of their names and departments to the Governor. Formation of Cabinet is the privilege of the Chief Minister. Number of members in the Cabinet is decided by the Chief Minister. The 91st constitutional amendment had limited the number of ministers to 15% of the number of members in the legislative assembly. 

The Chief Minister has to keep in mind following things while selecting the ministers:

Following are the powers of the Cabinet: 

(A) Policy making on governance: Policy making on governance is the most important work of the Council of Ministers. Policy decisions are taken by the Council of Ministers no matter if the subject is related to Home Affairs or Education, Health or Agriculture. The Council of Minister not only decided on policies but also implements them in practice. 

(B) Suggestion to the Governor for appointments at higher posts: The Constitution says that the Governor appoints the Advocate General, head and members of State Public Service Commission, and other high officials. In practice, all such appointments are done by the Governor on the basis of advice from the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers gives suggestions to the President for appointment of judges in the High Court. 

3. Representing the government in legislature: The ministers attend the legislative assembly and legislative council to answer the questions and criticisms from members and defend the policies of the government. 

4. To decide on legislation: The Council of Ministers also plays important role in legislation. The sequence and nature of bill to be introduced in the legislature is decided by the Council of Ministers. 

5. Preparation of Budget: The Finance Minister presents the annual budget of the state before beginning of the financial year. The budget is made on the basis of policies as decided by the Council of Ministers. Ensuring the passage of budget is the responsibility of the Council of Ministers.