Indian Governance and Polity

MY Parliament Monsoon Session 2016

INDEX
Chapter 1 Indian Parliament through ages...4

Chapter 2 Parliament Structure..6

Chapter 3 Executive.10

President

Vice president of India

Prime minister of India

Council of ministers

Chapter 4 Lok Sabha.14

Speaker

Members

Chapter 5 Rajya Sabha17

Chairman

Members

Chapter 6 Bills.18

Public vs. Private Bill

Ordinary Bills

Money Bill

Financial Bill

Constitutional Amendment

Parliamentary Committees

Chapter 7 Devices of Parliamentary Proceedings.20

Question hour

Motions

Half an hour discussion

Short duration discussion

Point of order

Lame-duck session

Resolutions

Allotment of time

Chapter 8 Budget in Parliament26

Demands for Grants

Railway Budget

Contingency Fund

Public Account of India

Consolidated Fund of India

Vote on Account

Cut Motions

Appropriation Bill

Finance Bill

Budget of a State/Union Territory under Presidents Rule

Chapter 9 Working of Parliament..31

Bibliography..35
Annexure.....37

CHAPTER 1 INDIAN PARLIAMENT THROUGH AGES

The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India.
According to Article 79 of the Constitution of India, the Parliament consists of President of
India and the two Houses of Parliament known as Council of States (Rajya Sabha) and House
of the People (Lok Sabha).
Parliamentary institutions in India, with all their modern ramifications, owe their origin to
India's British connections. The Indian Independence Act, 1947 declared the Constituent
Assembly of India to be a full sovereign body. Apart from being a Constitution drafting body,
it also assumed full powers for the governance of the country.
There were several acts that led to the present Parliament of India. :-

Government of India Act, 1858

Government of India Act, 1858 declared that India shall be governed by and in the name of
the Queen. However, the Government of India was to be carried on by the Viceroy on behalf
of the Queen.
The Secretary of State was given the power to superintend, control and direct the affairs of
the Government of India. He would sit in the Parliament and was assisted bySecretary. The
India Council consisted of 15 members. Seven of them were elected by the Court of
Directors and the rest of the 8 members were appointed by the Crown. The Secretary of
State for India presided over the meetings of the India Council. Rules and regulations made
in India or by the Secretary of State were placed before the House of Commons.
The Act of 1858 divided the patronage between the Government of India and the Secretary
of State-in-Council. Appointments to the covenanted civil service were made by open
competition in accordance with the rules made by the Secretary of State-in-Council with the
help of the Civil Service Commissioners.

Indian Councils Act of 1861

The Indians Councils Act of 1861 introduced reforms in the legislative purpose. For the
convenience of legislation, the viceroy's executive council was expanded by the addition of
members. These members were directly nominated by the Governor General, who held
their office for tenure of two years. The legislative and the administrative authority of the
Governor-General-in-Council, was asserted over all the provinces and extended to all the
inhabitants.
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Indian Councils Act, 1892

The Indian Councils Act of 1892 widened the functions of the legislature. The members
could ask questions from the executive. The Councils Act of 1892 made it obligatory that the
financial accounts of the currents year and the budget for the following year should be
presented in the legislature. The members were permitted to make general observations
and on the budget and make suggestions for increasing or decreasing revenue and
expenditure.
Apart from these the recognition of the principle of election introduced by the Acts of 1892,
was a measure of constitutional significance.

Government of India Act, 1919

Some of its provisions were well drawn up. In later days they were found suitable for
inclusion in the constitution of independent India.
It provided for a federation that included not only the various provinces of British India but
also the princely states. A very elaborate division of power was envisaged. Some subjects
would be federal i.e. central, others provincial, and still others were 'concurrent'. Dyarchy
was introduced at the center. This meant that certain 'reserved' subjects i.e. defense,
external affairs, etc. were administered exclusively by the Governor General.

Government of India Act, 1935

This Act provided for an All India Federation. It envisaged that the provinces would join the
federation automatically, and provided for voluntary entry by the prince of each state
executing an Instrument of Accession in favor of the Crown.
It provided for dyarchy at the Centre (that is, defense, external affairs, ecclesiastical affairs
and administration of tribal areas were to be handled by the Governor-General with the
assistance of three counselors appointed by him. In the other federal subjects, the
Governor-General was to be aided and advised by a council of ministers not exceeding 10 in
number). The federal ministry was formed on the usual cabinet lines, and in addition,
included the representation of important minorities. The Governor-General had an
Instrument of Instructions to secure the best representation. Collective responsibility, with
the ministry being responsible to the federal legislature, was its essential feature. The
Government of India Act provided for a Federal Court of India to interpret the Constitution,
with jurisdiction over the states and provinces.
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The Indian Independence Act, 1947

The British Government accorded formal approval to the Mountbatten Plan by enacting the
Indian Independence Act on 18 July 1947.
The Act provided for the transfer of power to the Constituent Assemblies of the two
Dominions India and Pakistan, which then had full authority to frame their respective
Constitutions. Lord Mountbatten was made the first Governor General of Independent
India, whereas Mohammad Ali Jinnah became the first Governor General of Pakistan.
NOTE- The Constitution framed by the Constituent Assembly was adopted on 26 November
1949 and it came into force on 26 January 1950. The first General Elections were held in
the year 1952 under the new Constitution. Until then, from 1950 to 1952, The Constituent
Assembly itself functioned as the Provisional Parliament. The two Houses of Parliament
came into being in 1952.

