Parliament

Introduction

▸ The Parliament is the supreme legislative institution of India. It occupies a central position in the Indian democratic political system due to adoption of the parliamentary form of government.
▸ The first general elections under the new Constitution were held during the year 1951-52 had first elected Parliament came into being in April, 1952.
▸ Articles 79 to 122 in Part V deals with the provisions of the Parliament. According to Article 79, Parliament consists of the President and the two Houses the Council of States and the House of the People.
▸ In 1954, the Hindi names Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were adopted by the Parliament of the Council of States and the House of the People respectively.
▸ The Article 87(1) of the Constitution provides: 'At the commencement of the first session after each general election to the House of the People and at the commencement of the first session of each year the President shall address both Houses of Parliament assembled together and inform Parliament of the causes of its summons.'

Qualifications for Members

▸ A person shall be deemed eligible to become a member of Parliament if he or she is
— citizen of India;
— of age not less than 25 years for Lok Sabha and not less than 30 years in case of Rajya Sabha;
— qualified under relevant clauses as prescribed by the Parliament for time-to-time.

Disqualifications for Members

▸ A person shall be disqualified from being a member of House of the Parliament
— if he or she holds an office of profit under the Government of India or the government of any state other than the office declared by the Parliament by law not disqualify its holder;
— if he or she is of unsound mind and stand so declared by a competent court;
— if he or she is an undischarged insolvent;
— if he or she is not a citizen of India or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of foreign state or is under any acknowledgement of allegiance or adherence to a foreign state;
— If he or she is disqualified so by or under any law made by Parliament. Besides the MPs may be disqualified on the ground of defections under Tenth Schedule; convicted for instigating enmity between different groups or for denigrating the Constitution.
▸ Under the Tenth Schedule the grounds of disqualification are as follows:
— if a member of the House belonging to a political party voluntarily gives up his or her membership of that political party
— If he/she abstains from voting or votes contrary to the direction issued by the political party to which he or she belongs.
— If he or she defects from his or her party after elections.
— An independent member who joins a political party after his or her election.
— If one-third of the members of the party split from the parent party and join another party, they are disqualified, however, if two-third of the members of the party merge with another party then they are not disqualified.
— When a faction of members constituting not less than one-third of a parent splits to form a new group, they are not disqualified.
— Nominated members after 6 months.
— The Parliament enacted 'The Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act 1959, to protect certain office of profit from disqualification'. It include Ministers, Office of whip etc.

Anti-Defection Law

▸ The Anti-defection Law was passed in 1985 by the 52nd Constitutional Amendment, which added the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution.
▸ The main objective of the law was to abolish the evils of political defection.
▸ The 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003 provided disqualification on the ground of defection not to apply in case of split.
▸ The power to disqualify a member rests with the Chairman or the Speaker of the House.
▸ A person shall not be disqualified if his/her original political party merges with another and he and other members of the political party welcome members of the new political party.
Advantages
▸ 52nd Amendment is a great effort towards counterfeiting the evils of political defectors.
▸ The political parties got constitutional recognition due to this Act easier there was no mention of political parties in the Constitution.
Disadvantages
▸ By preventing parliamentarians from changing parties, it reduces the accountability of the government to the Parliament and the people.
▸ Interferes with the member's freedom of speech and expression by curbing dissent against party policies.
▸ The law only talks about members of legislature, one becomes member only after he/she is sworn in.
91st Constitutional Amendement Act (2003)
▸ The Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003 has brought certain changes in the 1985 anti-defection law. The amendment deletes the paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule allowing one-third of a legislature party to split without attracting provisions of the existing Anti-defection Law. It debars a defector from holding any 'remunerative political post' for the remaining tenure of the legislature or unless re-elected. For definition of the 'remunerative political post', refer to the Constitution (Ninety-First Amendment) Act, 2003 dealt under the of the Constitution.
▸ The final authority to decide whether a person has incurred the disqualification on grounds of defection or not rests with the Chairman or the Speaker of the House and his decision in this regard is final, according to the Act. The cases regarding disqualification of members of Parliament/State Legislatures do not fall within the purview of the courts. However, in a judgement in 1993, the Supreme Court struck down the clause barring the jurisdiction of courts to review a decision of the Speaker/Chairman of the House on disqualification. The decision of the Speaker is now open to judicial review by the Supreme Court as well as the High Courts under Articles 136, 226 and 227 on the ground of jurisdictional errors, e.g. (i) that it is ultra vires or in contravention of a mandatory provision of the Constitution which gives the Speaker the power to make the decision; (ii) that it is vitiated by malafides or colourable exercise of the power, being based on extraneous or irrelevant considerations; (iii) that it is a perverse decision based on no evidence; (iv) that it violates the rules of natural justice.
▸ The Supreme Court declared Clause 7 invalid as it sought to take away the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Courts in a matter (viz. disqualification of a member of the legislature) through an Amendment Act that was not ratified by the State Legislatures. However, the particular clause was held to be severable from the other provisions of Schedule Tenth.
President is a Part of Parliament
The President is a part of Parliament because:
▸ Unlike the Presidential Political System, Parliamentary System does not entail the separation of powers between executive and legislature.
▸ The President has legislative powers including ordinance making powers.
▸ All Bills passed by Parliament has to receive the assent of the President to become laws.
▸ The President himself is elected by an electoral college comprising of Parliament and legislative assemblies.
▸ The President summons and prorogue both the Houses of Parliament and dissolves the Lok Sabha and also addresses both the Houses.

Rajya Sabha

▸ Rajya Sabha is composed of not more than 250 members of whom 12 shall be nominated by the President and the remaining 238 shall be representatives of States and Union Territories elected by the method of indirect election.
▸ Persons having special knowledge in literature, science, art and social service shall be nominated by the President at his/her discretion.
▸ The states are given proportionate representation according to their population. Thus, Uttar Pradesh has 31 seats in the Rajya Sabha, while the Nagaland has only a single seat. The distribution of seats is given under the Forth Schedule.
▸ Presently, the actual strength of Rajya Sabha stands at 245 with 233 elected members and 12 nominated members. Besides 29 states only Delhi and Puducherry participates in Rajya Sabha elections.
Tenure of Rajya Sabha
▸ The Rajya Sabha is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution, but one-third of its members retire every two years.
▸ The retiring members are eligible for re-election and re-nomination any number of times.
▸ The Constitution has not fixed the term of office of members of the Rajya Sabha and left it to the Parliament. Accordingly, the Parliament in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 provided that Constitution term of the office of a member of Rajya Sabha shall be 6 years.

