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THE PARLIAMENT OF INDIA

The Organization of the Parliament

1. The Parliament consists of the President, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya
Sabha.
2. Lok Sabha is the Lower House (First Chamber or Popular House) and Rajya
Sabha is the Upper House (Second Chamber or House of Elders).
The Composition of Rajya Sabha
1. The maximum strength of the Rajya Sabha is fixed at 250, out of which,
238 are to be the representatives of the states and union territories (elected
indirectly) and 12 are nominated by the president.
2. At present, the Rajya Sabha has 245 members. Of these, 229 members
represent the states, 4 members represent the union territories and 12
members are nominated by the president.
3. The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the allocation of seats
in the Rajya Sabha to the states and union territories.
4. The representatives of states in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected
members of state legislative assemblies. The seats are allotted to the states
in the Rajya Sabha on the basis of population.
The Composition of Lok Sabha
1. Maximum strength of the House is 552 members - 530 members to
represent the States, 20 members to represent the Union Territories, and 2
members to be nominated by the President from the Anglo-Indian Community.
2. At present, the strength of the House is 543.
3. The representatives of states in the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the
people from their respective constituencies.
4. The voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 years by the 61st Constitutional
Amendment Act, 1988.
Duration of the two Houses of Parliament

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1. The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and not subject to dissolution.
However, one-third of its members retire every second year. The retiring
members are eligible for re-election and re-nomination any number of times.
2. Unlike the Rajya Sabha, the Lok Sabha is not a continuing chamber. Its
normal term is five years from the date of its first meeting after the general
elections, after which it automatically dissolves.
Qualification, disqualifications etc. to be an MP
1. Eligibility
(a) Citizen of India.
(b) Minimum age – 30 years in Rajya Sabha and 25 years in Lok Sabha.
(c) He must possess other qualifications prescribed by Parliament. (Hence,
the Representation of People Act, 1951).
2. For being disqualified for being elected as an MP:
(a) If he holds any office of profit under the Union or state government
(b) If he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a court.
(c) If he is an undischarged insolvent.
(d) if he is not a citizen of India or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of
a foreign state or is under any acknowledgement of allegiance to a foreign
state; and
(e) If he is so disqualified under any law made by Parliament (RPA, 1951).
3. The Constitution also lays down that a person shall be disqualified from
being a member of Parliament if he is so disqualified on the ground of defection
under the provisions of the Tenth Schedule.
4. Double Membership - A person cannot be a member of both Houses of
Parliament at the same time.
5. A House can declare the seat of a member vacant if he is absent from all
its meetings for a period of sixty days without its permission.
The Speaker of the Lok Sabha
1. The Speaker is elected by the Lok Sabha from amongst its members (as
soon as may be, after its first sitting). The date of election of the Speaker is
fixed by the President.
2. The Speaker offers his resignation to the Deputy Speaker and he can be
removed by a resolution passed by a majority of members of Lok Sabha,
however, only after giving him a 14-day notice.
3. He presides over a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament. Such a
sitting is summoned by the President to settle a deadlock between the two
Houses on a bill.
4. He decides whether a bill is a money bill or not and his decision on this
question is final.
5. He can’t vote in the first instance, though can vote in the event of a tie.
When his removal motion is under consideration, he can take part and speak
in the proceedings and can vote as well but not in the case of a tie. He can’t
preside in that case. However, his motion can be passed by an absolute

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majority only and can be considered only if it has the support of at least 50
members.
6. G.V Mavalankar was the first Speaker of Lok Sabha.
7. The longest serving Speaker of Lok Sabha so far has been Balram Jakhar.
8. NOTE – There’s also a post known as Speaker Pro Tem, appointed by the
President himself. He is usually the oldest member of the last Lok Sabha and
he presides over the first session of the incoming Lok Sabha. President
administers him the oath.
The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha
1. Like the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker is also elected by the Lok Sabha itself
from amongst its members.
2. The date of election of the Deputy Speaker is fixed by the Speaker. The
removal process is same as that of a speaker and he offers his resignation to
the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
3. Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar was the first Deputy Speaker of
Lok Sabha.
4. He presides over the joint sitting in case of absence of the Speaker.
Sessions of Parliament
A ‘session’ of Parliament is the period spanning between the first sitting of a
House and its prorogation (or dissolution in the case of the Lok Sabha). The
time period between the prorogation of a House and its reassembly in a new
session is called ‘Recess’. There are usually three sessions. The budget session
is the longest and winter is the shortest.
1. The Budget Session (February to May);
2. The Monsoon Session (July to September); and
3. The Winter Session (November to December).
Important parliamentary terms, points, motions, bills, questions and
Committees
1. The maximum gap between two sessions of Parliament cannot be more
than six months.
2. The President summons and prorogues the two houses of parliament.
3. Quorum is the minimum number of members required to be present in the
House before transaction of any business. It is one-tenth of the total number
of members in each House including the presiding officer. It means that there
must be at least 55 members present in the Lok Sabha and 25 in the Rajya
Sabha.
4. Every minister and the attorney general of India have the right to speak
and take part in the proceedings of either House, any joint sitting of both the
Houses and any committee of Parliament of which he is a member, without
being entitled to vote.
5. Lame-Duck session refers to the last session of the existing Lok Sabha
after a new Lok Sabha has been elected.
6. Question Hour is the first hour of every parliamentary sitting.