CHAPTER 2 - PARLIAMENT STRUCTURE

Parliament House Estate comprises

the Parliament House, Reception
Office
building,
Sansadiya
Gyanpeeth (Parliament Library
Building), Parliament House Annexe
and the extensive lawns.
Parliament House Estate

Note: The approach roads which cut across the Parliament House Estate and form part of
the Estate are not allowed to be used as public thoroughfares.

The building was designed by two famous architects Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert
Bakerwho were responsible for the planning and construction of New Delhi.
The Foundation Stone of Parliament House was laid on the 12th February, 1921 by H.R.H.
The Duke of Connaught.

Size of the Building

Parliament House is a massive circular edifice 560 feet (170.69 metres) in diameter. Its
circumference is one-third of a mile 536.33 metres and it covers an area of nearly six acres
(24281.16 square metres). The open verandah on the first floor is fringed with a colonnade
of 144 creamy sandstone columnseach 27 feet (8.23 metres) high. The building has twelve
gates among which Gate No. 1 on the Sansad Marg is the main gate.

Architectural Design
The layout of fountains both inside and outside the building, the use of Indian symbols, the
"Chhajjas" and the varied forms of "Jali" are reminders of the story of the craftsmanship
displayed in ancient monuments and memorials. With the ancient features of Indian art are
mingled modern scientific achievements in acoustics, air-conditioning, simultaneous
Interpretation and Automatic Voting etc.

Parliament Building

Parliament Sessioon

Lok Sabha Chamber

The Chamber of the Lok Sabha is semi-circular in shape with a floor area of about 4800 sq.
feet (446 square metres).
The Chair of the Speaker is placed on a raised platform at the centre of the diameter
connecting the two ends of the semi-circle. To the right of the Chair is located the Official
Gallery meant for the use of the officials required to be present in attendance on Ministers
in connection with the business of the House. To the left of the Chair is the Special Box
reserved for the Members of the family and guests of the President, Governors of States,
Heads and Prime Ministers of Foreign States and other high personalities in the discretion of
the Speaker.

Members Lobbies
Adjoining the Chamber and co-terminus with it are two covered corridors called the Inner
and Outer Lobbies. These Lobbies are well furnished to make them a comfortable place for
Members to sit and have informal discussions among themselves.

Visitors Galleries
In the first floor of the Lok Sabha Chamber are located the various public galleries and the
Press Gallery. The Press Gallery, Speakers Gallery (meant for the guests of the Speaker), the
Rajya Sabha Gallery (meant for Rajya Sabha Members) and the Special Gallery and
Diplomatic and Distinguished Visitors Galleries.

Automatic Vote Recording System

An Integrated System on Microphone Management, Simultaneous Interpretation and
Automatic Vote Recording has been installed in the Lok Sabha Chamber for recording vote
during the time for Division in the House. It enables the Members to record their votes
quickly in cases of Division.

The Interpretation system is designed to interpret the proceedings of the House

simultaneously from English into Hindi and vice versa and from Assamese, Kannada,
Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil and Telugu into English and
Hindi. A Member intending to speak in any one of these languages is to give advance
intimation to the Officer at the Table.

Simultaneous Interpretation System

Result of Voting
Immediately after the sounding of the second audio-alarm, the System starts totalling up
the affirmative and negative votes besides abstentions and the total numbers of AYES,
NOES and ABSTAIN are flashed on the Total Result Display Boards. It also indicates the
total number of members who have exercised their vote.

Rajya Sabha Chamber

This is almost on the same pattern as that of the Lok Sabha Chamber but it is smaller in size.
It has a seating capacity of 250. It is also equipped with modern sound equipment,
Automatic Vote Recording and the Simultaneous Interpretation System.

Parliament Library Building (Sansadiya Gyanpeeth)

Till May 2002 the Parliament Library was functioning from the Parliament House. With time
the library service expanded into what is now familiarly known as LARRDIS (Library &
Reference, Research, Documentation & Information Service). The accommodation available
to the Parliament Library and its allied services in the Parliament building was too limited to
cope with the volume of literature being acquired by it. Besides, there had been a growing
demand for making available to the members of Parliament a more effective, efficient and
modern Research, Reference and Information Service. In order to satisfy this requirement
the new Parliament Library Building (Sansadiya Gyanpeeth) was conceived.
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The foundation stone was laid by Shri Rajiv Gandhi the then Honble Prime Minister on 15
August 1987 and the Bhoomi Poojan was performed by Shri Shivraj V. Patil, the then
Honble Speaker on 17 April, 1994

Components of the union government

CHAPTER 3- EXECUTIVE
PRESIDENT
The President of India is the head of the executive, legislature and judiciary of the country.
Article 52 of the Constitution of India says that there should be a President of India. Article
53 says that all the executive powers of the Union shall be exercised by him either directly
or through officers subordinates to him.
Termof office
Article 56 of the Indian Constitution says that the President shall hold office for a term of
five years from the date he takes up his post. He may resign from his office by writing his
resignation to the Vice-President of India. But, he will continue to hold his office, in spite of
tendering his resignation, until his successor takes up his office. And, before his office gets
vacated, an election should be held for the same.