Rajya Sabha Election Procedure

▸ The members of the Rajya Sabha are elected by the elected members of the respective State Legislative assembly in accordance with the principle of proportional representation by the means of single transferable vote.
▸ Formula for election to Rajya Sabha Strength of Legislative Assembly No of Vacancies +1 e.g. Rajasthan Legislative Assembly has a strength of 200. If there are 4 vacancies for Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan, then a candidate has to get at least 41 votes to be elected.

Presiding Officers of Rajya Sabha

▸ The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha also elects one of its members to be the Deputy Chairman.
▸ When, the Chairman acts as the President of India, the office of the Chairman of the Council of the States falls vacant and the duties of the office of the Chairman shall be performed by the Deputy Chairman.
▸ The function of the Chairman in the Council of States are similar to the Speaker in so far to conduct the orderly business of the House. There is also a Panel of Vice-Chairman 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-Chairman presides over the proceedings of the House.

Lok Sabha

▸ It is composed of representatives of the people chosen by direct election on the basis of the adult suffrage.
▸ The maximum strength of the House envisaged by the Constitution is 552, of which 530 members to represent the states, upto 20 members to represent the Union Territories and not more than 2 members of the Anglo-Indian Community to be nominated by the President, if, in his or her opinion, that community is not adequately represented in the House.
▸ Parliament, from time-to-time, by law makes provision with respect to all matters relating to in connection with, elections to the Lok Sabha including the preparation of electoral rolls, the delimitation of constituencies and all other matters necessary for securing the due Constitution of the Lok Sabha. When the seat of a member elected to the House becomes vacant or is declared vacant or his or her election is declared void, the same is filled through by election.

Tenure of Lok Sabha

▸ The normal tenure of Lok Sabha is 5 years. The 42nd Amendment act increase the normal tenure to 6 years. But the 44th Amendment act brought it down to 5 years.
▸ However, while a proclamation of Emergency is in operation, this period may be extended by Parliament by law for a period not exceeding 1 year at a time and not exceeding in any case beyond a period of 6 months after the proclamation has ceased to operate.

Election to the Lok Sabha

▸ For the purpose of holding direct elections to the Lok Sabha, each state is divided into territorial constituencies to ensure that there is uniformity of representation in two respects which are as follows:
(i) Between the different States. (ii) Between the different constituencies in the same State.
▸ The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976, froze allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha to the States and the Territorial Constituencies till the year 2000 at the 1971 level. This ban on readjustment was extended upto year 2026 by the 84th Amendment Act of 2001.

Presiding Officers of Lok Sabha

Speaker of Lok Sabha
▸ The Speaker is the constitutional and ceremonial head of the Lok Sabha. He or she is the principal spokesperson of the Lok Sabha.
▸ It is in his or her that the responsibility of conducting the business of the House in a manner befitting the place of the institution in a representative democracy is invested.
▸ The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker will normally hold office during the life of the House, but his/her office may terminate in any of the following ways:
— by his/her ceasing to be a member of the House;
— by resignation in writing to the Deputy Speaker and vice-versa;
— by removal from office by a resolution passed by a majority of all the members of the House.
▸ The Speaker holds office from the date of his or her election till the first sitting of the Lok Sabha after the dissolution of the one to which he or she was elected.
Powers and Functions of Speaker
▸ The Speaker has extensive function to perform in matters of administrative and parliamentary business nature. His/her decision are final and binding. Under the Constitution, the Speaker enjoys a special position:
— He certifies a bill to be a Money Bill and his/her decision is final under Article 110.
— He or she presides over joint sittings called for the resolution of a disagreement between the two Houses.
— Decides whether cut motion, no confidence motion etc., to be admitted or not.
— Decides the disqualification of members under the Tenth Schedule.
— Maintains the orderly conduct of business and decorum of the House.
— Appoints the Chairman of different Parliamentary committees.
— The Speaker chairs the Business Advisory committee, Rules committee, General Purpose committee.
— When the Lok Sabha is dissolved, all the member of the Lok Sabha cease to be the member of the Lok Sabha. However, the Speaker continues in his office to the next Lok Sabha is constituted.
Pro-Tem Speaker
After each general elections, the elected representatives are to take oath of office before they become the member of Parliament. This special session for according oath of office is presided by an elected representative appointed for such purpose. He/She is called the Pro-Tem Speaker and is appointed by the President. The person is appointed conventionally the senior most of elected representatives. The Deputy Speaker presides over the Lok Sabha, when the Speaker is absent from the sitting of the House. When the offices of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker fall vacant, the duties of the office of the Speaker are performed by such member of the Lok Sabha as the President may appoint for the purpose. The person so appointed is known as the Speaker Pro-Tem.
Deputy Speaker
▸ The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha is the Vice-Presiding Officer of the House. He/She acts as the Presiding Officer in case of leave or absence caused by death or illness of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. The Deputy Speaker is elected in the very first meeting of the Lok Sabha after the general elections for a term of 5 years from amongst the members of the Lok Sabha.
▸ He/She holds office till either he ceases to be a Member of the Lok Sabha or he himself resigns form the Lok Sabha. He/She can be removed from office by a resolution passed in the Lok Sabha by a majority of its members. He/She is supposed to resign form his original party because as a Deputy Speaker, he has to remain impartial.