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7. A starred question (distinguished by an asterisk) requires an oral answer
and hence supplementary questions can follow.
8. An unstarred question, on the other hand, requires a written answer and
hence, supplementary questions cannot follow.
9. A short notice question is one that is asked by giving a notice of fewer
than ten days. It is answered orally.
10. The zero hour starts immediately after the question hour and lasts until
the agenda for the day (that is, regular business of the House) is taken up. In
other words, the time gap between the question hour and the agenda is known
as zero hour. It is an Indian innovation in the field of parliamentary procedures
and has been in existence since 1962.
11. Adjournment Motion It is introduced in the Parliament to draw the
attention of the House to a definite matter of urgent public importance and
needs the support of 50 members to be admitted. Rajya Sabha isn’t permitted
to make use of this device and the discussion should last for not less than two
hours and thirty minutes.
12. 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 the confidence of the
majority of the members of the Lok Sabha. In other words, 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.
13. A bill is a proposal for legislation and it becomes an act or law when duly
enacted. It could be classified as a private member bill or a public bill. A public
bill is the one introduced by any minister and a private bill is the one which is
otherwise.
14. Bills can be ordinary, money or financial and constitutional amendment
bills. Money bills are the ones which are concerned with taxation, money
matters which are specifically mentioned in article 110. Financial bill is also
concerned with such matters though with slight differences and is mention in
articles 117(1) and 117(3). Constitution amendment bills, which are
concerned with the amendment of the provisions of the Constitution.
15. The Rajya Sabha cannot reject or amend a money bill. It can only make
the recommendations. It must return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days,
either with or without recommendations. The decision of the speaker is final
in deciding a bill is a money bill or not. Also, every such bill is deemed to be
a public bill.
16. The provision of joint sitting is applicable to ordinary bills or financial bills
only and not to money bills or Constitutional amendment bills. In the case of
a money bill, the Lok Sabha has overriding powers, while a Constitutional
amendment bill must be passed by each House separately.
17. The term ‘budget’ has nowhere been used in the Constitution. It is the
popular name for the ‘annual financial statement’ that has been dealt with in
Article 112 of the Constitution.

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18. The Railway Budget was separated from the General Budget in 1921 on
the recommendations of the Acworth Committee. From the year 2017, the
railway budget and the main financial budget were again merged and in 2017.
19. Consolidated Fund of India - It is a fund to which all receipts are
credited and all payments are debited. In other words, (a) all revenues
received by the Government of India; (b) all loans raised by the Government
by the issue of treasury bills, loans or ways and means of advances; and (c)
all money received by the government in repayment of loans forms the
Consolidated Fund of India. Mentioned in article 266.
20. Public Account of India - All other public money (other than those which
are credited to the Consolidated Fund of India) received by or on behalf of the
Government of India shall be credited to the Public Account of India.
21. Contingency Fund of India - The Constitution authorised the Parliament
to establish a ‘Contingency Fund of India’, into which amounts determined by
law are paid from time to time. Accordingly, the Parliament enacted the
contingency fund of India Act in 1950. This fund is placed at the disposal of
the president, and he can make advances out of it to meet unforeseen
expenditure pending its authorisation by the Parliament.
22. Public Accounts Committee - It consists of 22 members (15 from the
Lok Sabha and 7 from the Rajya Sabha). Term of members – 1 year. A
minister cannot be elected as a member of the committee. The chairman of
the committee is appointed by the Speaker from amongst its members. Until
1966–67, the chairman of the committee belonged to the ruling party.
However, since 1967 a convention has developed whereby the chairman of
the committee is selected invariably from the Opposition. The function of the
committee is to examine the annual audit reports of the Comptroller and
auditor general of India (CAG), which are laid before the Parliament by the
president.
23. Estimates Committee – The largest committee of the Parliament. The
term of office is one year. A minister cannot be elected as a member of the
committee. The chairman of the committee is appointed by the Speaker from
amongst its members and he is invariably from the ruling party.
24. Committee on Public Undertakings – The term of office of the
members is one year. A minister cannot be elected as a member of the
committee. The chairman of the committee is appointed by the Speaker from
amongst its members who are drawn from the Lok Sabha only.

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Questions related to Parliament for SSC Exams 2023

1. When was NOTA introduced in Lok Sabha?

Ans: NOTA was introduced in 16th Lok Sabha Elections of 2014
2. When was VVPAT was introduced in Lok Sabha?
• A voter-verifiable paper audit trail was first used in an election in India
in September 2013 in Noksen in Nagaland
• Later, introduced in 8 of 543 parliamentary constituencies in 2014
3. How many Department Related Standing Committees (DRSC) are
there in Lok Sabha?
Ans: There are 16 Standing Committees in Lok Sabha

4. What is the role of Lok Sabha in the introduction on Money Bill?

Ans: Money Bill can only be introduced in Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha speaker
decides the credibility of the money bill.
5. Who is the leader of Lok Sabha?
Ans: Prime Minister is the leader of the house
6. What is the qualification of Lok Sabha members?
• Must be an Indian Citizen
• He must be not less than 25 years of age
• Must be registered as an elector for a parliamentary constituency
• Those who want to contest election from the seat reserved for SC/ST must
be a member of a scheduled caste or scheduled tribe in any state or union
territory
7. How many members of Anglo-Indian community can be nominated
for the Parliament by the President
Ans: 2
8. Rajya Sabha is the House of the Parliament of India
Ans: Upper House

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