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Powers
The President of India is vested with the Executive, Legislative, Emergency, Diplomatic,
Judicial and Military powers.
Executive powers
All the executive powers of the Union shall be vested in him. These powers should be
exercised by him in accordance with the Constitution of India. He appoints the Prime
Minister and the Council of Ministers. He also appoints the judges of the Supreme Court and
the High Courts in the states, besides appointing the Attorney General and Comptroller and
auditor General of India. Among other critical powers, he enjoys the pardoning power,
whereby he can pardon the death sentence awarded to a convict.
Legislative powers
He dissolves the Lok Sabha and can end a session of the Parliament. He also addresses the
Parliament in its first session every year. He nominates 12 members to the Rajya Sabha who
are leading figures in the fields of science, art, literature and social service. He can also
nominate 2 members to the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian Community. When a bill is
passed by the Parliament, the President can give or withhold his assent to it. He can also
return it to the Parliament, unless it's a Money Bill or a Constitutional Amendment Bill.
Emergency powers
He can declare national, state and financial emergency. National emergency can be done on
the written request of the Cabinet Ministers after the proclamation has been approved by
the Parliament. State emergency can be imposed in a state if it fails to run constitutionally.
Financial emergency can be proclaimed if there is a likelihood of the financial instability in
the country.
Financial powers
Only when the President recommends a money bill can be introduced in the Parliament. He
lays the Union budget before the Parliament and makes advances out of the Contingency
Fund.
Diplomatic, Military and Judicial powers
He appoints ambassadors and high commissioners to other countries. All international
treaties are signed on his behalf. Under Military powers, he can declare war and conclude
peace. He appoints Chief of Army, Navy and Air Force. He can dismiss judges if the two-third
majority of the members present of the two Houses of the Parliament pass the resolution to
that effect.
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VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA

According to the Constitution of India, the office of the Vice President is the second highest
constitutional post in independent India. The Vice President is the 'ex-officio' Chairperson of
the Rajya Sabha. The office of the President and the Vice President cannot be combined in
one person, as per the Constitution of India.
Powers
The Vice President of India, after the President, is the highest dignitary of India, and certain
powers are attached to the office of the Vice President. These are:

The Vice President shall discharge the functions of the President during the temporary
absence of the President which might occur due to illness or any other cause due to which
the President is unable to carry out his functions.
The Vice President shall act as the President, in case of any vacancy in the office of the
President by reason of his death, resignation, removal through impeachment or otherwise.
The Vice President shall take over the duties of the President until a new President is
elected and resumes office.

PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA

The Prime Minister of India is the head of the executive branch of the Government of India.
His position is distinct from that of the President of India, who is the head of the State. As
India follows a parliamentary system of government modelled after the Westminster
system, most of the executive powers are exercised by the Prime Minister. He acts as an
advisor to the President and is the leader of the Council of Ministers. The President appoints
the Prime Minister of India and on his advice, appoints the Council of Ministers. The Prime
Minister can be a member of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.

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Powers
The various powers and authorities enjoyed by the Prime Minister are as follows:
Head of the Government:
The Prime Minister of India is the head of the Government. All the important decisionmaking bodies in India, like the Union Cabinet and the Planning Commission, runs under his
supervision.
Leader of the Council of Ministers:
As far as the Prime Ministers relation to the Council of Ministers is concerned, his position
is that of First among Equals. In the case of death or resignation of the Prime Minister, the
entire Council of Ministers has to resign. The ministers directly report to the Prime Minister.
He can also remove a minister by asking for his resignation or having him dismissed by the
President.
Leader of the Parliament:
The Prime Minister is the Leader of the House to which he belongs. He can also take part in
debates in the House of which he is not a member. He can also advise the President to
dissolve the Lok Sabha.
Representative of the Country:
In international affairs, he is the spokesperson of the country. The Prime Minister plays a
major role in directing Indias foreign policy.
In-Charge of Ministries:
Prime Minister also retains certain portfolios that are not allocated to other ministers. He is
generally in charge of the following ministries/departments:

Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

Ministry of Planning
Department of Atomic Energy
Department of Space
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet

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COUNCIL OF MINISTERS
The Union Council of Ministers is the supreme decision-making body in India.Only the
Prime Minister and ministers of the rank of "Cabinet Minister" are members of the Cabinet.
The most senior civil servant in India, called the Cabinet Secretary, leads the Cabinet
Secretariat, and provides administrative assistance to the Council of Ministers.\ Ministers of
State are tasked with assisting Cabinet Ministers in their work.

Regulations
As a collective, the Council of Ministers is responsible to the lower house of the Indian
Parliament, called the House of the People. According to the Constitution of India, the total
number of ministers in the Council of Ministers must not exceed 15% of the total number of
members of the House of the People. Ministers must be members of parliament. Any
minister who is not a member of either the lower or upper houses of parliament for six
consecutive months is automatically stripped of his or her ministerial post.
Ranking
There are three categories of ministers, in descending order of rank:

Cabinet Minister: member of cabinet; leads a ministry

Minister of State (Independent Charges): minister not reporting to a cabinet minister

Minister of State (MoS): junior minister reporting to a cabinet minister, usually tasked
with a specific responsibility in that ministry

CHAPTER 4 LOK SABHA

Lok Sabha is lower house of bicameral parliament of India, with the higher house being
Rajya Sabha. The Lok Sabha (House of the Leaders) was duly constituted for the first time on
17 April 1952 after the first General Elections held from 25 October 1951 to 21 February
1952. Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on
the basis of the adult suffrage.
The total elective membership is distributed among the States in such a way that the ratio
between the number of seats allotted to each State and the population of the State is, so far
as practicable, the same for all States.
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SPEAKER
The Speaker of Lok Sabha plays a pivotal role. While the members of Parliament represent
their respective constituencies, speaker represents the whole house. The role of speaker is
very important as she is considered the authority to regulate the business of house. She
represents the dignity and integrity of the house.He holds office from the date of her
election till immediately before the first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the dissolution of
the one to which she was elected. She is eligible for re-election.In the Lok Sabha, the Lower
House of the Indian Parliament, both Presiding Officersthe Speaker and the Deputy
Speaker- are elected from among its members by a simple majority of members present and
voting in the House.

