Polity

This committee was created in 1964 on the recommendation of the Krishna Menon Committee. Originally, it had 15 members (10 from the Lok Sabha and 5 from the Rajya Sabha). However, in 1974, its membership was raised to 22 (15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). The members are elected by … Read more

The origin of this committee can be traced to the standing financial committee set up in 1921. The first Estimates Committee in the post-independence era was constituted in 1950 on the recommendation of John Mathai, the then finance minister. Originally, it had 25 members but in 1956 its membership was raised to 30. All the … Read more

This committee was setup first in 1921 under the provisions of the Government of India Act of 1919 and has since been in existence. At present, it consists of 22 members (15 from the Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). The members are elected by the Parliament every year from amongst its members … Read more

.  Due to its federal character, the Rajya Sabha has been given two exclusive or special powers that are not enjoyed by the Lok Sabha: It can authorise the Parliament to make a law on a subject enumerated in the State List (Article 249). It can authorise the Parliament to create new All-India Services common … Read more

. In the following matters, the powers and status of the Rajya Sabha are unequal to that of the Lok Sabha: .A Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill. It should return the bill to the Lok … Read more

As a federal court, the Supreme Court decides the disputes between different units of the Indian Federation. More elaborately, any dispute between: The Centre and one or more states; or The Centre and any state or states on one side and one or more states on the other; or Between two or more states. In … Read more

. The parliamentary control over government and administration in India is more theoretical than practical. In reality, the control is not as effective as it ought to be. The following factors are responsible for this: The Parliament has neither time nor expertise to control the administration which has grown in volume as well as complexity. … Read more

The primary function of Parliament is to make laws for the governance of the country. It has exclusive power to make laws on the subjects enumerated in the Union List (which at present has 100 subjects, originally 97 subjects) and on the residuary subjects (that is, subjects not enumerated in any of the three lists). … Read more

. Every ordinary bill has to pass through the following five stages in the Parliament before it finds a place on the Statute Book: First Reading An ordinary bill can be introduced in either House of Parliament. Such a bill can be introduced either by a minister or by any other member. The member who … Read more

Question Hour The first hour of every parliamentary sitting is slotted for this. During this time, the members ask questions and the ministers usually give answers. The questions are of three kinds, namely, starred, unstarred and short notice. A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral answer and hence supplementary questions can follow. … Read more