COMMITTEE OF PARLIAMENT

Subject: Polity

Context: Facebook India’s policy head Ankhi Das on Friday appeared before the Joint Committee of Parliament that is examining the draft Data Protection Bill. However, e-commerce giant Amazon declined to depose before the panel.

Concept:

Parliamentary Committee:

• Parliament scrutinises legislative proposals (Bills) in two ways:
• The first way is by discussing it on the floor of the two Houses. This is a legislative requirement; all Bills have to be taken up for debate.
• The second way is by referring a Bill to a Parliamentary Committee.

A Parliamentary Committee means a committee that:

• Is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker/Chairman.
• Works under the direction of the Speaker/Chairman.
• Presents its report to the House or to the Speaker/Chairman.
• Has a secretariat provided by the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha.

Types of Parliamentary Committees:

• India’s Parliament has multiple types of committees. They can be differentiated on the basis of their work, their membership and the length of their tenure.
• However, broadly there are two types of Parliamentary Committees– Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.
• The Standing Committees are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis. They are,
• Financial Committees
• Departmental Standing Committees
• Committees to Enquire
• Committees to Scrutinise and Control
• Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House
• House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees
• While the Ad Hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
• They are further subdivided into Inquiry Committees and Advisory Committees.

Procedure:

• There are three broad paths by which a Bill can reach a Parliamentary Committee.
• The minister introducing the Bill recommends to the House that his Bill be examined by a Select Committee (Committee of one House i.e either Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha) of the House or a Joint Committee of both Houses.
• The presiding officer of the House can also send a Bill to a Parliamentary Committee.
• A Bill passed by one House can be sent by the other House to its Select Committee.
• The report of the committee is of a recommendatory nature. The government can choose to accept or reject its recommendations. The Committee can also suggest its own version of the Bill.