Powers:
1. She has power to decide the admissibility of a question as well as the way in which the
motion should be put forward.
2. Speaker can allow member to withdraw and can ask any member to leave the house for a
specific period.
3. The Speaker is the guardian of the rights and privileges of the House, its Committees and
members. It depends solely on the Speaker to refer any question of privilege to the
Committee of Privileges for examination, investigation and report. The entire
Parliamentary Estate is under the authority of the Speaker.
4. It is the Speaker who decides on granting recognition to the Leader of the Opposition in
the Lok Sabha. Following the 52nd Constitution amendment, the Speaker is vested with
the power relating to the disqualification of a member of the Lok Sabha on grounds of
defection.
5. Each and every action in house is regulated by the speaker.

Members
According to Constitution, Lok Sabha shall consist of 552 members directly elected by
people through adult suffrage. The 530 member should be elected from states where as 20
should be elected from UT. 2 members can be nominated by President from anglo-Indian
community, if President feels that they are not adequately represented in the house.
All members from states and union territories are elected through adult suffrage. They
are directly elected by the people.
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In Lok Sabha there is reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
Here census figures are taken into account.

Allocation of seats for Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the Lok Sabha are made on the
basis of proportion of Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the State concerned to that of the
total population, vide provision contained in Article 330 of the Constitution of India read
with Section 3 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950.

For Scheduled Castes, 84 seats are reserved in Lok Sabha. For Scheduled Tribes, 47 seats
are reserved in Lok Sabha. The 1st schedule to R. P. Act, 1950 as amended vide
Representation of People (Amendment) Act , 2008 gives the Statewise break up.

Leader of house is by default Prime minister. If Prime Minister is not a member of Lok
Sabha, he can nominate other member as leader of house. Leader of opposition is the
person who officially leads the opposition in the house. To the party to be named as an
opposition must have at least 10 percent seats of total strength (55 in LokSabha). The
leader of opposition is also provided with salary and allowances as determined by the
house. In current Lok Sabha, there is no official leader of opposition as none of the
parties met the prescribed criteria.

Anti-Defection Law
The 52nd amendment to the Constitution added the Tenth Schedule which laid down the
process by which legislators may be disqualified on grounds of defection. A Member of
Parliament or state legislature was deemed to have defected if:
He either voluntarily resigned from his party or disobeyed the directives of the party
leadership on a vote. That is, they may not vote on any issue in contravention to the
partys whip.
Independent members would be disqualified if they joined a political party.
Nominated members who were not members of a party could choose to join a party
within six months; after that period, they were treated as a party member or
independent member.

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Exceptions:

Any person elected as speaker or chairman could resign from his party, and rejoin the
party if he demitted that post.

A party could be merged into another if at least two-thirds of its party legislators voted
for the merger.

The law initially permitted splitting of parties, but that has now been outlawed.

CHAPTER 5 RAJYA SABHA

Rajya Sabha is the upper house of the Parliament. Rajya Sabha is a council of states. The
Council of States which is also known as Rajya Sabha, a nomenclature that was announced
by the chair in the House on the 23rd August, 1954 has its own distinctive features.

Chairman
The Presiding Officers of Rajya Sabha have the responsibility to conduct the proceedings of
the House. The Vice-President of India is ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha
also chooses from amongst its members, a Deputy Chairman. There is also a Panel of ViceChairman in Rajya Sabha, the members of which are nominated by the Chairman, Rajya
Sabha. In the absence of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, a member from the Panel of
Vice-Chairmen presides over the proceedings of the House.

Members
Article 80 of the Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250, out of
which 12 members are nominated by the President and 238 are representatives of the
States and of the two Union Territories. The present strength of Rajya Sabha, however, is
245, out of which 233 are representatives of the States and Union territories of Delhi and
Puducherry and 12 are nominated by the President. The members nominated by the
President are persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such
matters as literature, science, art and social service. The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution
provides for allocation of seats to the States and Union Territories in Rajya Sabha. The
allocation of seats is made on the basis of the population of each State.

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CHAPTER 6 BILLS

Passing of the Bills

Public vs. Private Bill

Public bills are the bills introduced by the government where as private bills are introduced
by individual member of the parliament. Only 14 private members bill have been passed by
both Houses and become law in the history of Indian Parliament.

Ordinary Bills
Ordinary bills are concerned with any matter other than Financial Bills, money Bills and
Constitutional Amendment Bills.Such Bills can be introduced in either House of Indian
Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) without the recommendations of President of India.
These bills are passed by Simple Majority in both the Houses.

MoneyBill
These are defined in Article 110. These Bills deal with the taxes, borrowings, consolidated and
contingency funds, audit and accounting, etc. Article 109 of Indian Constitution gives special
procedure regarding Money Bills. A money Bill can originate only in Lok Sabha after the
recommendations of the President. Through the Bill is sent to Rajya Sabha also but even Rajya
Sabha rejects/returns the Bill (within days necessarily), the Bill is deemed to be passed. The
Appropriation Bill and Annual Financial Bill (Budget) are Money Bills.
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Financial Bill
Any Bill dealing with revenues or expenditure but not certified as Money Bill by the Speaker is a
Financial Bill. Financial Bill can only be introduced in Lok Sabha on the recommendations of the
President & should be passed by both the Houses of Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha)
by Simple majority.

Constitutional Amendment
Under Article 368 of Indian Constitution with the powers of the Parliament to amend the
Constitution, this bill can be introduced in any of the two Houses without recommendations of
the President. Such Bills must be passed by each house (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) separately
with a special majority (two third of the members present and voting which must be more than
absolute majority).By 24th Constitution amendment Act, 1971 it is obligatory for the President to
give his assent to the Constitutional Amendment Bills.

