Parliament of India


The Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body of the Government of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha. The President of the Republic of India, in their role as head of the legislature, has full powers to summon and prorogue either house of Parliament or to dissolve the Lok Sabha, but they can exercise these powers only upon the advice of the Prime Minister of the Republic of India and the Union Council of Ministers.
Those elected or nominated to either house of the Parliament are referred to as members of Parliament. The members of parliament in the Lok Sabha are directly elected by the voting of Indian citizens in single-member districts and the members of parliament in the Rajya Sabha are elected by the members of all state legislative assemblies by proportional representation. The Parliament has a sanctioned strength of 543 in the Lok Sabha and 245 in the Rajya Sabha including 12 nominees from the expertise of different fields of literature, art, science, and social service. The Parliament meets at Sansad Bhavan in New Delhi. The Parliament of India represents the largest democratic electorate in the world, with an electorate of 968 million eligible voters in 2024. On 28 May 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, unveiled and inaugurated the New Parliament Building, located adjacent to the previous one.

History

During the British rule, the legislative branch of India was the Imperial Legislative Council, which was created in 1861 via the Indian Councils Act 1861 and disbanded in 1947, when India gained independence. Following independence, the Constituent Assembly of India was elected to write the Constitution of India. In 1950 after the constitution came into force, the Constituent Assembly of India was disbanded, and succeeded by the Parliament of India, which is active to this day.

Parliament House

Old premises (Samvidhan Sadan)

The Old Parliament House is located in New Delhi. It was designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker, who were made responsible for the planning and construction of New Delhi by the British government, as the home of the Central Legislative Assembly, the Council of State, and the Chamber of Princes. The construction of the building took six years, and the opening ceremony was performed on 18 January 1927 by the viceroy and governor-general of India, Lord Irwin. The construction cost for the building was.
The building is tall, in diameter and covers an area of. The Central Hall consists of the chambers of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, and the library hall. Surrounding these three chambers is the four-storied circular structure providing accommodations for members and houses parliamentary committees, offices and the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. The center and the focus of the building is the Central Hall. It consists of chambers of the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, and the Library Hall, and between them lie garden courts. Surrounding these three chambers is the four-storied circular structure providing office spaces for ministers, chairmen, parliamentary committees, party offices, important offices of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Secretariat, and also the offices of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs. The Central Hall is circular in shape and the dome is in diameter.
It is a place of historical importance. The Indian Constitution was framed in the Central Hall. The Central Hall was originally used in the library of the erstwhile Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of States. In 1946, it was converted and refurbished into the Constituent Assembly Hall.

New premises (Sansad Bhavan)

called the Sansad Bhavan was inaugurated on 28 May 2023. The old building, an 85-year-old structure suffers from inadequacy of space to house members and their staff and is thought to suffer from structural issues. The building also needs to be protected because of its heritage tag. The new building, with a built-up area of approximately 65,000 sq m and a distinctive triangular shape, optimally utilizes space. It houses an expanded Lok Sabha Hall, accommodating up to 888 seats, and a larger Rajya Sabha hall, accommodating up to 384 seats, with the Lok Sabha capable of accommodating up to 1,272 seats for joint sessions of Parliament. The Lok Sabha Hall draws inspiration from India's national bird, incorporating a peacock theme, while the Rajya Sabha hall is designed with a lotus theme, reflecting India's national flower. Additionally, a state-of-the-art Constitutional Hall symbolically and physically places Indian citizens at the heart of democracy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for the new Parliament building on 10 December 2020. With an estimated cost of 9.71 billion, the new building was inaugurated in 2023. The first session in the New Parliament took place on 19 September 2023.

Composition

The Indian Parliament consists of two houses, namely, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, with the President of India acting as their head.

President of India

The President of India, the head of state, is a component of Parliament vide Article 79 of the Constitution. Under Article 60 and Article 111 of the constitution, the president's responsibility is to ensure that laws passed by the Parliament adhere to the relevant constitutional provisions and that the Constitution's stipulated procedures are followed before granting approval to bills. The president of India is elected by the elected members of the Parliament of India and the state Legislative Assemblies and serves for a term of five years.