Sessions of the Parliament

▸ The Constitution only states that there should not be a gap of more than 6 months between two consecutive sittings of Parliament.
▸ Normally three sessions of the Lok Sabha are held in a year, viz
(i) Budget Session February–May (ii) Autumn or Monsoon Session July–September (iii) Winter Session November–December
▸ One-tenth of the total members in each house including the presiding officer to be present for transact any business are required, it means that there must be at last 55 members present in the Lok Sabha and 25 members present in the Rajya Sabha.
Summoning
▸ The President from time-to-time summons each House of Parliament to meet.
▸ The Special Session of Parliament is summoned by the President in order to translate a special business by the Parliament. In the special session, only the specified business is taken up. It can be held within or outside a regular session.
End of the Session
Adjournment
▸ Adjournment is a postponement of the sitting or proceedings of the House from one time to another specified for the reassembling of the House. During the course of a session, the Lok Sabha may be adjourned from day to day or for more than a day.
▸ It may also be adjourned sine–die, which means the termination of a sitting of the House without any definite date being fixed for its next sitting.
▸ The Speaker has the power to adjourn the House sine-die. Once, the House is adjourned sine-die, he is empowered to call it again. But, on prorogation it is only the President who can summon the Houses.
Prorogation
▸ Prorogation means the termination of a session of the House by an order made by the President under Article 85(2)(a) of the Constitution. The prorogation of the House may take place any time, even while the House is sitting. However, usually, prorogation follows the adjournment of the sitting of the House sine-die.
Dissolution
▸ Dissolution of the House means the end of the life of the Lok Sabha either by an order made by the President under Article 85 (2) (b) of the Constitution or on the expiration of the period of 5 years from the date appointed for its first meeting. Dissolution puts an end to the representative character of the individuals who at the time compose the Lok Sabha. Dissolution is irrevocable.
▸ On the adjournment of the Lok Sabha or its adjournment sine-die, the pending business does not lapse.
▸ Bills pending before either House or Select or Joint committee, motions, resolutions and amendments, which have been already moved and pending in the House and business pending before a Parliamentary committee do not lapse on prorogation whereas all business pending before the House or any of its committee lapse on dissolution.
▸ Bills originating in the Rajya Sabha and still pending in Rajya Sabha and not passed by Lok Sabha, do not lapse on dissolution of the House.
▸ Bills has been considered for joint sitting by President do not lapse. Bills passed by both Houses and sent for President's assent do not lapse and Bills are returned by President for reconsideration also do not lapse and can be considered by successive government.
▸ Pending assurances do not lapse and are considered by the committee on government. Assurances of the new Lok Sabha.

Joint Sitting of Houses

▸ To resolve a deadlock between the two Houses, in case of an ordinary legislation, the Constitution provides for the joint sitting of both Houses.
▸ Article 108(1) of the Constitution provides that when a Bill passed by one House is rejected by the other House or the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments made in the Bill or more than 6 months lapse from the date of the receipt of the Bill by the other House without the Bill being passed by it, the President may, unless the Bill has lapsed by reason of dissolution of Lok Sabha, notify to the Houses by message, if they are sitting or by public notification, if they are not sitting, his/her intention to summon them to meet in a joint sitting.
▸ Issues in joint sitting are decided by a majority of the total number of members of both Houses present and voting.
▸ The joint sitting is held in the central hall of Parliament House, presided over by the Speaker, Lok Sabha. However, in the case of a Money Bill, there is no provision in the Constitution for a joint sitting of both Houses as Lok Sabha clearly enjoys pre-eminence over Rajya Sabha in financial matters.
▸ As regards a Constitution Amendment Bill, it has been provided in the Constitution that such a Bill has to be passed by the specific majority, as prescribed under Article 368 of the Constitution, by both Houses.
▸ There is, therefore, no provision for resolving a deadlock between the two Houses in regard to a Constitution Amendment Bill.
▸ So far joint sittings have been held thrice in 1961, 1978 and 2002. They are as follows:
— The First Joint Sitting was held on 6th May, 1961 to consider amendments to the Dowry Prohibition Bill, 1960, — The Second Joint Sitting was held on 16th May, 1978 for the passage of Banking Service commission (repeal) Bill, 1977.
— The Third Joint Sitting was held on 26th March, 2002 for the passage of prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002.

Parliamentary Proceedings

Question Hour

▸ Generally, the first hour of a sitting of Lok Sabha is devoted to questions and that hour is called the Question Hour.
▸ It has a special significance in the proceedings of Parliament. Asking of questions is an inherent and unfettered parliamentary right of members. It is during the Question Hour that the members can ask questions on every aspect of administration and governmental activity.
Types of Questions
Questions are of three types: starred, unstarred, and short notice questions are as follows:
Starred Question
▸ It is one to which a member desires an oral answer in the House and which is distinguished by an asterisk mark. When a question is answered orally, supplementary questions can be asked thereon. Only 20 questions can be listed for oral answer on a day.
Unstarred Question
▸ It is one which is not called for oral answer in the House and on which no supplementary questions can consequently be asked. To such a question, a written answer is deemed to have been laid on the table after the Question Hour by the Minister to whom it is addressed. It is printed in the official report of the sitting of the House for which it is put down. Only 230 questions can be listed for written answer on a day.
Short Notice Question
▸ It is one which relates to a matter of urgent public importance and can be asked with shorter notice than the period of notice prescribed for an ordinary question. Like a starred question, it is answered orally followed by supplementary questions.

Short Duration Discussion

▸ In order to provide opportunities to members to discuss matters of urgent public importance, a convention was established in March, 1953, which was incorporated later into the Rules of Procedure and conduct of Business in Lok Sabha under Rule 193 as Short Duration Discussion. Under this rule, members can raise discussion for short durations without a formal motion or vote thereon.

Half-an-Hour Discussion

▸ Where answer to a question whether starred or unstarred needs elucidation on a matter of fact, any member can table a notice for raising half-an-hour discussion thereon. If the notice is admitted and gets priority in ballot such a discussion may be allowed by the Speaker.

Zero Hour

▸ The time immediately following the Question Hour and laying of papers and before any listed business is taken up in the House has come to be popularly known as the Zero Hour. As it starts around 12 noon, this period is euphemistically termed as 'Zero Hour'. For raising matters during the so-called Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, members give notice before 10 am everyday to the Speaker stating clearly the subject which they consider to be important and wish to raise in the House.
▸ It is, of course, for the Speaker to allow or not allow raising of such matters in the House.
▸ The term 'Zero Hour' is not formally recognised in our parliamentary procedure.