Deadlock over passage of bills- A deadlock is deemed to have taken place under any one of
the following three situations after a bill has been passed by one House and transmitted to
the other House:
1. if the bill is rejected by the other House
2. If the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the bill or
3. If more than six months have elapsed from the date of the receipt of the bill by the other
House without the bill being passed by it.
In the above three situations, the President can summon both the Houses to meet in a joint
sitting for the purpose of deliberating and voting on the bill. It must be noted here that the
provision of joint sitting is applicable to ordinary bills or financial bills only and not to money
bills or Constitutional amendment bills.

Parliamentary Committees
Parliamentary Committees are of two kinds: Ad hoc Committees and the Standing
Committees. Ad hoc Committees are appointed for a specific purpose and they cease to
exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report. The principal Ad hoc
Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills. Others like the Railway
Convention Committee, the Committees on the Draft Five Year Plans and the Hindi
Equivalents Committee were appointed for specific purposes. Apart from the Ad hoc
Committees, each House of Parliament has Standing Committees like the Business Advisory
Committee, the Committee on Petitions, the Committee of Privileges and the Rules
Committee, etc.
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When a Bill comes up before a House for general discussion, it is open to that House to refer
it to a Select Committee of the House or a Joint Committee of the two Houses. A motion has
to be moved and adopted to this effect in the House in which the Bill comes up for
consideration. In case the motion adopted is for reference of the Bill to a Joint Committee,
the decision is conveyed to the other House requesting them to nominate members of the
other House to serve on the Committee. The Select or Joint Committee considers the Bill
clause by clause just as the two Houses do. Amendments can be moved to various clauses
by members of the Committee. The Committee can also take evidence of associations,
public bodies or experts who are interested in the Bill. After the Bill has thus been
considered the Committee submits its report to the House. Members who do not agree with
the majority report may append their minutes of dissent to the report.
A full-fledged system of 17 Departmentally Related Standing Committees came into
being in April, 1993. These Committees cover under their jurisdiction all the
Ministries/ Departments of the Government of India.

CHAPTER 7 - DEVICES OF PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS

QUESTION HOUR
The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for this. During this time, the
members ask questions and the ministers give answers to the queries posed. The
questions are of three kinds, namely, starred, unstarred and short notice.
1. A starred question(distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral answer and hence

supplementary questions can follow.

2. An unstarred question,on the other hand, requires a written answer and hence,

supplementary questions cannot follow.

3. A short notice question is one that is asked by giving a notice of less than ten days. It
is answered orally.

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Following is the youtube link to the question hour video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZtFpjXuto

Question Hour Sample

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A brief description of various types of motions has been given below:

CLOSURE MOTION
It is a motion moved by a member to cut short the debate on a matter before the
House. If the motion is approved by the House, debate is stopped forthwith and the
matter is put to vote. There are four kinds of closure motions:
(a) Simple Closure: It is one when a member moves that the matter having been
sufficiently discussed be now put to vote
(b) Closure by Compartments: In this case, the clauses of a bill or a lengthy resolution
are grouped into parts before the commencement of the debate. The debate covers the
part as a whole and the entire part is put to vote
(c) Kangaroo Closure: Under this type, only important clauses are taken up for debate
and voting and the intervening clauses are skipped over and taken as passed.
(d) Guillotine Closure: It is one when the undiscussed clauses of a bill or a resolution are
also put to vote along with the discussed ones due to want of time (as the time allotted
for the discussion is over)

NO-CONFIDENCE MOTION
Article 75 of the Constitution says that the council of ministers shall be collectively
responsible to the Lok Sabha. It means that the ministry stays in office so long as it
enjoys confidence of the majority of the members of the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha can
remove the ministry from office by passing a no-confidence motion. The motion needs
the support of 50 members to be admitted.

PRIVILEGE MOTION
It is concerned with the breach of parliamentary privileges by a minister. It is moved by
a member when he feels that a) a minister has committed a breach of privilege of the
House, b) one or more of its members by withholding facts of a case or by giving wrong
or distorted facts. Its purpose is to censure the concerned minister.

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MOTION OF THANKS
The first session after each general election and the first session of every fiscal year is
addressed by the President. In this address, the President outlines the policies and
programmes of the government in the preceding year and ensuing year. This address of
the President is discussed in both the Houses of Parliament on a motion called the
Motion of Thanks. At the end of the discussion, the motion is put to vote. This motion
must be passed in the House otherwise, it amounts to the defeat of the government.

CALLING ATTENTION MOTION

It is introduced in the Parliament by a member to call the attention of a minister to a
matter of urgent public importance, and to seek an authoritative statement from him on
that matter. Like the zero hour, it is also an Indian innovation in the parliamentary
procedure and has been in existence since 1954. However, unlike the zero hour, it is
mentioned in the Rules of Procedure.

NO-DAY-YET-NAMED MOTION
It is a motion that has been admitted by the Speaker but no date has been fixed for its
discussion. The Speaker, after considering the state of business in the House and in
consultation with the leader of the House or on the recommendation of the Business
Advisory Committee, allots a day or days or part of a day for the discussion of such a
motion.

CENSURE MOTION
It can be moved against an individual minister or a group of ministers or the entire
council of ministers. It is moved for censuring the council of ministers for specific policies
and actions. If it is passed in the Lok Sabha, the council of ministers need not resign from
the office.