Lok Sabha

The Lok Sabha or the lower house has 543 members. Members are directly elected by citizens of India on the basis of universal adult franchise representing parliamentary constituencies across the country. Between 1952 and 2020, two additional members of the Anglo-Indian community were also nominated by the president of India on the advice of the Indian government, which was abolished in January 2020 by the 104th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019.
Every citizen of India who is over 18 years of age, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, or race and is otherwise not disqualified, is eligible to vote for members of the Lok Sabha. The constitution provides that the maximum strength of the Lok Sabha be 550 members. The Lok Sabha has a term of five years. To be eligible for membership in the Lok Sabha, a person must be a citizen of India and must be 25 years of age or older, not hold any office of profit under union or state government, mentally sound, should not be bankrupt, and should not be criminally convicted. The total elective membership is distributed among the states in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats allotted to each state and the population of the state is, so far as practicable, the same for all states. Out of 543 seats of Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for Scheduled castes and 47 seats are reserved for Scheduled tribe.

Rajya Sabha

The Rajya Sabha or the Upper House is a permanent body not subject to dissolution. One-third of the members retire every second year and are replaced by newly elected members. Each member is elected for a term of six years. Its members are indirectly elected by elected members of legislative assembly of the states. The Rajya Sabha can have a maximum of 250 members. It currently has a sanctioned strength of 245 members, of which 233 are elected from states, and union territories and 12 are nominated by the president. The number of members from a state depends on its population. The minimum age for a person to become a member of the Rajya Sabha is 30 years. There are no caste-based reservations in Rajya Sabha.

Powers

As the primary institution responsible for lawmaking, the Indian Parliament possesses a wide array of powers that form the backbone of the country's democratic governance.
  • Legislative Powers:
  • # Enacting Laws: The Parliament is vested with the authority to make laws on subjects enumerated in the Union List and Concurrent List under the Constitution of India. Bills can be introduced in either house, and upon approval, they become laws after receiving the President's assent
  • # Amending the Constitution: The Parliament can amend the Constitution with the support of a special majority, allowing for modifications to accommodate changing societal needs and aspirations.
  • # Residuary Powers: The Parliament holds exclusive authority over matters not covered by the Union or State Lists, known as residuary powers.
  • Financial Powers:
  • # Formulation and Approval of the Union Budget: The Parliament plays a vital role in the development and endorsement of the Union Budget. It carefully examines the government's proposals for revenue generation and expenditure, provides suggestions for modifications if necessary, and ultimately grants or withholds financial allocations accordingly.
  • # Taxation: Parliament has the power to levy and collect taxes, including income tax, customs and excise duties, and goods and services tax.
  • # Control over Public Expenditure: The Parliament scrutinizes government expenditure through debates and discussions on budgetary allocations, ensuring accountability and transparency.
  • Executive Powers:
  • # Council of Ministers: The Parliament exercises executive powers indirectly through its control over the Council of Ministers. The government is collectively responsible to the Parliament, and its policies and actions are subject to parliamentary scrutiny.
  • # Vote of No Confidence: The Parliament can remove the government from power through a vote of no confidence. If the government fails to enjoy the majority's support, it must resign.
  • # Questions and Motions: Members of Parliament have the right to raise questions, seek clarifications, and move motions regarding the functioning of the government and its policies.
  • Oversight Powers:
  • # Question Hour: Members of Parliament can ask questions of ministers during the Question Hour, seeking clarifications on matters of public interest.
  • # Committees: The Parliament appoints various committees, such as the Public Accounts Committee, the Estimates Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings, to oversee and examine government policies, programs, and their implementation.
  • # Impeachment Power: The Parliament has the authority to initiate impeachment proceedings against the President, Vice President, and Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts for the violation of the Constitution.