Motions

▸ The term motion in parliamentary parlance means any proposal made for the purpose of eliciting a decision of the House. It is phrased in such a way that, if passed, it will purport to express the will of the House. Motions may be classified as substantive or substitute or subsidiary:
— Substantive motion is a self-contained independent proposal made in reference to a subject which the mover wishes to bring forward.
— Substitute motion is moved in substitution of an original motion and proposes an alternnative to it.
— Subsidiary motion has by itself no meaning and cannot state the devision of the house without reference to the original motion or proceedings of the House.

Types of Motion

Calling Attention Motion
▸ Under this procedural device, a member may, with the prior permission of the Speaker, call the attention of a Minister to any matter of urgent public importance and the Minister may make a brief statement or ask for time to make a statement later.
▸ The calling attention procedure is an Indian innovation which combines asking a question with supplementaries and making brief comments; the government also gets adequate opportunity to state its case.
Adjournment Motion
▸ Adjournment Motion (Rule 56) is the procedure for adjournment of the business of the House for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance, which can be moved with the consent of the Speaker. The adjournment motion, if admitted, leads to setting aside of the normal business of the House for discussing the matter mentioned in the motion.
▸ To be in order, an adjournment motion must raise a matter of sufficient public importance to warrant interruption of normal business of the House and the question of public importance is decided on merit in each individual case.
▸ The purpose of an adjournment motion is to take the government to task for a recent act of omission or commission having serious consequences. Its adoption is regarded as a sort of censure of the government.
▸ The adjournment motion is voted upon after the discussion. Rajya Sabha does not have this power to raise a adjournment motion.
No-Confidence Motion
▸ The government must always enjoy majority support in the popular House to remain in power. If need be, it has to demonstrate its strength on the floor of the House by moving a motion of confidence and winning the confidence of the House.
▸ The Constitution does not mention either a confidence motion or a no-confidence motion. Rule 198 of the rules of procedure and conduct of business in Lok Sabha lays down the procedure for moving a motion of no-confidence in the Council of Ministers. The usual format of such a motion is that 'this House expresses its want of confidence in the Council of Ministers'. A motion of no-confidence need not set out any grounds on which it is based.
▸ A no-confidence motion is allowed only in Lok Sabha.
Censure Motion
▸ Censure motion can be moved only in Lok Sabha under Rule 184. A censure motion is moved against an individual minister or whole of the Council of Ministers for a dereliction of duties or breach of privilege. The grounds for moving a censure have to be tabled before the Speaker. Speaker can also disallow a censure motion. The motion is voted upon after a debate.
▸ If the censure motion is passed against the good, the Council of Ministers shall pass a confidence motion to regain the trust of the House.