HALF AND HOUR DISCUSSION

It is meant for discussing a matter of sufficient public importance, which has been
subjected to a lot of debate and the answer to which needs elucidation on a matter of
fact. The Speaker can allot three days in a week for such discussions. There is no formal
motion or voting before the House.

23

SHORT DURATION DISCUSSION

It is also known as two-hour discussion as the time allotted for such a discussion should
not exceed two hours. The members of the Parliament can raise such discussions on a
matter of urgent public importance. The Speaker can allot two days in a week for such
discussions. There is neither a formal motion before the house nor voting.

POINT OF ORDER
A Member can raise a point of order when the proceedings of the House do not follow
the normal rules of procedure. It is usually raised by an opposition member in order to
control the government. It is an extraordinary device as it suspends the proceedings
before the House. No debate is allowed on a point of order.

SPECIAL MOTION
A matter which is not a point of order or which cannot be raised during question hour,
half-an hour discussion, short duration discussion or under adjournment motion, calling
attention notice or under any rule of the House can be raised under the special mention
in the Rajya Sabha. Its equivalent procedural device in the Lok Sabha is known as Notice
(Mention) Under Rule 377.

ADJOURNMENT MOTION
When there is an urgent matter of public importance then a member may propose that
the business of the house be adjourned for discussing that matter. This motion can be
moved only with the consent of the Speaker.

Motions of the House

24

LAME-DUCK SESSION
It refers to the last session of the existing Lok Sabha, after a new Lok Sabha has been
elected.

RESOLUTIONS
Most of the business in Parliament is transacted by means of motions. After a matter
has been discussed, the motion is put to the vote of the House, which is technically
known as putting the question. "The decision which the putting of the question has thus
elicited turns the motion into a resolution of order." Every question, when agreed to,
assumes the form either of an order or of a resolution of the House. By its resolutions,
the House declares its own opinions and purposes.
Resolutions may be categorized as: private members' resolutions, Government
resolutions and statutory resolutions. To the first category belong resolutions which are
moved by a member, other than a Minister, on an allotted day; in the second category
fall resolutions which are moved by Ministers; and the last category covers resolutions
which are moved in pursuance of a provision contained in the Constitution or an Act of
Parliament.

Allotment of time
The last two and a half hours of a sitting on every alternate Friday in the session are
allotted for the discussion of private members' resolutions. The Chairman may, in
consultation with the Leader of the House, allot any day other than a Friday for the
purpose. If there is no sitting of the House on a Friday, the Chairman may direct that two
and a half hours on any other day in the week may be allotted for private members'
resolutions.

25

CHAPTER 8 - BUDGET IN PARLIAMENT

In line with the democratic principle of no taxation or expenditure without the authority of
the legislature. It is only the executive which can make demands before the legislature for
taxation and expenditure.
Article 112 of the constitution of India provides that at the beginning of every financial year,
the President shall, in respect of the financial year, cause to be laid before both the houses
of Parliament. This will be in the form of a statement which is an estimated receipts and
expenditure of the Government of India for that year. This statement is called the Annual
Financial Statement which is popularly known as the Budget.

Need for Budget

The need for proper budgeting arises when there is a need to allocate scarce resources to
various Governmental activities. Every item of expenditure has to be well thought out and
total outlay worked out for a specific period. Prudent spending is essential for the stability
of a Government and proper earnings are a pre-requisite to wise spending.

Parliamentary Control over Finance

The Constitution has vested the power over the purse in the hands of chosen
representatives of the people thus sanctifying the principle no taxation without
representation. Preparation of Budget for the approval of the Legislature is a Constitutional
obligation of the Government both at the Centre and the State levels.
There are specific provisions in the Constitution of India incorporating these tenets. For
example, article 265 provides that no tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of
law; no expenditure can be incurred except with the authorization of the Legislature
(Article 266); and President shall, in respect of every financial year, cause to be laid before
Parliament, Annual Financial Statement (Article 112).

26

The Budget
The Annual Financial Statement, laid before both the Houses of Parliament constitutes the
Budget of the Union Government. This statement takes into account a period of one
financial year. The financial year commences in India on 1st April each year. The statement
embodies the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for the
financial year.

The Budget

27

Demands for Grants

The estimates of expenditure included in the Budget and which is required to be voted by
Lok Sabha are in the form of Demands for Grants. These Demands are arranged Ministrywise and a separate Demand for each of the major services is presented. Each Demand
contains first a statement of the total grant and then a statement of the detailed estimate is
divided into items.

Railway Budget
The Budget of the Indian Railways is presented separately to Parliament and dealt with
separately, although the receipts and expenditure of the Railways form part of the
Consolidated Fund of India. The total figures relating to them are included in the Annual
Financial Statement.

Contingency Fund
The Contingency Fund of India is established under article 267(1) of the Indian Constitution.
It is in the nature of an imprest (money maintained for a specific purpose).The fund is held
by the Finance Secretary (Department of Economic Affairs) on behalf of the President of
India and it can be operated by executive action. Similarly, Contingency Fund of each State
Government is established under Article 267(2) of the Constitution this is in the nature of
an imprest placed at the disposal of the Governor to enable him/her to make advances to
meet urgent unforeseen expenditure, pending authorization by the State Legislature.

Public Account of India

Public Account of India accounts for flows for those transactions where the government is
merely acting as a banker. This fund was constituted under Article 266 (2) of the
Constitution

Consolidated Fund of India

Under Article 266 (1) of the Constitution of India, all revenues received by the Union
government as well as all loans raised by issue of treasury bills, internal and external loans
and all moneys received by the Union Government in repayment of loans shall form a
consolidated fund entitled the 'Consolidated Fund of India' for the Union Government.

