Parliament and Parliamentary System — UPSC Polity Notes Ch. 4

Introduction

India has a bicameral Parliament — the Lok Sabha (House of the People, directly elected) and the Rajya Sabha (Council of States, representing the states, mostly indirectly elected) — along with the President, who is an integral part of Parliament though not a member of either House.

Composition

Feature	Lok Sabha	Rajya Sabha
Nature	Lower House / directly elected	Upper House / permanent body, indirectly elected
Maximum strength	552 (currently 543 elected seats)	250 (238 elected + 12 nominated)
Term	5 years (can be dissolved earlier)	Permanent — not subject to dissolution; 1/3rd members retire every 2 years
Election method	Direct election, first-past-the-post	Elected by MLAs of State Assemblies via proportional representation (single transferable vote)
Nominated members	None (earlier 2 Anglo-Indian seats existed till abolished by 104th CAA, 2019)	12, nominated by the President for expertise in art, literature, science, social service
Presiding Officer	Speaker (elected by members)	Vice-President of India (ex-officio Chairman)

Qualifications for Membership

Citizen of India; not less than 25 years (Lok Sabha) or 30 years (Rajya Sabha) of age.
Must not hold any office of profit; must not be of unsound mind or an undischarged insolvent.
Disqualifications also include conviction for certain offences and defection under the Tenth Schedule.

Sessions and Procedure

The President summons each House; the gap between two sessions cannot exceed 6 months.
Quorum: 1/10th of the total membership of the House.
Zero Hour (an Indian innovation, not mentioned in the Rules) is used to raise urgent matters without prior notice, immediately after Question Hour.
Question Hour is the first hour of a sitting, devoted to questions to ministers (Starred, Unstarred, Short Notice).

Speaker and Deputy Speaker

Elected by the Lok Sabha from among its members; holds office until the next Lok Sabha is constituted.
Decides on money bills, presides over joint sittings, and decides questions of disqualification on grounds of defection (subject to judicial review after Kihoto Hollohan v. Zachillhu, 1992).

Anti-Defection Law (Tenth Schedule)

Added by the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985, to curb political defections. A member is disqualified if they:

Voluntarily give up membership of their political party, or
Vote/abstain contrary to the party whip without prior permission (unless condoned within 15 days).

⚖️ 91st Amendment, 2003: Removed the earlier exception that allowed a "split" of 1/3rd of a party's members to escape disqualification; only a merger of 2/3rd of members with another party is now protected.

Legislative Procedure

Flowchart — How an Ordinary Bill Becomes Law

Bill introduced in either House (First Reading)

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Second Reading — general discussion, committee stage, clause-by-clause consideration

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Third Reading — Bill passed by that House

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Passed by the second House (same stages)

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Presented to the President for assent (Art. 111)

If the two Houses disagree on an ordinary bill, Article 108 provides for a joint sitting, presided over by the Speaker.

Money Bill (Article 110) vs Financial Bill

Feature	Money Bill	Financial Bill
Introduction	Only in Lok Sabha, only on President's recommendation	Also only in Lok Sabha (if containing Art. 110 matters + other matters), President's recommendation needed for introduction
Rajya Sabha's role	Can only recommend changes within 14 days — Lok Sabha not bound to accept	Treated like an ordinary bill for matters beyond Art. 110
Certification	Speaker's decision on whether a bill is a Money Bill is final	No such certification needed
Joint Sitting	Not applicable — no deadlock possible	Applicable for the non-Article-110 part

Parliamentary Committees

Committee	Function
Public Accounts Committee (PAC)	Examines the CAG's report on government expenditure; Chairperson conventionally from the Opposition
Estimates Committee	Examines the budget estimates and suggests economies in public expenditure; Lok Sabha members only
Committee on Public Undertakings	Examines reports/accounts of public sector undertakings
Department-related Standing Committees	Scrutinise bills, budgets, and policies of specific ministries in detail

✅ UPSC Focus: LS vs RS composition and terms · Article 108 (joint sitting) vs Article 110 (Money Bill, no joint sitting) · Speaker's final say on Money Bill certification · Tenth Schedule disqualification grounds · PAC vs Estimates Committee membership rules.

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