Legislative Proceedings

▸ All legislative proposals are initiated in the Parliament in the terms of Bills. The Bill is a proposed legislation. It becomes a law when it is asserted by the President. The bill can broadly be categorised as:
Ordinary Bills
▸ All the bills other than Financial bills. Money bills and the Constitutional Amendment bills are Ordinary bills.
▸ Such bills can be introduced in either House of the Parliament (in Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha) without the recommendation of the President, except those bills under Article 3 (i.e. bills related to reorganisation of the terrritory of a State).
▸ These bills are passed by a simple majority by both the Houses. Both the Houses enjoy equal jurisdiction over such bills and in case of a deadlock due to any reason, the tie is resolved by a joint sitting. The President has the right to return such bills for reconsideration to the Parliament once.
▸ Each House has laid down a procedure for the passage of a Bill According to the procedure of the House, a bill has to pass through three stages commonly known as Readings.
— First Reading The bill is introduced in the House. At this stage, no discussion takes place.
— Second Reading This is the consideration stage when the Bill is disussed clause by clause.
— Third Reading During this stage, a brief general discussion of the bill takes place and the bill is finally passed. When the Bill is passed by one House, it is sent to the other House for its consideration.
Money Bill
▸ According to Article 110, A Bill shall be deemed to be a Money Bill if it contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters, namely:
— the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;
— the regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantee by the Government of India or the amendment of the law with respect to any financial obligations undertaken or to be undertaken by the Government of India;
— the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of money into or the withdrawal of money from any such fund;
— the appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India;
— the declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure;
— the receipt of money an account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State or
— any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub-clauses (a) to (f).
▸ If any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the House of the People thereon shall be final.
▸ Money Bills can be introduced only in Lok Sabha. Rajya Sabha cannot make amendments in a Money Bill passed by Lok Sabha. It can, however, recommend amendments in a Money Bill, but must return all Money Bills to Lok Sabha within 14 days from the date of their receipt.
▸ It is open to Lok Sabha to accept or reject any or all of the recommendations of Rajya Sabha with regard to a Money Bill. If Lok Sabha accepts any of the recommendations of Rajya Sabha, the Money Bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses with amendments recommended by Rajya Sabha and accepted by Lok Sabha and if Lok Sabha does not accept any of the recommendations of Rajya Sabha, Money Bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the form in which it was passed by Lok Sabha without any of the amendments recommended by Rajya Sabha.
▸ If a Money Bill passed by Lok Sabha and transmitted to Rajya Sabha for its recommendations and it is not returned to Lok Sabha within the said period of 14 days, it is deemed to have been passed by both Houses at the expiration of the said period in the form, in which it was passed by the Lok Sabha.
Financial Bill
▸ While a Money Bill deals solely with matters specified in Article 110(1) (a) to (g) of the Constitution, a Financial Bill does not exclusively deal with all or any of the matters specified in the said Article that is to say it contains some other provisions also.
▸ Financial Bills can be divided into two categories. In the first category are Bills which inter-alia (among other things) contain provisions attracting Article 110(1) (a) to (f) of the Constitution. They are categorised as Financial Bills under Article 117(1) of the Constitution. Like Money Bills, they can be introduced only in Lok Sabha on the recommendation of the President. However, other restrictions in regard to Money Bills do not apply to this category of Bills. Financial Bill under Article 117(1) of the Constitution can be referred to a Joint Committee of the Houses.
▸ In the second category are those Bills which inter-alia contain provisions, which would on enactment involve expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India. Such Bills are categorised as Financial Bills under Article 117 (3) of the Constitution. Such Bills can be introduced in House of Parliament like any other ordinary Bill. However, recommendation of the President is essential for consideration of these Bills by either House and unless such recommendation is received, House can pass the Bill. However, the Bill may be introduced without President's recommendation, but in such a case its consideration cannot take place.
Constitution Amendment Bill
▸ The Constitution vests in Parliament the power to amend the Constitution. Constitution Amendment Bill can be introduced in House of Parliament.
▸ The Constitution Amendment Bill affecting vital issues as enlisted in the provision to Article 368(2) of the Constitution after having been passed by the Houses of Parliament, have also to be ratified by not less than one half of the State Legislatures.
▸ While motions for introduction of Constitution Amendment Bills are adopted by simple majority, a majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-third of the members present and voting is required for adoption of effective clauses and motions for consideration and passing of these Bills.
▸ In the case of Constitutional Amendment Bill, there is no provision for joint sitting of both the Houses to resolve the deadlock in the passage of Bill. If one House rejects the Bill or suggests amendments that are not acceptable to the original House the Bill comes to an end.
President Assent to the Bills
▸ After a Bill has been passed by both the Houses of Parliament, it is presented to the President for his/her assent.
▸ The President may either assent to the Bill, withhold his/her assent or return the Bill, if it is not a Money Bill, with a message for reconsideration of the Bill or any specified provisions thereof, or for considering the desirability of introducing any such amendments as he may recommend in his/her message.
▸ The President may either give or withhold his/her assent to a Money Bill. A Money Bill can not be returned to the House by the President for reconsideration.
▸ Also, the President is bound to give his/her assent to Constitution Amendment Bill passed by Parliament by the prescribed special majority and where necessary, ratified by the requisite number of State Legislatures.
When Does a Bill Lapse in Indian Parliament?
When the Lok Sabha is dissolved, all business including bills, motions, resolutions, notices, petitions and so on pending before it or its committees lapse. They must be reintroduced in the newly-constituted Lok Sabha to be pursued further. Articles 107 and 108 of the Indian Constitution deals with these provisions. The position with respect to lapsing of bills is as follows:
Cases when a bill lapse:
▸ A bill originated in the Lok Sabha but pending in the Lok Sabha—lapses.
▸ A bill originated and passed by the Rajya Sabha but pending in Lok Sabha—lapses.
▸ A bill originated and passed by the Lok Sabha but pending in the Rajya Sabha—lapses.
▸ A bill originated in the Rajya Sabha and returned to that House by the Lok Sabha with amendments and still pending in the Rajya Sabha on the date of the dissolution of Lok Sabha—lapses.
Cases when a bill does not lapse:
▸ A bill pending in the Rajya Sabha but not passed by the Lok Sabha does not lapse.
▸ It the president has notified the holding of a joint sitting before the dissolution of Lok Sabha, does not lapse.
▸ A bill passed by both Houses but pending assent of the President does not lapse.
▸ A bill passed by both Houses but returned by the president for reconsideration of Rajya Sabha does not lapse.
▸ Some pending bills and all pending assurances that are to be examined by the Committee on Government Assurances do not lapse on the dissolution of the Lok Sabha.
Annual Financial Statement
According to Article 112, ▸ The President shall in respect of every financial year cause to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for that year.
▸ The estimates of expenditure embodied in the annual financial statement shall show separately (a) the sums required to meet expenditure described by this Constitution as expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India and (b) the sums required to meet other expenditure proposed to be made from the Consolidated Fund of India and shall distinguish expenditure on revenue of account from other expenditure. The following expenditure shall be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India charged expenditions:
— the emoluments and allowances of the President and other expenditure relating to his office;
— the salaries and allowances of the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the House of the people;
— debt charges for which the Government of India is liable including interest, sinking fund charges and redemption charges and other expenditure relating to the raising of loans and the service and redemption of debt; the salary, allowances and pension payable to or in respect of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India;
— any sums required to satisfy any judgement, decree or award of any court or arbitral tribunal;
— any other expenditure declared by this Constitution or by Parliament by law to be so charged.

Presentation of Budget

▸ 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.
▸ General budget was earlier being presented at 5 pm on the last working day of February, but since, 1999 the General budget is being presented at 11 am on the last working day of February, i.e. about a month before the commencement of the financial year except in the year when general elections to Lok Sabha are held.
▸ In an election year, budget may be presented twice—first to secure vote on account for a few months and later in full.
▸ 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. The budget of the Indian Railways is presented separately to Parliament and dealt separately, although the receipts and expenditure of the railways form part of the Consolidated Fund of India and the figures relating to them are included in the 'Annual Financial Statement'.

Stages in Enactment of the Budget

▸ Presentation of Budget
▸ Vote on Account
▸ General Discussion
▸ Scrutiny by Department Committees
▸ Voting on Demand for Grants
▸ Passing of Appropriation Bill
▸ Passing of Finance Bill
Changes in Budget Presentation from 2017
This year, the NDA government decided to present the Union Budget on Ist February departing from the colonial-era tradition of presenting the budget on last working day of February. It is done so that the legislative approval for annual spending plans and tax proposals could be completed before the beginning of new financial year on 1 April. Apart from it, the other two significant changes were the merger of Railway Budget with Union Budget and abolishing the classification of plan and non-plan expenditure.

General Discussion on Budget

▸ The discussion on the budget begins a few days after its presentation. In a democratic set-up, government is anxious to give Parliament full opportunity to discuss the budgetary provisions and the various proposals for taxation. Since, Parliament is not able to vote the entire budget before the commencement of the new financial year, the necessity to keep enough finance at the disposal of government in order to allow it to run the administration of the country remains unmet.
▸ A special provision is, therefore, made for Vote-on-Account by which government obtains the Vote of Parliament for a sum sufficient to incur expenditure on various items for a part of the year. Normally, the Vote-on-Account is taken for 2 months only.

Scrutiny by Departmental Committees

▸ After the first stage of General Discussion on both Railway as well as General Budget is over, the House is adjourned for a fixed period. During this period, the demands for grants of various ministries or departments including railways are considered by concerned Standing committees. These committees are required to make their reports to the House within specified period without asking for more time.