28

Presentation
In India, the Budget is presented to Parliament on such date as is fixed by the President. The
Budget speech of the Finance Minister is usually in two parts. Part A deals with general
economic survey of the country while Part B relates to taxation proposals.
The General Budget is presented in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Finance. He makes a
speech introducing the Budget and it is only in the concluding part of his speech that the
proposals for fresh taxation or for variations in the existing taxes are disclosed by him. The
Annual Financial Statement is laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha at the conclusion of the
speech of the Finance Minister in Lok Sabha.

Budget Documents
Along with the Annual Financial Statement Government presents the following documents:
an Explanatory Memorandum briefly explaining the nature of receipts and expenditure
during the current year and the next year while informing the public the reasons for
variations in the estimates for the two years. The Books of Demands showing the provisions
Ministry-wise and a separate Demand for each Department and service of the Ministry. The
Finance Bill which deals with the taxation measures proposed by Government is introduced
immediately after the presentation of Budget. It is accompanied by a memorandum
explaining the provisions of the Bill and their effect on the finances of the country.

Vote on Account
Vote-on-account literally means a vote on the accounts of the government. Usually, the
annual budget is presented by the end of February after which it is discussed details of
the budget are scrutinized by a Parliamentary committee and it is finally passed by midMay. However, this time, this could be in the middle of elections or another government
could be in power depending on the election schedule.
During elections and till a new government takes over, the caretaker government needs
funds for various routine items of expenditure like staff salaries without which there
would be a financial crisis. According to the Constitution, the government cannot spend any
money without Parliament's approval.
Hence, vote on account is taken whereby a government gets the parliamentary approval to
run the government for a few months, using funds drawn from the Consolidated Fund of
India.
29

Automated Voting System

Discussion
The Budget is discussed in two stages in Lok Sabha. First, there is the General Discussion on
the Budget as a whole. This lasts for about 4 to 5 days. Only the broad outlines of the
Budget and the principles and policies underlying it are discussed at this stage.

Cut Motions
Motions for reduction to various Demands for Grants are made in the form of Cut Motions
which are invoked. They are invoked in order to reduce the sum sought by Government on
grounds of economy or difference of opinion on matters of policy or just in order to voice a
grievance.

Appropriation Bill
After the General Discussion on the Budget proposals and Voting on Demands for Grants
have been completed, Government introduces the Appropriation Bill. The Appropriation Bill
is intended to give authority to Government to incur expenditure from and out of the
Consolidated Fund of India. The procedure for passing this Bill is the same as in the case of
other money Bills.

Finance Bill
The Finance Bill seeking to give effect to the Governments taxation proposals which is
introduced in Lok Sabha immediately after the presentation of the General Budget, is taken
up for consideration and passing after the Appropriation Bill is passed. However, certain
30

provisions in the Bill relating to levy and collection of fresh duties or variations in the
existing duties come into effect immediately on the expiry of the day on which the Bill is
introduced by virtue of a declaration under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act.
Parliament has to pass the Finance Bill within 75 days of its introduction.

Supplementary/Excess Grants
No expenditure in excess of the sums authorized by Parliament can be incurred without the
sanction of Parliament. Whenever a need arises to incur extra expenditure, a
Supplementary estimate is laid before Parliament. If any money has been spent on any
service during a financial year in excess of the amounts granted for that service and for that
year, the Minister of Finance/ Railways presents a Demand for Excess Grant. The procedure
followed in Parliament in regard to Supplementary/Excess Grants is more or less the same
as is adopted in the case of estimates included in the General Budget.

Budget of a State/Union Territory under Presidents Rule

Budget of a State under Presidents rule is presented to Lok Sabha. The procedure followed
in regard to the Budget of the Union Government is followed in the case of State Budget
also with such variations or modifications, as the Speaker may make.

CHAPTER 9 - WORKING OF PARLIAMENT

There is a need for some quite stock-taking on the efficacy, relevance and standing of these
two democratic bodies that are at the apex of our democratic structure.
The biggest achievement of the two Houses of Parliament is that they are far more
representative of the Indian people now than they were 60 years ago. We can now see the
occupational democratization of the Lok Sabha.
Almost half the members of the first Lok Sabha comprised of lawyers (36 per cent),
journalists and writers (10 per cent) and most of them came from dominant Hindu castes.
The political empowerment of hitherto disadvantaged groups has brought about a change
over the last two decades and the composition of the Lok Sabha is far more balanced now in
terms of occupation, caste and class of members.
31

The first Lok Sabha had 112 non-matriculates. This came down to 19 in the 14 Lok Sabha.
Again, the first Lok Sabha had 277 graduates, post graduates and doctorates. In the 14 Lok
Sabha as many as 428 members could boast of such qualifications. The political
empowerment of the less privileged has also changed the composition of the state
assemblies for the better and this in turn has changed the composition of the Rajya Sabha
because the assemblies elected Rajya Sabha members.
The upper House too has begun to mirror the social, political and economic diversity of
Indian society.
A couple of other developments that are of a positive nature are the introduction of the
committee system and the televising of parliamentary proceedings by Speaker Shivraj Patil
in 1993.
In the 1950s, Parliament had an average of 123 sittings, in the 1960s it rose to 138 sittings.
This had declined drastically to just 78 sittings in the year 2003. In recent years, the total
sittings per year is down by about 30 per cent compared to the situation in the 1960s. The
irony is that while the work of government is expanding, the work of Parliament which has
oversight responsibilities is declining. How do MPs keep a watch on the working of
government?
While sittings per year and time allocated for budgetary matters is down, there is a sharp
rise in the time lost in disruptions and in the cost of Parliament. The 11 Lok Sabha lost 5 per
cent of its time to disruptions. This rose to over 10 per cent in the 12 Lok Sabha and 22.40
per cent in the 13 Lok Sabha.
So, what does the balance sheet look like? As stated earlier, the most positive development
over the last 60 years is the political empowerment of disadvantaged groups, introduction
of the committee system and better policing of members.
However, we still need to address the issue of dysfunctionality of Parliament (loss of over 30
per cent of parliamentary time to disruptions), MPs' disdain for law making and the absence
of periodic audit of the working of Parliament by independent citizens.
Our Parliament is over 60, but it will neither tire, nor retire! Instead, it will go on to
perpetuity and hopefully become more efficient and more responsive to the aspirations of
the people.

