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Vital Stats Parliament functioning in first session of 17th

The Budget Session of Parliament was held from June 17, 2019 to August 7, 2019. This was the first session of Parliament after the elections for . In the recent past, Parliament used to have a short session for oath-taking after the election of new Lok Sabha. This session used to be followed by a Budget Session. In 17th Lok Sabha, the Oath-taking Session has been combined with the Budget Session. Initially, the session was planned to be held from June 17, 2019 to July 26, 2019. It was extended until August 7, 2019. During the Budget Session, Lok Sabha had sittings for 37 days and had sittings for 35 days.

The highest number of working hours in Lok Sabha in the last 20 years

Actual hours of sitting as a percentage of scheduled hours

150% 135%

100% 100%

50%

0%

BS 2000 BS 2002 BS 2006 BS 2008 BS 2009 BS 2009 BS 2010 BS 2012 BS 2016 BS 2018 BS

MS 2001 MS 2003 MS 2005 MS 2007 MS 2011 MS 2013 MS 2015 MS 2017 MS

WS 2000 WS 2002 WS 2004 WS 2006 WS 2010 WS 2012 WS 2014 WS 2016 WS 2018 WS

1st session 13th session 1st LS 13th session 1st LS 16th

1st Session 14th LS 14th Session 1st 1st Session-17th LS Session-17th 1st

Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha

. Usually, a Parliament sitting is scheduled for six hours except for a few occasions, such as the President’s address and election of the Speaker. However, Parliament can extend its usual working hours to complete its business. . During this session, Lok Sabha worked for 281 hours which is 135% of the scheduled hours. This is higher than any other session of Parliament in the past 20 years. On an average, Lok Sabha has worked for 81% of its scheduled time in the past 20 years. . Rajya Sabha worked for 195 hours which is 100% of the scheduled hours. On an average, Rajya Sabha has worked for 76% of its scheduled time during a session in the past 20 years.

36% of the questions were answered orally in Lok Sabha; the highest in the last 20 years

% of questions answered orally 50% 40% 30% 20% 10%

0%

BS 2016 BS BS 2001 BS 2003 BS 2006 BS 2008 BS 2011 BS 2013 BS 2018 BS 2019 BS

MS 2000 MS 2002 MS 2005 MS 2007 MS 2010 MS 2012 MS 2015 MS 2017 MS

WS 1999 WS 2001 WS 2003 WS 2004 WS 2006 WS 2009 WS 2011 WS 2014 WS 2016 WS 2018 WS

BS 2009 (14th LS) (14th 2009 BS WS 2013 (15th LS) (15th 2013 WS

Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha

Manish Kanadje Saket Surya August 7, 2019 [email protected] [email protected] PRS Legislative Research  Institute for Policy Research Studies 3rd Floor, Gandharva Mahavidyalaya  212, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg  New – 110002 Tel: (011) 2323 4801-02, 4343 4035-36 www.prsindia.org

Parliament functioning in first session of 17th Lok Sabha PRS Legislative Research

. functioned for 95% of its scheduled time in Lok Sabha and, 65% in Rajya Sabha during this session. . During this session, 36% of the questions were answered orally in Lok Sabha by ministers. This is higher than any other session in the past 20 years. 40% of the questions received an oral answer from a minister in Rajya Sabha. This is the second-highest among all sessions in the past 20 years. . On an average, 15% of the questions in Lok Sabha and 17% of the questions in Rajya Sabha have received oral answers during a session in the past 20 years.

Lok Sabha spent 46% of its time on legislative business; Rajya Sabha spent 51%

Time spent by Parliament in different roles . All expenditure of the government can only be made with the prior sanction of Parliament. An important 60% 51% agenda of the Budget Session is to discuss and pass 50% 46% the annual budget. 40% . Lok Sabha spent 20% of its time on financial business. 29% 30% 20% 20% . Rajya Sabha spent 29% of its time on the non- 20% legislative business including the motion of thanks to 8%8% 7% 10% 6%5% the President’s address, discussion on working of ministries, calling attention motion, among others. 0% . Lok Sabha spent 46% of its time on legislative

Other business. The corresponding figure for Rajya Sabha is Debates

Financial 51%.

Questions Legislative

Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha

28 Bills were introduced and passed in the same session; no new referred to committees

No of Bills introduced and passed in the same session by both houses 30 28 25 20 15 10 10 10 7 8 7 8 4 5 5 4 5 5 4 5 5 2 3 2 3 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0