Voting on Demands of Grants

▸ After the reports of the Standing committees are presented to the House, the House proceeds to the discussion and voting on demands for grants, ministry-wise. On the last day of the allotted days, the Speaker puts all the outstanding demands to the vote of the House. This device is popularly known as guillotine.
▸ Lok Sabha has the power to assent to or refuse to give assent to any demand or even to reduce the amount of grant sought by government. In Rajya Sabha, there is only a general discussion on the budget. It does not vote on the demands for grants. Only so much of the amount is subject to the vote of Lok Sabha as is not a 'charged' expenditure on the Consolidated Fund of India.
▸ Discussion in Lok Sabha on charged expenditure is permissible, but such expenditure is not voted by the House. Members have full opportunity to criticise the budgetary provisions during the course of discussion as also to make suggestions for improving the financial position of the country.
Cut Motions
Motions for reduction to various demands for grants are made in the form of cut motions seeking to reduce the sums sought by government on grounds of economy or difference of opinion on matters of policy or just in order to voice a grievance.
Three types of cut motion are permitted in Lok Sabha. They are as follows:
Economy Cut It signals that the government has done undue spending and asks the government to undertake cost-cutting measures to improve efficiency.
Policy Cut It signals the complete disapproval of the budget by the House and recommends that the amount of the grant be reduce to ` 1.
Token Cut It signals disapproval in the overall allocation of budgetary items and asks the House to cut the amount by ` 100. Token cut is of symbolic nature. So far, no cut motions have been passed.
Cut Motion If a cut motion is adopted and passed, a no-confidence motion can be proceeded against government.

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 government's 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 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 authorised 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 or Railways presents a demand for excess grant.
▸ The procedure followed in Parliament in regard to supplementary or excess grants is more or less the same as is adopted in the case of estimates included in the General budget.

Comparison of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

▸ Under Article 75(3) of the Constitution, the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Lok Sabha, which means Rajya Sabha cannot make or unmake the government. It can, however, exercise control over the government and this function becomes quite prominent, particularly when the government does not enjoy majority in Rajya Sabha.
▸ Ministers may belong to House of Parliament. Every minister has the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of either House, but he/she is entitled to vote only in the House of which, he is a member.
▸ Similarly, with regard to powers, privileges and immunities of the Houses of Parliament, their members and committees thereof, the two Houses are placed absolutely on equal footing by the Constitution.
Equal Powers of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha
▸ Equal right with the Lok Sabha in the election and impeachment of the President (Articles 54 and 61).
▸ Equal right with the Lok Sabha in the election and removal of the Vice-President (Article 66). However, Rajya Sabha alone can initiate the removal of the Vice-President. He is removed by a resolution passed by the Rajya Sabha by a special majority and agreed to by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority.
▸ Equal right with the Lok Sabha to make law defining parliamentary privileges and also to punish for contempt (Article 105).
▸ Equal right with the Lok Sabha to approve the Proclamation of Emergency (issued under Article 352), proclamations regarding failure of the constitutional machinery in states (issued under Article 356) and even a sole right in certain circumstances.
▸ Enlargement of the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the UPSC.
▸ Approval of ordinances issued by the President.
▸ Equal right with the Lok Sabha to receive reports and papers from various statutory authorities:
— Annual Financial Statement [Article 112(1)].
— Audit reports from the Comptroller and Auditor General of India [Article 151(1)].
— Reports of the Union Public Service commission. [Article 323(1)].
— Reports of the Special Officer for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes [Article 338(2)].
— Report of the Commission to Investigate the Conditions of the Backward Classes [Article 340(3)].
— Report of the Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities [Article 350 B(2)].
Special Powers of Lok Sabha with Respect to Rajya Sabha
▸ A Money Bill can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in Rajya Sabha.
▸ Rajya Sabha cannot amend or reject a Money Bill. It should return the Bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days with or without recommendations.
▸ The Lok Sabha can either accept or reject all or any of the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha. In both cases, the Money Bill is deemed to have been passed by the two Houses.
▸ A Financial Bill, not containing solely the matters of Article 110, also can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha. But, with regard to its passage, both have equal powers.
▸ The final power to decide whether a particular Bill is a Money Bill is vested in the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
▸ The Speaker of Lok Sabha presides over the joint sitting of both the Houses.
▸ The Lok Sabha with greater number wins the battle in a joint sitting except when the combined strength of the ruling party in both Houses is less than that of opposition parties.
▸ Rajya Sabha can only discuss the budget, but cannot vote on the demands for grants.
▸ A resolution for the discontinuance of the National Emergency can be passed only by the Lok Sabha and not by the Rajya Sabha.
▸ The Rajya Sabha cannot remove the Council of Ministers by passing a no confidence motion. This is because the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible only to the Lok Sabha.
Special Powers of Rajya Sabha with Respect to Lok Sabha
Legislation on State Matters
▸ As a federal chamber, it can initiate Central intervention in the state legislative field. Article 249 of the Constitution provides that the Rajya Sabha may pass resolution, by a majority of not less than two-third of the members present and voting, to the effect that it is necessary or expedient in the national interest that Parliament should make laws with respect to any matter enumerated in the State list. If such a resolution is adopted, Parliament will be authorised, to make laws on the subject specified in the resolution, for the whole or any part of the territory of India. Such a resolution will remain in force for such period, not exceeding 1 year, as may be specified therein, but this period can be extended by 1 year at a time by passing further resolution.
Creation of All India Services
▸ Another exclusive power of the Rajya Sabha is contained in Article 312 of the Constitution wherein if the Rajya Sabha passes a resolution by a majority of not less than two-third of the members present and voting declaring that it's necessary or expedient in the national interest to create one or more All India Services common to the union and the states, Parliament will have the power to create by law such services.
Approval of Proclamation
▸ The provision to Clause (4) of the Article 352 of the Constitution, inter alia, provides that if a proclamation of Emergency is issued when the House of the people remains dissolved and a resolution approving the proclamation is passed by the Council of States, the proclamation, would be legally effective up to a maximum period of 30 days from the date on which the House of the people first sits after its reconstitution.
▸ This provision, therefore, appears to suggest that there might be an occasion when the Council of States could be called into a session at a time when the House of people stands dissolved. The provision to Clause (3) of the Article 356 of the Constitution which relates to the proclamation to be issued by the President in case of failure of constitutional machinery in a state, contains a similar stipulation.

