XVIIth Lok Sabha in the service of the Nation The First Two Years The Parliament of a nation is a living embodiment of the faith of the people in a democratic polity and an affirmation of commitment to participation in the governance process. The Houses of Parliament are thus hallowed institutions that represent the sovereign will of the people and are mandated by the Constitution to guide the destiny of the nation. It is therefore critical that all efforts are made to provide Members with a congenial and enabling environment for their effective participation in the business of the Houses of Parliament and in the discharge of their roles as representatives of the people. Meaningful and effective participation of Members in the business of Lok Sabha is the cornerstone of strong and vibrant democracy, that is India. In furtherance of this cause, the Lok Sabha under the stewardship of Hon'ble Speaker, Shri Om Birla, has in the last two years, endeavored to provide all Members with the comfort and assurance of an enabling environment in the House that is conducive for free and fair debates and discussions as is cherishable in a parliamentary democracy. Under the guidance of Hon'ble Speaker, a series of steps have been taken for sensitive handling of all matters that may contribute to improvement in ease in participation for the Members in House proceedings. These measures include necessary facilitation to all members in terms of improved research support, proactive library services, welfare and housing, prompt medical assistance, etc. In addition, digital tools are being promoted to help bring greater efficiency and transparency in the functioning of the Lok Sabha. The slew of measures have proved timely and well-conceived in the face of unprecedented challenges posed by Covid-19 pandemic for the best part of the past two years, given the better performance and productivity in the XVIIth Lok Sabha when compared with the previous years. The journey of the current Lok Sabha, I am sure will continue to serve as a benchmark in the times to come. The high standards of performance will undoubtedly enthuse Members of this and future Lok Sabhas to set higher goals in the service of their constituents, i.e., the people of India and in the process strengthen the faith of our people in the Parliament of India and our democratic polity. (Secretary-General) Lok Sabha GREATER PARTICIPATION, HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY The 17th Lok Sabha which was constituted on 25 May 2019 held its first sitting on 17 June 2019. So far five Sessions have been held. The fruits of tireless effort put in by Hon’ble Speaker in building consensus among political parties and Members to work overtime and ensure smooth functioning of the sittings is evident from the higher work productivity which has been the hallmark of the current Lok Sabha. Hon’ble Members worked till late night in the House even in challenging circumstances of Corona pandemic. As a result, the average performance during the first 5 sessions of the 17th Lok Sabha has been 122.2%, which is the highest in recent years. (Fig. 1) • The average productivity of work during the first Five Sessions of the 17th Lok Sabha stands at 122.2% • This is one of the highest in recent years. Work Productivity 180 167 160 140 125 116 120 115 114 103103 105 100 98 100 90 93 84 87 80 71 68 66 66 52 60 47 40 Work Productivity in Percentage 20 0 First Session Second Session Third Session Fourth Session Fifth Session Work Productivity during the first 5 Sessions of 14th, 15th, 16th & 17th Lok Sabha (in precentage) 14th Lok Sabha 15th Lok Sabha 16th Lok Sabha 17th Lok Sabha Work Productivity during the first 5 Sessions of 14th, 15th, 16th & 17th Lok Sabha (in Percentage) Fig.1 3 Fruits of Consensus - More Sittings, Higher Productivity With the collective efforts of honorable members and cooperation of all political parties, a favorable working environment was created in the 17th Lok Sabha. It was only due to the active participation of the members that high performance could be ensured in the house even during the time of corona pandemic. As a result, in the first five sessions of the present Lok Sabha, a total of 114 sittings of the House were held and the proceedings of the House continued for a total of 712.93 hours. This is a higher performance than 14th, 15th and 16th Lok Sabha. • 114 sittings in first five sessions of 17th Lok Sabha. • This is Higher than the sittings held in first five sessions of 14th , 15th & 16th Lok Sabhas ( Fig 2). Fig.2 • Duration of sittings during first five sessions of 17th Lok Sabha i.e. 712.93 hours • Higher than the hours spent in 14th , 15th & 16th Lok Sabhas. 