**PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES IN INDIA** Overview Since Parliament needs to perform substantial functions in limited time, it cannot go into the

details of every legislative and other matter that comes before it For this reason, Parliamentary Committees are constituted to study in detail the legislative and other matters that come before Parliament Committees can be appointed in both Houses of Parliament, and their roles and functions are more or less similar Functions of the Committees To consider the Demand for Grants of various Departments/Ministries and make reports to the Houses To examine Bills that are referred to the Committee by the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha To study annual reports of various Ministries and Departments To consider policy documents presented to the Houses if/when referred to the Committee by the Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha _______________________________ TYPES OF COMMITTEES 1.Ad hoc Committees They are appointed for a specific purpose and cease to exist when the task is finished They can either belong to one particular Parliament House or be a joint committee There are two types of Ad hoc committees Committees appointed either by a motion in Parliament or by the Speaker/Chairman to enquire into a specific subject Select or Joint Committees on Bills. These Committees are constituted to study and report on specific Bills Examples of Ad hoc Committees: Committees on Draft Five Year Plans, Railway Convention Committee, Fertilizer Pricing Committee etc 2.Standing Committees Standing Committees are Committees appointed every year or periodically, and their work goes on in a continuous basis The three most important Standing Committees (which deal with finance) are worth special mention Committee on Estimates Committee on Public Accounts Committee on Public Undertakings Additionally, there are 24 Departmentally Related Standing Committees that deal with affairs of a specific Department/Ministry __________________________________________ IMPORTANT COMMITTEES 1. Departmentally Related Standing Committees There are a total of 24 Departmentally

Related Standing Committees (DRSC) The DRSCs were first introduced in 1993 in a batch of 17, and a further 7 were added in 2004 Each of these Committees consists of no more than 45 members. 30 are to be nominated from the Lok Sabha and 15 from the Rajya Sabha Ministers are not eligible to be nominated to these Committees The term of the Committee is one year 2. Committee on Estimates Consists of 30 members elected from the Lok Sabha Ministers are not eligible for election to this Committee The term of the Committee is one year Primary functions include report what improvements in organisation, efficiency or administration can be made suggest policies to bring about improvements in efficiency and economy the Committee can select and study estimates pertaining to any Ministry or government body as it may see fit Committee can also examine matters of special interest that come up or are referred to it by the Speaker 3. Committee on Public Accounts Consists of 22 members: 15 elected from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha Ministers are not eligible for election to this Committee Term of office is one year Primary function is to determine if money granted by the Parliament has been spent by the Government within the scope of the Demand The Committee bases its examinations on the Appropriation Accounts of the Government and the Audit Reports presented by the Comptroller and Auditor General The Committee is not concerned with policy, but only with execution of the policy and its results 4. Committee on Public Undertakings Consists of 22 members: 15 elected from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha Ministers are not eligible for election to this Committee Term of office is one year Functions of the Committee include Examine reports and accounts of Public Undertakings Examine reports of the CAG on Public Undertakings Examine whether Public Undertakings are being managed with sound business principles and prudent commercial practices The Committee does not examine

government policy or day-to-day administration of the Undertakin