Parliamentary Privileges

▸ The term parliamentary privilege refers to certain rights and immunities enjoyed by each House of Parliament and committees of each House collectively and by members of each House individually, without which they cannot discharge their functions efficiently and effectively. The objective of parliamentary privileges is to safeguard the freedom, the authority and the dignity of Parliament.
▸ The powers, privileges and immunities of either House of Parliament and of its committees and members have been laid down in Article 105 of the Constitution.
▸ Under Article 105, certain privileges are granted for the MPs, they are as follows:
— Freedom of speech in Parliament where restriction under Article 19(2) do not apply.
— Immunity for a member from any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament.
— Courts are prohibited from inquiring into the validity of any proceedings in Parliament there of under various statutes enacted by the Parliament MPs are given certain additional privileges: (i) Freedom from arrest in civil cases, but not in criminal cases. (ii) Freedom of attendance as witness. (iii) Freedom from being liable to be used for defamation cases in respect to anything said or done during parliamentary proceedings.
Difference between Breach of Privilege and Contempt of the House
When any of the privileges, either of the members individually or of the House in its collective capacity, is disregarded or attacked by any individual or authority, the offence is called a breach of privilege. Contempt of the House may be defined generally as any act or omission which obstructs or impedes either House of Parliament in the performance of its functions or which obstructs or impedes any member or officers of such House in the discharge of his or her duty, or which has a tendency, directly or indirectly, to produce such results even though there is no precedent of the offence. Whereas all breaches of privilege are contempts of the House whose privileges are violated, a person may be guilty of a contempt of the House even though he does not violate any of the privilege of the House, e.g. when he disobeys an order to attend a committee or publishes reflections on the character or conduct of a member in his capacity as a member.

Office of Profit

The term is used in Article 102(1)(a) and 191(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution which bars a member of the Indian Parliament and State Legislatures from holding an office that would give its occupant the opportunity to gain a financial advantage or benefit. It refers to a post under Central/State Government which yields salaries, perks and other benefits. The actual amount of profit gained during the violation has no bearing on its classification. India had the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1950, 1951 and 1953 exempting certain posts from being recorded as offices of profit. All these Acts were replaced by the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959. By virtue of section 3 of the said Act, certain offices did not disqualify their holders from being members of Parliament. The law was again amended in 2006. The representatives cannot hold an office of profit under section 9 of the Representation of People Act.

Voting in Parliament

▸ The various methods, adopted for voting in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are as follows:
Voice Vote
▸ It is a simple method for deciding a question put by the chair on a motion made by a member. Under this method, the question before the House is determined by the 'Ayes' or the 'Noes', as the case may be.
Division
▸ There are three methods of holding a division as follows:
(i) by operating the Automatic Vote Recording Equipment; (ii) by distributing 'Ayes' and 'Noes' slips in the House and (iii) by members going into the Lobbies.
Secret Ballot
▸ During an 'open' voting period, the individual results are shown by the three characters 'A', 'N' and 'O' on the Individual Result Display Panel. Secret voting, if any, is on similar lines except that the Light Emitting Diode (LED) on the Individual Result Display Panel shows P sign amber light to show that the vote has been recorded.
Recording of Votes by Distribution of Slips
▸ The method of recording of votes by members on 'Aye' and 'No' slips is generally resorted to in the eventuality of:
— sudden failure of the working of the Automatic Vote Recording Equipment.
— at the commencement of the new Lok Sabha, before the seats or division numbers have been allotted to members.
Physical Count of Members in their Places Instead of a Formal Division
▸ If in the opinion of the chair, a division is unnecessarily claimed he or she may ask the members who are for 'Aye' and those for 'No', respectively, to rise in their places and on a count being taken, he or she may declare the determination of the House. In such a case, the particular of voting of the members are not recorded.
Casting Vote
▸ If in a division the number of 'Ayes' and 'Noes' is equal, the question is decided by the casting vote of the chair. Under the Constitution, the Speaker or the person acting as such cannot vote in a division; he/she has only a casting vote which he/she must exercise in the case of equality of votes.

Parliamentary Committees

▸ Parliamentary committee means a committee, which is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker and which works under the direction of the Speaker and presents its report to the House or to the Speaker and the Secretariat for which is provided by the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Broadly, the Parliamentary Committees may be classified into the two categories : Ad hoc Committee and Standing Committee.

(i) Ad hoc Committees

▸ Ad hoc committees are constituted by the House or by the Presiding Officers, singly or jointly, for a specific purpose and cease to exist when they finish the task assigned to them and submit a report.
▸ The usual Ad hoc committees are the select or joint committees on Bills and others like the Railway Convention Committee, setup to review the rate of dividend payable by railways to the general revenues, and those constituted to enquire into and report on specific subjects.
Joint Parliamentary Committees
▸ Joint Parliamentary Committee is one type of Ad hoc Parliamentary Committees constituted by Parliament. It is mandated to inquire into a specific subject. A JPC (Joint Parliamentary committee) is constituted either through a motion adopted by one House and concurred by the other or through communication between the presiding officers of the two Houses. The members are either elected by the Houses or nominated by the presiding officers.
▸ The strength of a JPC may vary. The terms of reference of a JPC are decided by the Parliament itself.
▸ JPC have overarching powers of summoning any authority including the Prime Minister and seeking attendance.

