Performance of the Parliament
The Parliament of India is one of the largest democratic forums in the world. The members of parliament (MPs) are representatives of the people and are directly elected by a popular majority.
Organs of Indian Parliament
Contingsent on the Constitution of India, the Parliament is composed of the President and the two Houses, known as Lok Sabha (House of People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhawan in New Delhi. The President of India is the constitutional head of the executive. The Constitution describes the structure of parliament in Article 79.
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, or the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament
- Parliament Sittings: Over the years, there has been a decline in the number of sittings of the Parliament. The Lok Sabha met for an average of 130 days in a year during the 1950s. However, these sittings reduced to 70 days in the 2000s. In 2010, it further decreased to 68 days.
- Question Hour: The Question Hour is one of the prominent features of India’s parliamentary system. The description given for the hour is “to ask questions orally about subjects of general public importance and urgent public importance.” It allows MPs to pose questions to ministers relating to government policies, and hold the government accountable for its actions.
- Less time spent on discussing budgets and bills: the time spent on discussing the Budget has reduced from an average of 123 hours in the 1950s to 39 hours in last 10 years. MPs raise issues of public importance in Parliament, and examine the government’s response to problems being faced by citizens through two methods. The number of debates has decreased over the years. (Check infographic)
- Motion: There is a declining trend of these motions being effectively used by the opposition. It is deemed that unnecessary use of the motion will render this forum useless and undermine the judiciary process
- Disruptions: There is a declining trend of these motions being effectively used by the opposition. The Opposition side routinely uses motions to try and gain an unfair advantage, but it has been declining with each passing day and it is only fair that if we are to allow the opposing side to make defensive motion, then we should be able to make impassioned motions when the opposing party’s actions have been dubious and questionable.
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2021 it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and the union territories and 12 are nominated by the President of India
Sittings: Sittings are the time taken to discuss and pass bills in Parliament. Data on sittings are available from 2014, when they started being publicly available.
Legislative Output: In 2009-2014, it cleared 188 Bills and in 2004-09 it cleared 251 Bills.
Question hour: Rajya Sabha Question Hour (QH) is an important forum for debate and it can reveal interesting findings about the functioning of government, if proper research is done. Most of the analysis and work that has been published on QH deals with the number of questions asked, answered, withdrawn and pending. The Rajya Sabha in 2015-19, used only about 40% of the total time available for question hour.