32

OVERVIEW:-

The percentage of MPs without secondary education has decreased from 23% in 1952 to 3% in
2009.

12 %

10 %

8 %

6 %

4 %

2 %

0 %
1 st

2 nd

3 rd

4 th

5 th

6 th

7 th

8 th

9 th

10 th

11 th

12 th

13 th

14 th

15 th

The current Lok Sabha has the highest number of Women MPs

33

160
140
120
100
Days
80
60
40
20
0
195 195 195 195 196 196 196 196 196 197 197 197 197 197 198 198 198 198 198 199 199 199 199 199 200 200 200 200 200 201
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8
8
0
2
4
6
8
0
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6
8
0
2
4
6

In the 1950s, Lok Sabha met for an average of 127 days a year; in 2011, it met for73 days.

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010

The number of Bills passed by Parliament has declined over the last few decades

34

BIBILIOGRAPHY
Chapter 1 Indian Parliament though Ages

https://factly.in/history-indian- elections/

http://www.archive.india.gov.in/govt/parliament.php

http://rajyasabha.nic.in/

http://www.parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/intro/p2.htm

https://factly.in/history-indian- election/

Chapter 2 - Parliament Structure

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_India

https://kamalakarduvvuru.wordpress.com/2014/04/10/a-brief- look-at- the-indian- polity/

http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/intro/introls.htm

http://www.parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/intro/p7.htm

Chapter 3- Executives

http://pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/portfolios-of- the-union- council-of-ministers-2/

http://www.elections.in/government/prime-minister.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Council_of_Ministers

http://www.elections.in/government/president-of- india.html

http://www.importantindia.com/12229/powers-and- position-of- president-of- india/

http://www.elections.in/government/vice-president.html

Chapter 4- Lok Sabha

http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/intro/introls.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lok_Sabha

http://loksabha.nic.in/

Chapter 5- Rajya Sabha

http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/about_parliament/rajya_sabha_introduction.asp

http://www.elections.in/rajya-sabha.html

http://164.100.47.7/FAQ/output/qlist.aspx

http://rajyasabha.nic.in

35

Chapter 6- Bills

http://www.parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/intro/p5.htm

http://www.prsindia.org/

http://rajyasabha.nic.in/

Chapter 7- Devices of Parliamentary Procedures

http://byjus.com/free-ias- prep/devices-of- parliamentary-proceedings

http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/rules/rules.html

http://www.elections.in/political-corner/what- is-zero- hour-in- parliament/

http://www.erewise.com/current-affairs/parliament- and-statelegislatures_art527cdde8ba740.html

Chapter 8- Union Budget

http://www.preservearticles.com/2011100314488/what-is- the-financial-procedure-ofindian-parliament.html

http://www.parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/intro/p4.html

http://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/rs_rule/rulesdrpscs.asp

Chapter 9- Rating our Parliament

http://www.prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/vital-stats/60- years-of- parliament-2309/

http://www.news18.com/news/india/indian-parliament- at-60- years-facts- statistics474189.html

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/indias- parliament-60- years-on- 482269

http://www.realityviews.in/2012/05/60-years- of-indian- parliament-how- much.html

36

ANNEXURES

Meanings of the words used.

Sovereign-Possessing supreme or ultimate power
Viceroy-A ruler exercising authority in a colony on behalf of a sovereign.
Covenant-An agreement
Constitutional-Relating to an established set of principles governing a state
Federation- a group of states with a central government but independence in internal affairs.
Concurrent-existing, happening, or done at the same time.
Dyarchy-government by two independent authorities
Annexe-a building joined to or associated with a main building, providing additional space or
accommodation
Colonnade-a row of evenly spaced columns supporting a roof, an entablature, or arches.
Chhajas- Roofing.
Jali-intricate ornamental openwork in wood, metal, stone, etc.
Diplomatic-involving the work of maintaining good relations between the governments
of different countries
Abstain-to choose not to vote
Attorney General-the principal legal officer who represents the Crown or a state in legal
proceedings and gives legal advice to the government.
Comptroller General- Someone who is responsible for tracking the effectiveness of spending
policies.

37

Auditor Generala federal official responsible for auditing government departmentsand making an annual report
Anglo-Indian- relating to both Britain and India.
Ex-officio- by virtue of one's position or status
Adult Suffrage-It is the right of citizens in a given society who are entitled to vote in an election
to select, at periodic intervals when these elections are called, a government to represent them
Integrity- the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles
Privilege- a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular
person or group.
Vide-see, consult.
Whip- to move (something) to a different position forcefully.
Outlawed- ban or make illegal
Allowances- a sum of money paid regularly to a person to meet needs or expenses.
Closure- a procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote
Obligation- an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or
commitment.
Expenditure- the action of spending funds.

38