4 2 Years of XVIIth Lok Sabha Election as Speaker A New Beginning Because of constant efforts of Hon’ble Speaker after assuming the Office on 19 June 2019, the House functioned smoothly with unprecedented performance. So far 107 bills have been passed in five sessions with wide participation of honorable members and the productivity of the house has been 122%. Hon'ble speaker Lok Sabha accepting the The Hon’ble Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition, and other greetings of the Members after been elected Members greeting the Speaker. Minimal time of the House has been lost due to interruptions/adjournments since Hon'ble Speaker of Lok Sabha assumed office. So far only 73 hours and 44 minutes have been wasted in the 17th Lok Sabha as in comparison to 112 hours 29 minutes during the 14th Lok Sabha and 170 hours 25 minutes during the 15th Lok Sabha. • The House sat an unprecedented 480 hours during the first Session of the 17th Lok Sabha. • During these 37 sittings, no time was lost due to interruptions/ adjournments. 5 PRIMACY TO LAW MAKING The primary mandate of Parliament in a constitutional democracy like India, is to legislate laws for governance of the nation. In this respect the 17th Lok Sabha under the sagacious guidance of Hon'ble Speaker, Lok Sabha, Shri Om Birla has been one of the most productive in recent times. The superior Legislative productivity with respect to the introduction and passing of Government Bills during the first five sessions of the 17th Lok Sabha are clearly evident in the following (Fig.3) First 5 Sessions (14th -17th Lok Sabha) 120 107 102 100 82 80 67 68 71 60 61 60 40 20 0 14th Lok Sabha 15th Lok Sabha 16th Lok Sabha 17th लLok Sabha Government Bills Introduced Government Bills Passed Fig. 3 . The First Session of the 17th Lok Sabha witnessed a record 33 Government Bills being introduced and 35 Government Bills passed, which was the highest for any first session of any Lok Sabha. The House discussed Government Bills for approx. 124 hours & 40 minutes. During the Second Session of the 17th Lok Sabha 18 Government Bills were introduced and 14 Government Bills were passed by the House. The House devoted approximately 54 hours and 31 minutes on discussing Government Bills. 6 2 Years of XVIIth Lok Sabha PRIMACY TO LAW MAKING During the Third Session of the 17th Lok Sabha also, 18 Government Bills were introduced and 15 Government Bills were passed. 14 hours and 53 minutes were spent on Government Bills. 107 Government Bills were passed during the first five sessions of 17th Lok Sabha which is a great achievement. During the Fourth Session of Seventeenth Lok Sabha, 16 Government Bills were introduced and 25 Government Bills were passed. 33 hours and 24 minutes time was spent on Government Bills During the Fifth Session of Seventeenth Lok Sabha, 17 Government Bills were introduced and 18 Government Bills were passed. 35 hours and 5 minutes time was spent on Government Bills 7 UNPRECEDENTED INCREASE IN THE PARTICIPATION OF MEMBERS In the 17th Lok Sabha, there has been maximum participation of honorable members in legislative business. There was a total participation of 1744 in the discussion on government bills in the first five Sessions of the 17th Lok Sabha. 2000 1800 1744 1600 1400 1200 1000 825 800 709 600 496 400 262.55 132.38 200 82.88 100.12 0 14th Lok Sabha 15th Lok Sabha 16th Lok Sabha 17th Lok Sabha No of times members spoke on government Bill Time take in Hours Fig. 4 • An enabling environment was created in the 17th Lok Sabha created by Hon’ble Speaker for participation of Members in the conduct of legislative business of the house. • This was very evident from the number of Members who spoke on Government Bills and the total time devoted to the discussions. • The data reveals a staggering increase in the participation of Members and the duration of discussion time during the first five Sessions of the 17th Lok Sabha when compared to the corresponding periods of the earlier Three Lok Sabhas (Fig. 4) 8 2 Years of XVIIth Lok Sabha Question Hour: Enforcing Executive Accountability Recognising that Question Hour is one of the potent instruments available to the Members of Lok Sabha to enforce Executive accountability, Hon'ble Speaker ensured that maximum number of questions by Members are accommodated during Question Hour for oral and written answers. There has been a considerable increase in the number of Questions orally answered in the House. Over the period spanning from 14th Lok Sabha to 17th Lok Sabha, while the average of oral answers per sitting figures was 3.07, 2.96 & 4.34 during 14th, 15th & 16th Lok Sabha Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha , Shri Om Birla respectively, the corresponding average figure in the Chair.