(ii) Standing Committees

▸ Standing committees are those committees, which are either elected by the House or nominated by the Presiding Officer(s) (i.e. the Speaker in the case of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman in the case of the Rajya Sabha) periodically and are permanent in nature.
Some important Standing Committees of the Lok Sabha are as follows:
— The Business Advisory Committee
— Committee of Privileges
— Committee on Government Assurances
— Estimates Committee
— Rules Committee
— Committee on Empowerment of Women
— Committee on Public Undertakings
— Committee on the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
— Public Accounts Committee

Financial Committees

Committee on Estimates
▸ The Estimates committee constituted for the first time in 1950 is a Parliamentary Committee consisting of 30 member selected every year by the Lok Sabha amongst its members in proportion of party strength. It is the largest committee of the Parliament. A minister cannot be elected as a member of the committee. The term of office of the committee is 1 year.
Functions of Estimate Committee
▸ Report what economies, improvements in organisation, efficiency or administrative reform, consistent with the policy underlying the estimates may be effected;
▸ Suggest alternative policies in order to bring about efficiency and economy in administration;
▸ Examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates; and ▸ Suggest the form in, which the estimates shall be presented to Parliament. The committee does not exercise its functions in relation to such public undertakings as are allotted to the Committee on Public Undertakings by the Rules of Procedure of Lok Sabha or by the Speaker.
Public Accounts Committee
▸ It is the oldest committee in existence from 1921. The committee consists of not more than 22 members including 15 members of Lok Sabha and 7 members of Rajya Sabha. The members are elected by their respective Houses. The Chairman is appointed by the Speaker and is usually from the opposition party. Functions of the Committee are as follows:
— The main function of PAC is to examine the annual audit reports of the CAG, which are laid before the Parliament by the President. The CAG submits three audit report namely Audit report on appropriation accounts, Audit report on finance accounts and audit report on public undertakings.
— To scrutinise the accounts of the government so that the money dispersed were legally available for and applicable to the purpose to which they have been granted.
— The expenditure conforms to the authority which governs it.
— That every re-appropriation has been made in accordance with the provisions made by competence authority.
— The PAC examines cases involving losses, nugatory expenditure and financial irregularities. It scrutinises the reports of the CAG.
Committee on Public Undertakings
▸ The Committee on Public Undertakings (CPU) consists of 22 members 15 elected by Lok Sabha and 7 elected by Rajya Sabha. The term of the committee is 1 year.
Functions and CPU
▸ To examine the reports and accounts of public undertakings.
▸ To examine the reports of CAG on select PSUs.
▸ To ascertain whether the affairs of the public undertaking are being managed in accordance with the sound commercial principles.
Department Related Standing Committees (DRSCs)
▸ DRSCs were setup in 1993 to scrutinise the functioning of the various ministries.
▸ Departments of the Union Government assigned to them in order to further strengthen the accountability of the Government to Parliament.
▸ Twenty-four DRSCs have been constituted consisting of not more than 31 members, out of which 21 members are nominated by the Speaker, Lok Sabha and 10 members are nominated by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha. 8 DRSCs function under the control and direction of the Chairman, Rajya Sabha, while sixteen such committees function under the control and direction of the Speaker, Lok Sabha.
▸ One of the important functions of these committees is to examine such Bills introduced in either House as are referred to them by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Speaker, Lok Sabha, as the case may be and make report thereon. The reports of the Standing Committees have persuasive value.
▸ In case, the government accepts any of the recommendations of the committee, it may bring forward official amendments at the consideration stage of the Bill or may withdraw the Bill reported by the Standing Committee and bring forward a new Bill after incorporating the recommendations of the Standing Committee.
Functions of the DRSCs
▸ To consider the Demands for Grants of the related Ministries or Departments and report thereon;
▸ To examine Bills, pertaining to the related Ministries or Departments, referred to the Committee and report thereon;
▸ To consider the annual reports of the Ministries or Departments and report thereon; and ▸ To consider national basic long-term policy documents and report thereon.
Consolidated Fund of India
This is the fund established under Article 266(1) of the Constitution and into this all receipts, revenues and loans flow. All expenditure from the Consolidated Fund has to be passed by Parliament through an Appropriation Bill.
Public Account of India
It includes all those moneys where the government acts as a banker. e.g. provident fund, small savings etc. It is established under Article 266(2). These funds do not belong to the government and have to be paid back sometime to their rightful owners. Expenditure from public account is not required to be approved by Parliament.
Contingency Fund of India
Parliament has established a Contingency Fund under Article 267 to be placed at the disposal of President to meet unforeseen expenditures pending authorisation of such expenditure by Parliament. Earlier Contingency Fund was ` 50 crore but now it
` 500 crore. Money can be taken out of Contingency Fund during emergency but approval from Parliament has to be taken later on.

Parliamentary Reforms

▸ For Parliament, it is the most importance to constantly review and refurbish its structural-functional requirements and from time-to-time to consider renewing and reforming the entire gamut of its operational procedures to guard against decay.
Parliamentary reforms would have to include:
— Building a better image of Parliament.
— Improving the quality and conduct of members.
— By law, it must be provided that Parliament should be working for at least 100-120 days. Improving information supply to Parliament and efficacy of committee scrutiny.
— Legislative planning and improving the quality of laws.
— Codifying Parliamentary privileges.
— Improving working of parliamentary parties, floor management, parliamentary time-table.
— Rationalising and modernising rules of procedure to meet today's needs.

Cabinet Secretariat

▸ The Cabinet Secretariat supervises and co-ordinates the function of Cabinet Ministers which constitutes the Cabinet Secretariat. The PM being the in-charge of his Cabinet, the entire gamut of governmental activity comes under the purview of this organisation. It circulates governmental papers among ministries for effective decision-making.
▸ It conveys the directives of the Cabinet or the Prime Minister on administration and allied matters. It co-ordinates among the Cabinet Committee. It is essentially a secretariat to aid and advice the cabinet and through it to the PM, President, Parliament and various ministers of the Central Secretariat. It is the Successor of the Secretariat of the Executive Council of Viceroy.
The Prime Minister's Secretariat
▸ It is an extra constitutional body created to assist the PM in discharging his ever growing functions. It came into being on 15th August, 1947. Since June, 1977, it is known as PMO. In this, PM takes the aid and advice from his personal secretarial experts and staff members. It is meant to objectively analyse and legally process the advice rendered by the PM.
▸ It occupies the status of a department of the GOI under the allocation of Business Rule, 1961 and has no attached sub-ordinate officer under it. So far the question, as to which body is more important it has shifted from one secretariat to the other depending on the style of working of the PM over the years.