0

BS 09 BS 10 BS 11 BS 12 BS 13 BS 14 BS 15 BS 16 BS 17 BS 18 BS 19 BS

MS 10 MS 11 MS 12 MS 13 MS 15 MS 16 MS 17 MS 18 MS

WS 09 WS 10 WS 11 WS 12 WS 13 WS 14 WS 15 WS 16 WS 17 WS 18 WS

BS 19 BS Feb

. 38 Bills were introduced in Parliament during the Budget Session (excluding the Finance and Appropriation Bills). 28 Bills out of these were passed during this session. This is the highest for any session in the last 10 years. The second-highest was during the Winter Session 2009 and the Monsoon Session 2018, when 10 Bills were introduced and passed during the same session. . At the commencement of the Budget Session, 33 Bills were pending in Rajya Sabha. None of these Bills were discussed during this session. . For a Bill to become an Act, it has to pass through various stages which include circulation, introduction, second reading, clause-by-clause discussion, and final vote. A Bill may also be referred to a Standing or Select Committee for scrutiny after introduction. None of the Bills introduced in this session were referred to a Committee. Out of 28 Bills passed by Parliament, five Bills had been scrutinised by Committees in some form during the period of previous Lok Sabha. . During the Budget Session, 25 Bills (66%) were discussed within five working days from their introduction. Two Bills in Rajya Sabha and one Bill in Lok Sabha were introduced, discussed, and passed on the same day. On an average, a Bill was discussed for 3.6 hours in Lok Sabha and 3.3 hours in Rajya Sabha. . The central government tabled a Presidential Order that superseded the Constitution (Application to J&K) Order, 1954 in Rajya Sabha. A resolution was passed which modifies Article 370 to state that all provisions of the Constitution of will apply to Jammu and Kashmir. This was followed by the introduction and passage of Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019 which reorganises the state into two union territories.

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Parliament functioning in first session of 17th Lok Sabha PRS Legislative Research

Seven Bills in Lok Sabha and Seven Bills in Rajya Sabha had recorded vote at some stage

. Bills and motions are usually passed through voice Percentage of passed Bills which involved recorded vote. Only if an MP demands a ‘division’, the vote of votes each MP is recorded and reported. 25% 23% 21% . For Constitutional Amendment Bills, the division is mandatory in order to ascertain the special majority. 20% . During this session, Lok Sabha passed 33 Bills 15% (excluding Finance and Appropriation Bills), out of which, in seven cases, division was recorded (21%) at 10% 8% 7% some point during the discussion. This is higher than 6% 6% , in which, the division was called for 5% 8% of the Bills.

0% . On an average, 315 MPs participated in a division in 15th LS 16th LS 17th LS Lok Sabha which means that 58% MPs were present in the house for the vote. The corresponding figure Lok Sabha Rajya Sabha for Rajya Sabha was 168 MPs (73%).

20% of the demands were discussed; the rest of the Budget was guillotined

Percentage of demands discussed by Lok Sabha before voting

50% 37% 40% 31% 30% 21% 19% 21% 20% 20% 15% 17% 16% 8% 10% 5% 6% 0% 0% 1% 0%

0%

2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2004-05

. In the Budget Session, demand for grants of the ministries of (i) road transport and highways, (ii) agriculture and farmers’ welfare, (iii) rural development, (iv) youth affairs and sports, and (v) railways were listed for discussion in Lok Sabha. All these demands were taken up for discussion by Lok Sabha. . These demands form 20% of the voted demand for grants (excluding railways). On an average, 13% of the voted demand for grants have been discussed by Lok Sabha since 2004-05 (excluding railways). . Rajya Sabha usually debates the working of select ministries during a Budget Session. In Rajya Sabha, ministries of (i) AYUSH, (ii) micro, small and medium enterprises, (iii) home affairs, and (iv) external affairs, were listed for discussion of working of ministries. Only one out of these four was discussed (Ministry of AYUSH).

94% first-term MPs participated in a debate during the session;96% women MPs participated

Participation of MPs in the first session of Lok . 265 first-term MPs have been elected to 17th Lok Sabha Sabha. The number of women MPs in 17th Lok Sabha 94% 96% is 78. 100% 88% 82% 80% . 94% of the first term MPs participated in a debate in the Budget Session. This is significantly higher than 60% 16th Lok Sabha where 82% of the first term members 40% had participated in a debate in the first session. 20% . 96% of women MPs participated in a debate during the session. This is higher than 16th Lok Sabha where 0% 88% of women MPs had participated in a debate in the First Term MPs Women MPs first session. 16th LS 17th LS

Note: Data for 16th Lok Sabha includes data for the first session and second session. Data for 17th Lok Sabha is up to August 2, 2019.

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Parliament functioning in first session of 17th Lok Sabha PRS Legislative Research

Lok Sabha does not have a Deputy Speaker after 51 days

No. of days to election of the Speaker and the . Article 93 of the Constitution states that Lok Sabha is Deputy Speaker - Lok Sabha required to elect the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker as soon as possible. 300 269 . From onwards, days to the election of 200 the Deputy Speaker has increased. . In 17th Lok Sabha, the election for the post of the 100 91 70 Deputy Speaker has not been conducted after 51 days 35 51 51 from the date of commencement of the first session. 17 7 7 12 8 13 11 7 7 7 7 0 During 16th Lok Sabha, this period was 70 days. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 th Lok Sabha . During 12 Lok Sabha, the post of the Deputy Speaker was vacant till 269 days after the Days to election of the Deputy Speaker (LS) commencement of the first session. Days to election of the Speaker (LS)

Sources: Bulletins of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha as on August 7, 2019; Statistical Handbook, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, 2019; ; PRS.

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